The Architecture of St. Augustine

As we saw in an earlier posting, the City of St. Augustine dates back to 1565. However, the winter of 1883-1884 marked the renaissance for the city. This was when Henry M. Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil Co., visited the city and was impressed with the charm and possibilities of the area.

He recognized the state’s potential for growth but noticed a lack of hotel facilities. Flagler returned to Florida and in 1885 with an eye toward developing the area around St. Augustine and began building a grand hotel, the Hotel Ponce de Leon, Hotel Alcazar, the Memorial Church, schools, a hospital, and other buildings. He systematically revitalizing the largely abandoned historic city.

Flagler realized that the key to developing Florida was a solid transportation system and consequently purchased the Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Halifax Railroad. He also noticed that a major problem facing the existing Florida railway systems was that each operated on different gauge systems, making interconnection impossible. Shortly after purchasing the Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Halifax Railroad, he converted the line to standard gauge. Adding to these railroads, he created the Florida East Coast Railway Company. This railroad ultimately extended all the way to Key West.

Meriam and I hope these photographs of St. Augustine provide an impetus for you to visit this wonderful city!

P.S. Be sure to look at the last photograph. MB and I finally got a good, closeup look at a manatee!

The Ponce de Leon Hotel is now Flagler College. Flagler had all his buildings completed in the Spanish Renaissance style.

A view of the Ponce de Leon hotel from the Hotel Alcazar, just across the street.

One of the courtyards of the Ponce de Leon

The Memorial Church (Presbyterian)

The dome of the Memorial Church. This was the first building we saw in St. Augustine the morning we arrived in the city.

Why a photograph of smokestack? This smokestack is part of the power generating facility for the Ponce de Leon. When the hotel was completed in 1888, it was one of the first buildings in the country wired for electricity from the onset, with the power being supplied by DC generators installed by Flagler’s friend, Thomas Edison.

Check out the scale of this light fixture below

The domed entranceway to the Ponce de Leon. Louis Comfort Tiffany was the interior designer for the entire facility. Yes, the WHOLE building!

All the windows are by Tiffany.
Look closely at the carved wood against the marble tiling. The detail in the whole building is outstanding!
The ballroom of the hotel. Today it serves as the dining room for the college. During the day, musicians would play from this alcove.
One side of the dining room. Again, all glass is by Tiffany.
A view of the other half of the dining room. Can you imagine having your meals served here as an entering college freshman?
A view of the other half of the dining room. Can you imagine having your meals served here as an entering college freshman?
St. Augustine Architecture
St. George Street on a Saturday.
The old trees and hanging moss creates a serene feeling as one wanders the city.
This is the exterior of the Ponce de Leon’s ballroom.
The Gonzalez-Alvarez House, the oldest house in St. Augustine. Built in 1565 and now owned by the St. Augustine Historical Society, it is designated as a National Historic Landmark. Archaeology shows continuous occupancy from its early days to the present. Internally, one can see how the structure has changed and modified as British and Spanish alternating occupied the house.
A view of the old kitchen from the second floor.
As with the Castillo de San Marcos, many of the older homes were built with coquina stone. Since coquina is so porous, it had to be plastered. Also, because of its porous nature, nothing could be nailed or hung from the walls. So, notice how the utensil rack is hung from the ceiling rafters.
One of the many “publick houses” on St. George street.
As we were walking down St. George street, we heard some wonderful music. We stepped into the entrance of the Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine. This shrine is a living memorial to the first Greek settlers on the American continent. Discovery of these Greek immigrants further enhanced our amazement of the many nationalities which helped form early St. Augustine (and later America).

Great, old architecture on St. George street.

We had a pleasant lunch in this “room” of Hotel Alcazar. So what is so interesting about this photograph?  This “room” was actually the swimming pool of the Alcazar in its heyday. Below is a photograph of a newspaper clipping of that time! Notice how high the water comes up the apparent entrance ways.

No visit to St. Augustine would be complete without a visit to their storied beaches.

Manatee Poster

We finally got to get “up close and personal” with some manatees! Unfortunately, it was with a promotional brochure!

Posted in 2019 - Winter Florida
11 comments
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  • maoNo wonder it took you 5 days to see the city!  Gorgeous!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldThanks. So tell Don to load up the car and head out!ReplyCancel

  • David RayburnWhat great photography!ReplyCancel

    • HaroldThanks, David. It is definitely a city to visit more than once!ReplyCancel

  • Weldon W NASHThanks for the great photos. I love the Ponce de Leon and the church and the oldest building and… Gosh, I see a trip in the future! ReplyCancel

  • Peggy painterLoved these pics….what a history…thanks for letting us ride along.ReplyCancel

    • HaroldThanks, Peggy. It’s not often one can find a city in the US that is so beautiful and so steeped in history! ReplyCancel

  • Stacy MillsWhat a beautiful city to explore!  Makes me want to make a trip there.  The Tiffany glass is simply breathtaking.  Thanks so much for sharing!ReplyCancel

  • charles kempHarold and MB —–as usual, I am late with my comments, but I really enjoy your beautiful photos and interesting comments.  Margie and I are looking forward to seeing you at bridge    Charlie ReplyCancel

  • HaroldReplyCancel