page_title: Tarragona Tower
section_title: Structure’s Design and Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Tarragona Tower / Structure’s Design and Construction
caption_attribution_description: Randy Jaye, personal photograph
context_page_description: The structure is called the Tarragona Tower was designed by the Florida architect Elias F. De La Haye. It was built from local coquina rock of irregular shapes Approximately 4,000 cubic yards of coquina rock, 1,000 bags of cement mix, 1,800 feet of imported Spanish roofing tiles and imported Spanish flooring tiles were used in the construction. Its interior artwork is attributed to noted Volusia County, Florida artist Don J. Emery. The structure's design was inspired by an octagonal medieval tower and arches located in Tarragona, Spain. Its construction was completed in 1925 during the Florida Land Boom by prominent Volusia County builder Charles Ballough who often utilized native coquina rock in his projects. It originally had a double arch, one on each side of the tower which is 45 feet tall. The identical arches measure 40 feet high and are 150 feet in length and extend at forty-five degree angles from the central tower. The solid coquina rock walls vary in thickness from 18 inches up to 4 feet and include several narrow window openings of various sizes that are located at different levels around the structure.
context_section_description: The structure is called the Tarragona Tower (a.k.a. Tarragona Arch or Tarragona Castle) was designed by the Florida architect Elias F. De La Haye. It was built from local coquina rock of irregular shapes (all of the rock used was quarried from the nearby Tomoka quarry which was owned by Charles Ballough.) Approximately 4,000 cubic yards of coquina rock, 1,000 bags of cement mix, 1,800 feet of imported Spanish roofing tiles and imported Spanish flooring tiles were used in the construction. Its interior artwork is attributed to noted Volusia County, Florida artist Don J. Emery. The structure's design was inspired by an octagonal medieval tower and arches located in Tarragona, Spain. Its construction was completed in 1925 during the Florida Land Boom by prominent Volusia County builder Charles Ballough who often utilized native coquina rock in his projects. It originally had a double arch, one on each side of the tower which is 45 feet tall. The identical arches measure 40 feet high and are 150 feet in length and extend at forty-five degree angles from the central tower. The solid coquina rock walls vary in thickness from 18 inches up to 4 feet and include several narrow window openings of various sizes that are located at different levels around the structure. The 24 feet wide arches originally spanned across two streets: Tarragona Way and Volusia Avenue (now International Speedway Boulevard), and actually had motorized traffic driving underneath).
caption: East Side view of the Tarragona Tower
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