June 03, 2016

Castillo de San Marcos

  

We may be well past the days of pirates, plagues, and the Spanish Inquisition, but you have to admit the Castillo still looks imposing. Seen here is the west wall, with San Pablo’s Bastion at far left and San Pedro’s Bastion at far right. The entrance to the fort is located at right and out of the photo. Interestingly, the position in which the Castillo stands, as well as the “glacis” and the “Covered Way”, serve to hide half of the structure from view. This photo was taken during one of those rare times when the place isn’t swarming with busloads of hyper kids or those quintessential view-ruining tourists who seem to pop up in every shot.

This is one of my favorite photos of the Castillo. I like the tones and the lighting, and the old fort’s age shows through clearly. A contrast of wood and coquina and iron. This is the “new” powder magazine, put into use sometime around the 1730s when the old one was proven to be too damp. Since the National Park Service uses the room for storage nowadays, people aren’t allowed inside at this point in time, but I think the door and wall still make for a pretty great photo-op.

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