Castillo de San Marcos
The Water
Battery at Castillo de San Marcos was placed in the early 1840s and the seawall
also dates from around this period of time, though it’s been repaired over the
years. These particular guns are Howitzers. Check out Vilano Point at far left
(supposedly named for the Spanish word for villain, concerning pirates and a
host of other undesirable characters) and Conch Island / Anastasia Island at
far right. You can always find sailboats and larger pleasure boats of all sizes
on tranquil Matanzas Bay.
City Gates
St.
Augustine’s quaint old City Gates, survivor of a not-so-distant era, prove how
serious Spanish folks were about keeping civilians in and hostile foreigners out.
I just read a few days ago about the gate’s original design, complete with an
impregnable wooden door and a moat. There’s no moat there nowadays, but as you
walk through the gates to visit St. George Street and other nearby locations,
you can imagine the misfortune of anyone unlucky enough to be caught outside the
gates after curfew. These old coquina pillars date from 1808.
(c) 2015 St. Augustine Fridays
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