Cache is not at the posted coordinates but is nearby. Cache requires a quick field puzzle (at the bottom of the description). Greenbury Point is open to the public from sunrise to sunset—but only when there are no Navy firearms or other training events underway. Be sure to check @NSAAnnapolis on Twitter before you go. (Many thanks to Gene_Hunter for this note!)
From 1905 to 1975, historic Isherwood Hall and its sister buildings, Griffin (1918) and Melville (1937) Halls, served as the home of the Engineering Departments at the US Naval Academy. A Washington Elm tree -- a seedling from the tree in Massachusetts where General Washington rallied his troops -- was planted nearby in 1932.
Aerial view of USNA, 1979
Isherwood, designed by Beaux-Arts architect Ernest Flagg, was less ornate than other Flagg buildings on The Yard (which he modeled on Les Invalides in Paris), but was nonetheless adorned with two massive granite crests.
Above: Isherwood Hall, built 1905
One crest was later moved to Griffin Hall when its construction impacted the original placement.
Ultimately, the Isherwood complex and the Washington Elm were all demolished in 1982 to make room for Alumni Hall. Both granite crests were saved: one was repurposed as the centerpiece of the Class of 1950 Plaza located at the entrance of Gate 1 of the Academy, while the second lies derelict to this day.
This quick field puzzle requires you to visit the cache coordinates. Count the number of blocks with carved stone for Z. Only count stones that used to be part of the crest. Include the subsequent damage.
| N 38 59.XXX |
W 076 27.0YY |
| 288 - Z = XXX |
18 + Z = 0YY |
Checksum for XXX= 17
Congrats to Cyndercelt and TheWoodenRadio on FTF!
Digitized photographs from the Naval Academy Photograph Collection, Building and Grounds subgroup, Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library