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The cross marks the landing of Menendez.

Proclaimed a national monument in 1924, the Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. Construction was begun in 1672, but it was decades before the 12-foot-thick walls were completed.

The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine is Florida's dominant Spanish Colonial landmark. Construction of the fortress, which took a quarter century, was completed in 1696. With walls 16 feet thick at the base and protected by moat, the Castillo was never taken by force. the principal material is coquina, a sedimentary rock formed from billions of tiny seashells and quarried nearby. Most of the labor of quarrying and building was performed by Indians under the supervision of Spanish artisans.