Castle Otttis by TwoPynts

Photography • Architecture • posted on Oct 12, 2005

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Description

"There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds." --Gilbert Keith Chesterton

We continue our tour of the St. Augustine area with this odd sight. Driving north on A1A by Vilano Beach, you pass what looks like a King Aurthur-style castle rising above the windswept trees. What you are seeing is Castle Otttis . Why 3 T's? Well, according to the locals, it is to represent the 3 crosses on Calvary Hill where Christ was crucified. I suspect it might also be for the castle's 3 turrets. It was built in 1980 by Rusty Ickes and Ottis Sadler with plans and supposedly without a permit (according to the local paper). The county appraiser had a problem trying to figure out how to classify the structure, and it was finally listed as a garage because the interior was not finished and there were no utilities. The castle now serves as a chapel and is open one Sunday each month. Castle Otttis is featured in the book, Strange Florida. The next time I am in the area, I will hopefully be able to get onto the grounds for more neat pictures like the ones you see at their website. Some interest was expressed in the 3 pyramids you see in my gallery upload yesterday in the bottom photo. In 1842, the US Army relocated the remains of 1,400 soldiers from temporary burial sites all over the territory to St. Augustine for internment in 3 mass graves. Three big pyramids were constructed from coquina rock to mark the graves. In 1885, The St. Augustine Post cemetery was officially designated a national cemetery. A tall obelisk memorial was erected at the site of the pyramids to honor the deceased soldiers and native American scouts of the Seminole wars. The US government would not provide funds for the memorial, so it was paid for by each soldier in St. Augustine donating one day's pay. At 1.36 acres, St. Augustine's National Cemetery is one of the smallest in the country. ----- Thanks for stopping by and for your grave comments on yesterday's photo, St. Augustine National Cemetery.

----- Olympus C8080WZ & PhotoshopCS. (457)

Comments (50)

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kimariehere

7:22PM | Wed, 12 October 2005

i am speechless. rare for me. .... exceptional. Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! V!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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sharky_

10:29PM | Wed, 12 October 2005

Beautiful effects..........This image sure looks alive. Excellent. V Aloha

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grrrduhbear

1:08AM | Thu, 13 October 2005

If rules are made to be broken then there must be only good happening . I like this effect you do , very nicely done~~~~GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

hauksdottir

10:20AM | Thu, 13 October 2005

The appraiser listed it as a garage? Stupid! Somebody bought him off. There are lots of structures which don't have utilities... for comparison... and most garages DO have utilities (plumbing and electrical). Since it was built without permit, it is especially painful. Meanwhile, the photo is enchanting.

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clifftoppler

8:40PM | Thu, 13 October 2005

Yes, the infrared treatment makes it an exceptional image. But a garage! They've certainly got imagination down there. An open air stadium might better suit this interpretation for applause is its right. Cliff.

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rayburg

11:20PM | Thu, 13 October 2005

This is where the infrared really works well. Bet it was awesome in color also..

cynlee

1:06AM | Fri, 14 October 2005

this looks fantastic kort! :]

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Chaos911

10:29AM | Fri, 14 October 2005

wow, fantastic work, i like this alot!!!

tvernuccio

11:21AM | Fri, 14 October 2005

This is STUNNING! looks quite surreal! I really enjoy looking at this!!! did you take this image in infrared or was it an IR filter that was applied in postwork? Either way, i LOVE it!!! Excellent photography!!!

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Lledeline

3:56PM | Fri, 14 October 2005

Well done.

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pm_hackworth

9:18PM | Fri, 14 October 2005

OMG! I'm glad I went back to check out what all I had missed of my favorite artists! I would have boo-hoo'd had I found out I missed out on this one! VOTE

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sossy

10:24AM | Sat, 15 October 2005

GORGEOUS and AMAZING! very moody and impressive! a breathtaking strong architecture against a mystical sky! wow wow wow! ;o)

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Punaguy

1:23PM | Sat, 15 October 2005

Man your PW rocks on this one...what a grand view, just jumps off the page...thanks for the interesting info! Aloha!

fixbrknhearts

9:04AM | Sun, 16 October 2005

This is an awesome photo. I love IR effects...makes it more moodier. Thanks for sharing the history and the links with us too. Makes it more enjoyable.

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