The fortress was constructed of 400,000 blocks of coquina shell rock that was quarried from Anastasia Island across the Matanzas River (Wiggins). Coquina, which means "little shell" is actually shellfish that died long ago and their shells have now become bonded together to from the stone (Castillo). Coquina was chosen was chosen for the fabric of the walls because it was easily shaped by the castle's artisans and did not succumb to cannon fire (Waite). But perhaps more importantly, it was a local stone that could easily be quarried

The large-scale construction was undertaken by European-trained engineers and experienced "maestros de obras," masters of construction, trained in apprenticeships in Cuba (Waite). Author Elsbeth Gordon writes, "They worked stone into neat building blocks, steps, pilasters, and fluted columns with Doric and Ionic capitals" (Waite).

According to Gordon, workers erected "pier arches, half-round domes, stepped and curved gables, belfries, and neoclassic portals. They taught apprentice limemakers and plasterers to make and weatherproof the buildings with plaster, stucco, and limewash" (Waite).

The first phase of the massive stone fort was completed in August 1695, and included a twenty-foot high wall, surrounded by a forty-foot wide moat, loomed over the Atlantic Coast (Waite). The fort is built along a square plan, equally strong on all sides, and has a four-sided bastion at each corner (Waite). The shape of the bastions, which are key architectural elements,

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Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)