Here are a few pics I took at Fort De Soto Park in Florida.
Fort De Soto is a military fort that was built during the Spanish Civil War. It is located in Fort De Soto Park which overlooks the entrance to Tampa Bay. The mortar guns were poised to protect from invasion by Spanish Ships.
The fort itself is a concrete structure covered in foliage. Very nondescript and from the water it is camouflaged by bushes and weeds that grow on the berm soil. Photographically, the details are what are appealing. The texture and color of concrete and metal from an age long ago.
The mortar placements are in the backside of the fort. Two guns in two u-shape concrete sections. Mortars are designed to shoot up in the air and come crashing down from above into the deck of an enemy ship. The force of gravity and uncertainty of where it is coming from makes mortars very effective weapons.
There is also an observation platform that runs along the top where people can walk up the stairs and look at the Gulf of Mexico and the beach on the water's edge.
For us modern visitors, Fort De Soto State Park has some of the best beaches in Florida. Fishing piers and picnic areas. And the beaches have no condos or hotels. It really is a peek of old Florida in it's natural state.