The National Park Service celebrates 100th birthday
When Congress established the National Park Service in 1916, the Castillo de San Marcos was Fort Marion, and the U.S. Department of War had just started a major restoration of the badly deteriorated Fort Matanzas.
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order to transfer historic sites from the American Civil War to the National Park Service. They were previously managed by the War Department. With the executive order, St. Augustine's forts were turned over to the park service for oversight and management.
On Aug. 25, the National Park Service will celebrate 100 years as caretakers of some of America's most iconic national treasures including Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon as well as historic sites such as the Statue of Liberty, the White House and Gettysburg.
To help celebrate the occasion, the Castillo de San Marcos and other venues throughout St. Johns County have organized special events.
Here's a look at what's happening around town to recognize the park service and its employees for preserving our heritage.
Castillo de San Marcos
Built by the Spanish to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States and interprets more than 450 years of cultural intersections.
Fort Matanzas National Monument preserves the fortified Spanish watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine, and protects approximately 300 acres of Florida coastal environment.
Events at the Castillo
de San Marcos
Events around town
The Lightner Museum, in partnership with the National Park Service and St. Johns Cultural Council presents the final days of the special exhibit, America's Parks - Encore Exhibition.
The exhibit showcases artwork of many of the country's national parks, plus a special gallery of 17 plein air pieces created by local artists of the Castillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas.
Works in this exhibition represent parks in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Sonora (Mexico), Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The parks represented include Acadia National Park, Agua Caliente County Park, Antelope Island State Park, Buffalo National River, Canaveral National Seashore, Cape Cod National Seashore, Catalina State Park, Cherokee National Forest, Crater Lake National Park / Lithia Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, Estero Soladado Estuary, San Carlos, Everglades National Park, Festge County Park, Frenchtown Pond State Park, Glacier National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Great Basin National Park, Griffith Park, Klamath National Forest, Lowry Park Zoo, Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, Mustang Island State Park, North Cascades National Park, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Papago Park, Point Betsie Light Station, Rocky Mountain National Park, Sabino Canyon Recreation Area, Saguaro National Park, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, San Simeon Beach State Park, Silver Creek Preserve, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, TrinidadState Beach, Valley of Fire State Park, Van Saun County Park/Bergan County Zoological Park, Weir Farm National Historic Site, Yellowstone National Park and Zion National Park.
Free admission to the exhibit is available through the Café Alcazar entrances on Granada and Cordova streets.
The Lightner Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For information, go to lightnermuseum.org.
The Corazon Cinema Café will present a variety of short films about America's National Parks.
Film screenings will last approximately 1.5 hours and explore parks such as Yosemite, Big Cypress and Grand Teton National Parks.
Screenings will take place at 11:45 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 4 p.m. each day. For a full schedule, go tocorazoncinemaandcafe.com.
Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales, from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska - this documentary is nonetheless a story of people from every conceivable background.
Filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus and black-and-white photographer Clyde Butcher combine talents to produce a brilliant film about the more than 1 million acres of diverse protected wetlands in Southwest Florida. The documentary explores how the Big Cypress almost didn't happen and how the lands are currently managed in addition to showcasing stunning landscapes and the region's animal inhabitants.
The documentary explores Grand Teton National Park, which lies at the heart on an 18-million acre expanse called the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The park encompasses the imposing, craggy peaks of the Teton Range in all their wild splendor.
The film examines the foresight that propelled Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903), who brought nourishing green spaces to New York, Boston, Chicagoand dozens of other U.S. cities. The parks, he held, were to be vital democratic spaces in cities, where citizens from all walks of life could intermingle and be refreshed.
Directed by David Vassar,"Sprit of Yosemite" shows the magnificent scenery, natural history and cultural heritage of Yosemite National Park emphasizing the stunning vistas of Yosemite Valley, the Giant Sequoias, Tuolumne Meadows and the high Sierra.
A film that honors the 150th anniversary of the landmark act signed by Abraham Lincoln to preserve Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.
The World Golf Village IMAX Theater will screen "National Parks Adventure 3-D." National Park Rangers from several area parks will give talks prior to each screening.