Tag: prison

… with diverse modern uses

the Convento San Marcos functioned as a monastery until “excloisteration” in 1837; it subsequently went through numerous uses from the mundane to the sinister before becoming a museum and hotel. among the mundane uses: a high school, a veterinary college and stud farm, a Jesuit residence home, military offices, and military barracks.

in the 1870s the government proposed leveling the building to provide space for alternative projects but the plan was fortunately scuppered. this building is one of the few pre-modern buildings that still stands outside the city walls; after walking between all the period buildings that line the warren-like streets within the walls of the city, it’s rather remarkable to emerge onto the wider avenues beyond, packed with bland 20th century construction. there are certainly unique architectural sites outside the walls and their overpowering modernity provided a peculiar contrast to the site of the Plaza San Marcos but mostly it was blocks of flats and the characterless but functional facades of any modern city.

on the more sinister end of uses, the Convento San Marcos served as a prison — both during its time as  a monastery and after it fell under government control. during the mid-17th century, the politician and and poet, Francisco de Quevedo found himself an unwitting occupant of the basement dungeons of the monastery. he’d allegedly written a satire against the king but his true “crime” stemmed from engendering the enmity of the prime minister of the time, the Count Duke of Olivares. because of his (honorary) membership in the Order of Santiago, Quevedo was permitted to serve his sentence in the Order’s headquarters, rather than in a civil penitentiary. while imprisonment did nothing for his physical health, during the four years he spent at San Marcos Quevedo wrote three of his most notable philosophical works (Life of Saint Paul, Providence of God, and  Constancy and Patience of Saint Job). upon his release, he retired to another monastery, where he died two years later (in 1645).

while certainly no easy punishment for Quevedo in the 17th century, the unwilling guests of the 20th century had an even harsher experience within the walls of the ex-monastery. during the Spanish Civil War, the building served as a concentration camp for republican prisoners and other opponents of the Franco regime. between 1936 and 1940, the prisoner population reached some 6,700 men while a further 15,000 filtered through on their way to other prison camps elsewhere. numerous executions took place within the grounds and it became a symbol of repression in León and throughout Spain. when we visited, they had an exhibit in the cloisters featuring remembrances from those who’d been imprisoned in the monastery during the Franco regime. harrowing stuff.

the building was given over to the Parador chain in 1964 for conversion into a luxury hotel and museum (housed in the church and cloisters). the church houses an array of art collected from around the area, as well sculptures designed and crafted at the time of the church’s construction. numerous famous and royal guests have stayed at the Parador, including the King and Queen of Spain, who first visited in 1970 while still Prince and Princess, as well as Latin American presidents, Nobel winners and others.

Fort Jefferson

approaching Fort Jefferson on the Yahkee Freedom II

situated on Garden Key, Fort Jefferson is the largest masonry structure in the Western hemisphere and served as a military prison and outpost during the 19th century. located 70 miles west of Key West, it sits at the tail end of the archipelago and, really, ought not to support human life. the collection of islands originally got their name from the sea turtles that nested there; in short order map-makers added the “dry” designation to warn sailors of the lack of potable water. upon scouting the keys for possible military installations, Commodore David Porter reported that the Dry Tortugas consisted of sand islands barely above the surface of the ocean with scarcely enough land to permit construction of a fort, much less support one without sinking below the waves.
the moat from the atop the walls of the Fort

Porter’s observations not withstanding, the government determined the islands useful to house, at the very least, a lighthouse. three years after Porter’s initial observations, a successor stressed the strategic importance of the islands in the Gulf shipping channel, prompting movement on a permanent, fortified outpost to defend U.S. interests.

harbor light atop the Fort wall

work on the structure began in 1846 and never finished, though construction (by slaves and prisoners) continued for 30 years. the original lighthouse stood within the fort walls but, after it suffering damage during a hurricane, was relocated to Loggerhead Key some 2.5 miles distant. the design originally called for a three-tiered, six sided brick structure; the sides met at corner bastions, which allowed some of the 410 guns to fire along the walls at ships crazy enough to come within range of the cannons. most of the armory and artillery improvements went unused. my favorite one, which I’m almost sad never got used, was a building designed to heat up cannon balls so that, when fired at enemy ships, the shot would start the wood on fire, burning and sinking the ship simultaneously. as construction progressed, however, concerns arose that further weight would cause the structure to sink (further) and result in further damage to the cisterns and undermine stability of the fort.

cells were left open to the elements, to prevent added weight

at its peak, some 2,000 people lived at Fort Jefferson, including military personnel and (occasionally) their families, prisoners, and (prior to the Civil War) slaves. it served as a harbor for war ships defending Gulf ports, such as Pensacola, New Orleans, and Mobile, general deterrent for anyone considering an attack against U.S. merchant ships, and evocative symbol of America’s intentions towards any potential aggressors (we’re lookin’ at you, Mexico!).

 it remained under Union control throughout the Civil War, which resulted in some tensions with Key West, which, naturally, fell under Confederate control. Union ships used Fort Jefferson as a port in the blockade of Southern ports and it became a military prison, primarily for Union deserters, but also for special civilian prisoners, including Dr. Samuel Mudd. following his assistance during a yellow fever outbreak in 1867, President Andrew Jackson pardoned and released Mudd and, in 1874, the Fort ceased to function as a military prison.

balls placed at the far end heated up as they came down the chute

while Fort Jefferson was more or less abandoned by the Army in 1874, it did prove useful in other ways over the next half-century. the Navy used it as a coal refueling station for warships (we got to snorkel around the refueling dock pylons — lots of very cool fish); it served as a quarantine station for a time; the USS Maine sailed for Havana from Fort Jefferson, and other warships followed during the Spanish-American war; a wireless station operated from it around the turn of the 20th century; it briefly served as a seaplane base during the First World War.

the Fort contains 2,000 archways like these

beginning in the 1930s, activity in the Dry Tortugas gave over to biological research and historic preservation — the Carnegie Institute operated a marine biological institute on Loggerhead Key beginning in 1930 and, following a visit in 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated Fort Jefferson a National Historic Landmark. Fort Jefferson was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and the Dry Tortugas became a National Park 1992.

recent boat used by Cuban refugees — Fort Jefferson counts as American soil for refuge purposes