Beautiful St Augustine Florida

St. Augustine is called Florida's Historic Coast, where history truly comes alive.  We planned to stay in St. Augustine for two days, but liked the town so much we stayed a week, and even then we didn't want to leave.  If you have never visited this city, it is one we highly recommend.

St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European established settlement and port in the continental United States.  St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by Pedro Menendez de Aviles.  The city was busily preparing for the King and Queen of Spain to arrive and celebrate the 450 year celebration of the discovery of St Augustine.

We stayed at the city marina, which has a mooring ball field.  Blue Moon looking good in the center of the photo.

Our sunset view.

We rode the trolley around the town to get an overview of the sites and decide what we would see. The trolley is great because riders can get on and off as it stops around the city.

Avilles Street with quaint shops and restaurants.

Carriage rides are one transportation option on the narrow streets.

Bridge of Lions is located next to the City Marina.  The bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that connects downtown St Augustine to Anastasia Island.  A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span or leaf throughout its upward swing.  Bascule bridges are the most common type of movable span because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate.  Cars must wait patiently for boats to pass through.  

Live Oak trees line the street, located near the Fountain of Youth.  Ponce de Leon was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to what is now Florida in 1513, but we learned this may be a myth.  However, many tourists visit the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, still looking for that 'magical' water.  

 Walking tour of St George Street.

Oldest wooden school house.

We toured Castillo de San Marcos, a 17th century military fort, the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S.  Rangers wear period clothes and provide history of the fort.

Next stop St. Augustine Distillery and FP & L Ice Plant, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Built as part of St. Augustine's first power and ice complex in 1907, the Art Deco style building and its history make for an interesting tour.

The Memorial Presbyterian Church was built in 1889 by business tycoon Henry Flagler.  The church used a new building method of poured concrete mixed with coquina stone.  The church is beautiful and we enjoyed a memorable Easter service in this building.

The church is a Venetian Renaissance Revival style and is modeled after St. Marks in Venice, Italy. The church was completed in 1890.

This building is the original Hotel Alcazar, built by Henry Flagler.  It is no longer a hotel, but houses shops, restaurants, the Lightner Museum and the City of St. Augustine government offices.  I think I may apply for a job here, what a location!

The museum located in this building is a beautiful collection of 19th century life.  Henry Flagler collected artifacts ranging from button collections, glassware to musical instruments.

Buttons

Glassware

We had Easter lunch at the historic Cafe Alcazar, an elegant restaurant situated in the space that was originally the largest indoor swimming pool in the U.S.

Old photo showing the original swimming pool.

Henry Flagler, millionaire developer and Standard Oil co-founder, built the Ponce De Leon hotel in 1888, an exclusive hotel in St Augustine.  Guests had to agree to stay four months.  Noted
personalities who stayed included Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Somerseet Maugham, Babe Ruth and Babe Didrikson.

The hotel is now Flagler College, a liberal arts school with a new degree program in Piracy.  The students certainly have beautiful buildings and campus.

This is the dining hall of the hotel and now serves as the dining hall for the students.  The glass was made by Tiffany at the beginning of his career.  There are 79 of Tiffany's distinctive stained glass windows throughout the Ponce, the largest collection of Tiffany stained glass windows in their original location in the world.

Also unique, unheard of at the time, was the use of electricity in the hotel.  The Ponce employed Edison Electric Light Co. dynamos.  Four boilers fed by eight tons of coal a day produced the steam needed to drive the direct current dynamos that lit up the Ponce.

Highway A1A connects Key West, FL and runs along the eastern coast to Fernandina Beach just south of Georgia on Amelia Island.  It is the main road through most oceanfront towns and is a Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway.

King enjoying lunch at A1A Ale Works.

St. Augustine Beach

We enjoyed an afternoon at the white sand beach.

Easter Parade, with fort in background.

Sunset from St Augustine Mooring Field

Bridge of Lions is opening for boats to pass.

Sadly, we said good-bye to our time in St. Augustine.