Archive for August 15th, 2014

History|Tech: San Jacinto Monument’s Earth Cam

Friday, August 15th, 2014

San Jacinto Monument

San Jacinto Monument



This is Passport to Texas

Mounted 540 feet in the air, just below the 220 ton stone star on the San Jacinto monument in La Porte, an earth cam keeps 24 hour vigil over the battlegrounds. But it’s not the only monument with an eye in the sky.

17— There’s an earth cam at the Washington monument, there’s an earth cam at Mount Rushmore; there’s an earth cam on the Empire State building. As a matter of fact, there are about 50 earth cams in Texas, and by the time we get done with this conversation, there might be 51.

Larry Spasic (SPA-sick) is president of the San Jacinto Museum of History. Will virtual visitation keep people from actually visiting?

21— Although we give a little sampling of what’s out here, we certainly don’t show everything that is available out here. And I think when people who might not normally be interested in coming out here, go to our web cam and look out at the battlefield and the port – they might be enticed to come out here.

Nevertheless, Larry Spasic says logging onto the earth cam on the San Jacinto monument is the next best thing to being there.

16— Well, I think it’s very important that people from distant places that might not be able to visit a site, at least be able to see it and learn a little but about it by having an internet connection and virtually visit via earth cam.

Find a link to the earth cam at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show for today…Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.