The "Castillo San Felipe del Morro: Part I" Story

Castillo San Felipe del Morro as seen in an Internet
photograph taken from the sea surrounding the fort.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing on the lawn in front of El Morro, actually named Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the fort that was built to defend against sea attackers in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Spanish troops began the building of El Morro in 1539, but it wasn't until 248 years later that the fort was considered complete.  In 1539 El Morro was no more than a simple tower, but the building of what I am about to walk through was designed in 1587 by Spanish engineers Juan de Tejada and Juan Bautista Antonelli and later redesigned from 1760 to 1790.  Old San Juan was founded in 1521, being the first large island with food, fresh water, supplies and shelter encountered by sailors arriving from Europe.  The trade winds led ships from the east into the deep harbor and it became necessary to fortify the strategic location in the Caribbean Sea to protect the riches Spain needed to gain world power.  

This photograph I took from El Morro looking toward
Fort San Cristobal on the opposite side of the city. The
great city wall can be seen in this photo.

Fort El Morro rises over 140 feet above the sea with walls from 18 to 25 feet thick and is today recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site, one of only 12 U.S. National Parlks to be do designated.  The majority of the construction work on the fort was completed by civilian craftsmen, off duty soldiers, prisoners and slaves.  Less than a mile to the southeast of El Morro stands another fort, San Cristobal, which is larger in size that El Morro, but doesn't have the fame that El Morro, the promontory or headland, fort has gained.  San Cristobal was actually built to protect against attack on Old San Juan by land.  Carol, Jerry, Just Sue and I spent the better part of a morning of our vacation to Puerto Rico walking the many tiers of El Morro and learning the history of this formidable piece of architecture in this second oldest European-founded city in the Americas.  Follow along with me as I take you on a visual tour of Castillo San Felipe del Morro. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The great lawn before the entrance of El Morro was planned by the military and used as camping grounds during WWII.  Including this grassy area, Fort El Morro's total area is 74 acres.

The entrance to the fort is of classic Greek and Roman design and is meant to express power in size and imperialism.

This is another view of the entrance from a part of the fort that wraps around the water side.

The Main Plaza that you see as soon as you pay and enter the fort on the Main Level.

Heading down the staircase loophole to the lower level.  In this level is the most powerful cannon battery of the fort.  The Garitas, or sentry boxes, can be found along the walls of the fort in this level.  Cannons were placed at this level so they could easily hit the hulls of any ships that attempted to get too close to the fort.

Cannons on the lower level are as they were years ago.

The walls throughout the fort were made of stone, brick, mortar and coral.

View from the lower level.

Another view looking toward the top of the fort from the lower level.

This is a triangular staircase that is closed to the public, but when I saw it there was an attendant at the staircase and he allowed me to enter and take a photo.  This staircase was strategically located to provide soldiers quick access between the six levels of the fort.

Back up the steps to the main level.  You can see the wear from the indentations in the stone.  I was in awe as I walked the same stairs that Spanish soldiers must have walked in the 1500s.

I'm on my way to a higher level through the use of this ramp. 

The upper level gives you a fantastic view of the lawn and city in front of the fort.

This level has turrets for moving the cannons as well as cut-outs in the wall for cannons to be placed.

Another level was where the soldiers lived and worked.  This shows the chapel that they had available for them.

The sleeping quarters for the soldiers.

The large kitchen areas.

This view through one of the cannon ports known as an embrasure gives you a view of yet another fort called San Juan de la Cruz or "El Canuelo."  It is very small compared to the other two forts and sits across the channel, but would provide crossfire when enemy ships enter the channel.

This last photo show the three flags that fly over the fort.  On the right is the United States of America flag, in the center is the flag of Puerto Rico and the flag on the left is the Cross of Burgundy which is a Spanish military flag used from the 16th to 17th centuries to identify warships, forts, and regiments of troops loyal to the king of Spain.  When the great forts were built, this was the flag that was flown.