Last updated: February 20, 2021
Place
Under Continuous Attack Wayside
![Along the top half of the slanted panel, white text against a blue background in English and Spanish reads: Under Continuous Attack. Castillo de San Marcos has been under attack since construction began in 1672. Enemy gunfire assaulted these walls with little damage. The unrelenting onslaught of time and weather, however, are taking a visible toll. National Park Service preservation crews constantly inspect the fort and carry out preservation work. Past preservation work removed water from the moat to help stabilize the fort’s foundation. Bright coquina shows where workers recently completed a project. The bright color will fade over time and blend with the surrounding stonework. During your visit, see if you can find preservation work in progress. End of Text On the lower half of the panel, a large color photo of the fort’s grey, wedge-shaped, bastion. In front is a full view of the wall with 3 cut-outs for cannon positions on top. On the left is a small round tower. Set behind this wall, a partial view of the fort curtain wall with a single rectangular window. Above, a black cannon pokes out of a gun port. Below, are 2 inset square color photos. At the left, a close-up view of a section of mottled grey coquina stone that is revealed as the historic layer of white plaster weathers away. To the right, a close-up view of two, 4-sided tall chimneys on the fort’s gun deck. Near the top of each chimney, on each of its 4 sides, are rectangular-shaped openings for smoke to vent out. The chimney at the left is a dark grey and white. The upper half of the chimney at the right is beige new coquina blocks with white mortar; its lower portion is light grey. Below, against a translucent blue background, white text in English and Spanish reads: Preservation efforts stabilize this coquina chimney, but the outer plaster layer has not been replaced. End of Text At the lower right corner of the photo, a snaking crack lines the fort’s grey façade and coquina is wearing away below a scupper. White text against a translucent blue background in English and Spanish reads: The wall in front of you shows more than a century of water damage (as seen in 2016). Beyond the panel are views of the fort’s outer wall with long, jagged vertical cracks in the light grey and white façade. Directly below the top of the wall are small scuppers that drain water from the gun deck. The wall below the scuppers is eroded and discolored to a shade of brown. Directly in front of the panel and down 4 feet is the grass and dirt covered way. Set on a concrete pad is a 3-foot high pedestal sign that reads “Keep off the moat stairs.â€, [End of Message]](/common/uploads/place/import/9261f688-e568-4e9f-b339-ae342f95060a_image_350.jpg)
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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible
Castillo de San Marcos has been under attack since construction began in 1672. Enemy gunfire assaulted these walls with little damage. The unrelenting onslaught of time and weather, however, are taking a visible toll. National Park Service preservation crews constantly inspect the fort and carry out preservation work.
Past preservation work removed water from the moat to help stabilize the fort's foundation. Bright coquina shows where workers recently completed a project. The bright color will fade over time and blend with the surrounding stonework. During your visit, see if you can find preservation work in progress.