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All the United States Florida Sarasota The Last Defense of Fort Juan Ortiz

The Last Defense of Fort Juan Ortiz

A lone gunner's station is all that remains of a replica Spanish Fort in Florida.

Sarasota, Florida

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burkecalderon
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Outside view.   burkecalderon / Atlas Obscura User
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The Last Defense of Fort Juan Ortiz   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Originally built as a tourist attraction, the replica military installation known as Fort Juan Ortiz was once an impressive arms museum but after its close and subsequent dissolution, all that remains is a solitary gunner's position that still stands in defense of nothing.  

Built in Sarasota, Florida circa 1948, the fake fort was the brainchild of local leader Karl Bickel, who constructed his historical weapons park adjacent to the Municipal Auditorium. Fort Juan Ortiz, named after famed Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto's translator, was built with a breastwork and cannon facing out into the bay. In addition to a number of cannons and assorted pieces of artillery, the museum also contained a fighter plane, and a historic French railway car.  

The fort/weapons park operated for decades before falling out of favor and fading into obscurity. The famous French railcar fell victim to rampant graffiti, and the breastwork and cannon have long since been removed, most likely in the 1970's when the nearby Auditorium was remodeled, leaving a lone gunner's bunker as the only reminder of the fort's bygone days. The domed stucco tower continues to defend naught but memories. 

Update July 2018: It seems that the tower has not been completely abandoned, as it looks to have recently been repainted.

Related Tags

Fortresses Abandoned Military History Forts Military

Know Before You Go

It's ehind the Municipal Auditorium along Van Wezel Way.

Community Contributors

Added By

burkecalderon

Edited By

Thewanderingmeatball, bfalzarine95, Collector of Experiences, mocchiatto...

  • Thewanderingmeatball
  • bfalzarine95
  • Collector of Experiences
  • mocchiatto
  • blimpcaptain
  • Jayhook

Published

September 3, 2014

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Sources
  • https://www.thebaysarasota.org/timely-topics/one-natives-view/
  • http://books.google.com/books?id=qaSUu4chClAC&lpg=PA60&ots=k63J8uHtIm&dq=%22karl%20Bickel%22%20sarasota%20cannons&pg=PA60#v=onepage&q=%22karl%20Bickel%22%20sarasota%20cannons&f=false
  • http://www.sarasotahistoryalive.com/stories/journals-of-yesteryear/spanish-fort-once-stood-behind-municipal-auditorium/
The Last Defense of Fort Juan Ortiz
801 North Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, Florida, 34236
United States
27.343298, -82.547538
Get Directions

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