Fort Barrancas and the Spanish Water Battery deteriorated after the US Army closed its base here in 1947. A hard freeze in 1950 caused the parapet of the water battery's rifle gallery to collapse, plants overgrew the structure, and debris filled Fort Barrancas tunnels and passageways. After the fort and battery became part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, the National Park Service obtained funds for restoration and staff historians conducted extensive research. Masons repaired the brickwork using 90,000 new bricks, carpenters rebuilt doors, gates, and drawbridge, and a Navy explosives crew removed a live cannon ball fired in the Civil War era. The fort opened to the public in 1980.