Work Camp at María, Coiba Island
ID: SIA2009-4282 and Wetmore Negative # 6084
Creator: Wetmore, Alexander 1886-
Form/Genre: Photographic print
Date: January 24,1956
Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, Album: Panama and Coiba, 1956
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.Summary
Looking across the water is the work camp at María, Coiba Island, Panama, on January 24, 1956. The work camp consists of several buildings as seen in the center of the image. The palm tree-lined shore, water, and sky are visible in this landscape. Coiba Island is off the southwest coast of Panama. The image was taken by Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore while on a scientific expedition to Coiba Island, Panama to study birds.
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
- Image contained in a photo album prepared by Alexander Wetmore of his trip to Panama and Coiba Island. Wetmore Neg. # 6084.
- From 1919 to 1991, Coiba Island, Panama, was a penal colony. Fear of the prison and its inmates deterred visitors from the island; thus some 80% of the natural areas on the island remain undisturbed. The island is also host to many endemic species. Both of these factors made the island ideal for Smithsonian Secretary Alexander Wetmore's scientific expedition to study birds. The officers and convicts pictured in Wetmore's images from the expedition were part of the penal colony. Some even worked as laborers for the expedition. Today, the island is no longer a penal colony. Instead, it is one of 38 islands composing Coiba Island National Park, a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage site.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, Album: Panama and Coiba, 1956
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
January 24,1956
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Correctional institutions
- Scientific expeditions
- Landscapes
- Architecture
- Camp sites, facilities, etc
- Reformatories
- Beaches
- Islands
- Penal colonies
- Buildings--Panama
Place
- Panama
- Coiba Island (Panama)
- Pacific Ocean
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Landscape
ID Number
SIA2009-4282 and Wetmore Negative # 6084
Physical description
Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 4.75w x 4.5h; Type of Image: Landscape; Medium: Photographic print