Thursday, March 11, 2021

Fort Castillo de San Marcos: Saint Augustine, Florida: March 11

Fort Castillo de San Marcos is a fort that was built by the Spanish in Saint Augustine to defend Florida as well as the greater Atlantic trade route. The Fort is also the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States. 

For more information about the history of this site, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm

-Artifacts-


Artifact #1


This is a photo of the draw bridge that leads into Fort Castillo de San Marcos. The bridge crosses a dry moat which is where I happened to be standing when I took the picture. Further, in the background, you can see the Fort flying its flag as well.


Artifact #2

This is a photo of the main guard tower of the Fort where guards would stand watch over the fort and city

-Exterior Photos-



Exterior Photo #1

This photo was taken just outside the Fort by the main entrance.


Exterior Photo #2

This photo was taken right next to the main entrance of the Fort of the Bay that the Fort overlooks.

-Images in conversation with the Site-


Image in Conversation #1

This is a photo of the Fort back when the moat was filled with water to attract more tourists to the site. However, as the Park Ranger, our class talked to explained, this water, damaged the Coquina that the Fort is built out of. This led the Park service to make the decision to drain the water and reinforce the base of the Fort. I thought that was an interesting piece of the Fort's history so I decided to include it as well as a photo of what the Fort looked like surrounded by water. Further, this photo is in conversation with this site simply because this photo highlights how many changes the fort has been through, throughout the years.




Image in Conversation #2

This is another historic photo of the Fort. In this photo, the United States Coast Guard is holding a graduation ceremony. The Fort and the city of Saint Augustine as a whole played a very important role in World War II. This image represents another chapter in the Fort's long history and that is why it is yet another image in conversation with this historic site.


-The English 202 Connection-

One concept from my English 202 class that relates to Fort Castillo de San Marcos, can be found in the book The Surrounded by D'Arcy McNickle. In the book, Archilde says: "When you came home to your Indian mother you had to remember that it was a different world" (McNickle, 3). This quote highlights the isolation that many native Americans have to live in while on reservations such as the one in the book. Further, Archilde's description of the reservation being a "different world" highlights that isolation. Further, on our tour, the Park Ranger talking to my class discussed how some members of the tribes of the Seminole, Plains, and Apache, were all at one point or another held as prisoners in the fort. This relates back to the book my English class was reading because the idea of the Fort being a prison for Native Americans is similar to how many of the Native Americans on the Flathead Indian Reservation (the reservation from the book) felt like they were being imprisoned as well. So I think that the parallel that can be drawn between this historic site and the book is one that highlights the contentious and complex relationship between Native Americans and the United States Government.

-Creative Component-


This is a photo that I took at the main entrance of the fort. With this photo, I increased the contrast and made it black and white to highlight the historic nature of this site as well as its beauty. I believe that the black and white and the contrast represent not only the rich history of this site but also the beauty of the site. This photo simply looks all around serene and that is what I was going for. 





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Thursday, March 4, 2021

Government House: Saint Augustine, Florida: March 4

Government House is a historic property that is managed and ran by the University of Florida. At the Government House, visitors can find a variety of exhibits about the history of Saint Augustine and the state of Florida as a whole.

For more information about the history of this site, please visit: http://staugustine.ufl.edu/govHouse.html

-Artifacts-



Artifact #1

This is a photo of a Postcard that was on display inside the Government House. The postcard depicts the Alcazar Hotel which is now more commonly known as the Lightner Museum. 


Artifact #2

This is a photo of Silver Ingot which is something that the Native Americans and Spaniards both mined.

-Exterior Photos-



Exterior Photo #1

This a photo of the courtyard that can be found just outside of the Government House.


Exterior Photo #2

This is a photo of the balcony that overlooks the courtyard. From the balcony hangs a variety of flags including the Spanish flag, and the Union Jack.

-Images in Conversation with the Site-


Image in Conversation #1

This is an old photo of the Alcazar Hotel which is now the Lightner Museum. The reason I chose this photo and believe that it is in conversation with this site is because the photo on the postcard that was displayed in the Artifacts section of this blog post is of the Alcazar Hotel. So I thought it would be interesting and important to include another picture of the hotel.



Image in Conversation #2

This is a photo of Government House from a more historic time when the streets of Saint Augustine were still dirt. The reason that I chose this photo to be in conversation with the site is that I thought it was important to highlight the changes that the building, as well as the city, has gone through by presenting an old photo of what the Government House used to look like.


-The English 202 Connection-

One concept from my English 202 class that relates to Government House can be found in the book The Surrounded by D'Arcy McNickle. One concept that the book touches on a lot is the concept of preservation of culture, particularly Native American culture. One quote that exemplifies this theme of culture from The Surrounded is: "That was something he had forgotten to include in his visit- the old lady and her feasts! You gorged yourself on meat until you felt sick, and a lot of old people told tiresome stories." (McNickle, 4). This quote shows just one of the many cultural traditions that Achilde and his family participated in and it also shows that the tradition was able to be preserved. This is a concept that I think connects to this site because Government House's main purpose as a historic site is to preserve not only Florida and the city of Saint Augustine's history but also its culture and traditions. 

-Creative Component-




This is a photo that I took when I first entered Government House. I remember the house looking almost regal with all the marble and the general design and architecture adding to the regal effect. I wanted to emphasize this aspect of the site so I increased the contrast and made the image black and white. This provides an emphasis on the beautiful architecture that I was trying to emphasize with this image.



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Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Tolomato Cemetery: Saint Augustine, Florida: February 25

The Tolomato Cemetery is the oldest European-founded cemetery in the United States and was in use as a Cemetery from the 18th century until 1884. The Cemetery is the last resting place of roughly 1,000 Saint Augustinians.

For more information about the history of this site, please visit: http://www.tolomatocemetery.com/

-Artifacts-



Artifact #1

This is a photo of one of the tombstones found in the Tolomato Cemetery. This particular tombstone is in place to remember a member of the Confederate States of America. This is notated by the acronym CSA and the symbol on top of the tombstone.


Artifact #2

This is a photo from inside the mausoleum for Felix Varela. The photo is of a bust of Varela, who was a Cuban Catholic prelate and independence leader in Cuba.

-Exterior Photos-



Exterior Photo #1

This is a photo of the front gates that lead into the Tolomato Cemetery.


Exterior Photo #2

This is a photo of the outside of the mausoleum for Felix Varela.

-Images in Conversation with the Site-


Image in Conversation #1

I chose this photo as one of the images in conversation with the site because I think it represents the commoditization and tourist desecration of an actual holy and important historic site. And I believe that that is a common theme throughout Saint Augustine.



Image in Conversation #2

This is a photo of Felix Varela. The reason that I believe that this photo is in conversation with the site is because he has an entire Mausoleum dedicated to him in the Tolomato Cemetery and I thought that it was important to include a picture of the man to which the mausoleum is dedicated and for.


-The English 202 Connection-

One concept from my English 202 class that relates to the Cemetery is a concept found in the novel Kindred. That concept is the concept of history and both the literal and figurative need to travel back to it. For example in Kindred Dana said: "We flew to Maryland as soon as my arm was well enough." (Butler, 262) In the novel, Maryland is where Dana was held as a slave and her reason for returning was because she had a calling to return to where her ancestors lived. The Cemetery acts in unison with this concept because it is a way for people to both figuratively and in a sense literally travel back to their history and literally walk through it and experience it. This is something that not only Tolomato can do but also just Cemeteries can do in general.

-Creative Component-



This is a photo that I took really low to the ground of the coquina that lines the paths throughout the cemetery. The reason that I took this photo is that I always find coquina all over Saint Augustine and it is such an integral part of the city, and so to see it pave a path through a cemetery with such a rich history is something amazing. I then increased the contrast and made the texture of the coquina appear rougher to represent the rough path that Saint Augustine has been through.


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Fort Castillo de San Marcos: Saint Augustine, Florida: March 11

Fort Castillo de San Marcos is a fort that was built by the Spanish in Saint Augustine to defend Florida as well as the greater Atlantic tra...