Castillo de San Marcos Dawn
by Joan Carroll
Title
Castillo de San Marcos Dawn
Artist
Joan Carroll
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photograph
Description
The Castillo de San Marcos is probably listed as the #1 attraction in the city of St Augustine. Certainly at dawn is one of the prettiest times to visit, with the sun bathing the stones of the fort in warm light. The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States (Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico is older). Located on the shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida, construction began in 1672, 107 years after the city's founding by Spanish Admiral and conquistador Pedro Menendez de Avilas, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire. The Castillo and the town serve as outstanding reminders of the might of the early Spanish empire in the New World. Given the architectural details, it's hardly surprising that Castillo de San Marcos actually took 23 years to build (from 1672 to 1695). Fabricated of coquina, a virtually indestructible limestone comprised of broken sea shells and coral, the walls of the fortress remained impenetrable through 300 years of enemy shelling and pounding by violent storms. Possession of the fort has changed six times, all peaceful, amongst four different governments: the Spanish Empire, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Confederate States of America and the United States of America (Spain and the United States having possession two times each). As this territory was traded back and forth the fort was variously known as Castillo de San Marcos, Fort St Mark, and Fort Marion. In 1942 the original name, Castillo de San Marcos, was restored by an Act of Congress. The fort was declared a National Monument in 1924 and after 251 years of continuous military possession. The fort was deactivated in 1933 and the 20.48-acre (8.29 ha) site was turned over to the United States National Park Service.
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Uploaded
September 20th, 2014
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