Castillo de San Marcos Canvas Print

Here in St Augustine, the fortress of Castillo de San Marcos marks 340 years of North American history. The fort, built by the Spanish, is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. Built of coquina rock, the blocks are a soft limestone composed of broken shells. Although coquina was the only stone available on the northeast coast of Florida, its porosity turned out to have an unexpected benefit. The fort walls absorbed or deflected projectiles rather than yielding to them, providing a surprisingly long-lived fortress.
Standing since 1695, the fort is part of a 20 acre national monument, and is a major landmark in the one of the oldest cities in North America.

Born in western Pennsylvania, Ben quickly discovered that his parents were passionate about travel, photography, oil painting and wildlife. Being the youngest member of his family, he grew up exploring much of the eastern half of the United States at an early age with his older brothers. Ben's photography is about that part of his youth, echoing that same passion that his parents had of the Great Outdoors. Visit