Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.

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"Christ of the Abyss" or "Christ of the Deep" is a 9-foot bronze statue of Jesus Christ anchored to a platform in about 25 feet of water at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The statue is a casting of the original "Il Cristo Degli Abissi" sculpted by Italian artist Guido Galletti in 1954 and placed in San Frottuoso Bay near Genoa, Italy. Egidio Cressi, an Italian industrialist and sport diver, commissioned the casting and presented it as a gift to the Underwater Society of America. U.S. Senator Spessard Holland of Florida volunteered John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park as a permanent home for the statue. On August 25, 1965, Cothon Construction Company of Islamorada lowered the statue into place. It was dedicated on June 29, 1966.
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is located on U.S. Highway 1 three miles north of Key Largo at mile marker 102.5. The park opened to the public in May 1963. This was the nation's first underwater park. John Pennekamp was a Miami newspaper editor who helped facilitate the establishment of both this park and Everglades National Park.

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Chicago Manual of Style
Christ of the Abyss at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. 1965. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/150085>, accessed 28 January 2023.
MLA
Christ of the Abyss at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. 1965. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 28 Jan. 2023.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/150085>
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