Star-shaped plan
Corner bastions.
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The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States, standing on the western shore of Matanzas Bay at the edge of the historic centre of St. Augustine, Florida, about 500 m in a straight line north-east of the city centre. It was designed by the Spanish engineer Ignacio Daza, and its first stones were laid in 1672, when Florida was part of the Spanish Empire; the core of the fort was completed in 1695. It passed between Spanish, British and American hands over the centuries, was declared a National Monument in 1924 and was handed to the National Park Service in 1933. The fort is built of coquina, a local stone made of tiny shells bonded together, which was quarried on Anastasia Island across the bay and ferried over. Its star-shaped plan, with corner bastions topped by small round watchtowers, rises above a wide grassy moat, and from its upper terrace the view takes in the bay, the inlet and the old town. Entry is paid for adults and free for children, and the grassy grounds around the walls are open to walk. The Florida sun is strong, so bring water and a hat, and allow about an hour.
Corner bastions.
Small and round.
From the upper terrace.
Matanzas Bay, St. Augustine, Florida, United States
Coquina, a stone of bonded shells.
Yes; adults pay a fee.