Florida - St. Augustine, Marine Studios, Marineland Dolphin Adventure

A Porpoise at Marine Studios (now called Marineland Dolphin Adventure) in St. Augustine, Florida. 

 

Florida - St. Augustine, Bridge of Lions

The Bridge of Lions, built in 1926 crosses the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine, Florida.

Photos by Rindy Nyberg
2009

Florida - St. Augustine, Oldest Shoolhouse in USA (Two Postcards)

Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse in the United States, St. Augustine, Florida.  Constructed of cypress and red cedar, this building was put together with wooden pegs.  This ancient building also served as a dwelling for the schoolmaster and his family.

Photographed in Natural color by Gene Aiken.
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The Oldest School House, St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida

The Oldest City in the United States

The Oldest wooden School House, under three flags stands on quaint Old St. George Street just within the Old City Gates.  As evidence a Spanish map of 1788 shows this red cedar house "in fair condition". It has been used in recent exhibition as contrast to the most modern types of school architecture.

Florida - St. Augustine - Oldest Wooden School House

Oldest Wooden School House
14 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Fl

This building is the oldest wooden structure of its era in St. Augustine, being made of cedar and cypress.  The interior has been restored with animated figures of the teacher and pupils, rare school-books, slates and slate pencils, and old maps.

Photo by Bob Braun
John Hinde Curteich postcard
2009

Florida - St. Augustine - Castillo De San Marcos

St. Augustine - Florida

The Castillo De San Marcos was originally surrounded by a moat flooded with tidal waters controlled by gates in the seawall.

Photography by Nancy Hovater

2009

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Castillo De San Marcos National Monument
St. Augustine, Florida

Castillo De San Marcos National Monument is where our earliest defense weapon still stands inside the fort.

Photo by Bob Braun
John Hinde Curteich postcard
2009

Florida - St. Augustine, Presbyterian Church

The Memorial Presbyterian Church
St. Augustine, Florida

Built in 1889 by Henry M. Flagler in memory of his beloved daughter.

Photo: Bob Braun
Joh Hinde Curteich postcard
2009

Florida - St. Augustine, Castillo De San Marcos,

St. Augustine, Florida
Castillo de San Marcos

The fort was built by the Spanish to protect St. Augustine from English expansion.  Construction started in 1672 making it the oldest masonry fortification in the United States.

Photos by Jackie Hird and John Cipriani
2002

Florida - St. Augustine, Flags and Castillo de San Marcos

Flags Flown Over St. Augustine, Florida

1565-1763 - 1st Spanish
1763-1784 - British Period
1784-1821 - 2nd Spanish
1861-1862 - Confederacy
1821-Present - United States

These photos are the Castillo de San Marcos at sunrise and an aerial view.  The fort was built by the Spanish to protect St. Augustine from English expansion.  Construction started in 1672 making it the oldest masonry fortification in the United States.  It stands today as a symbol of Spain's early colonization of our country.

Photos by Henry E. Hird III
2008

Florida - St. Augustine, Memorial Church

Memorial Church, St. Augustine, Florida

Memorial Church erected by Mr. Henry M. Flagler, Sacred to the memory of his Daughter, and tomb in left hand corner to contain the remains of Florida's grandest Citizens and greatest benefactors and of his immediate family, and gateway to "Kirkside" - Mr. Flagler's residence.

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Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American tycoon, real estate promoter, railroad developer and partner of John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil. He was a key figure in the development of the eastern coast of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean and was founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami, Florida and also founded Palm Beach, Florida.

Florida - St. Augustine, The Lightner Museum of Hobbies

The Lightner Museum of Hobbies, St. Augustine, Florida

The Lightner Museum of Hobbies, the only one of its kind in the world.  Gift of O.C. Lightner, publisher of Hobbies Magazine, Chicago, Illinois, to the City of St. Augustine.

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Born July 2, 1887 in Norwich, Kansas, Lightner was known as a "newspaper doctor," reviving many failing papers across the country. He founded the Lightner Publishing Company in Chicago and created Hobbies magazine, a national magazine for collectors. He promoted the idea that everyone could have a hobby and be a collector of "something" even if they had little money.

Lightner bought most of his own "collection of collections" from large Chicago estates forced to sell during the economic depression of the 1930s and 1940s. Lightner housed his collection in two Michigan Avenue mansions, opening a museum devoted to America's "Gilded Age," the 1890s. As the neighborhood around the mansions declined, Lightner began to seek a new location for his museum.

During a recuperative stay in Florida at the Ponce de Leon, he saw the Hotel Alcazar. Lightner purchased the building for $150,000 and put the building in trust to the City of St. Augustine. Although much of his collection was damaged or stolen in its move from Chicago, the Lightner Museum of Hobbies opened its doors in St. Augustine in 1948.

Tours:
HOURS
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., daily
Last Admission: 4:00 p.m.
(closed Christmas Day)

Florida - St. Augustine - Flagler Memorial Church

Flagler Memorial Church
Valencia and Sevilla Streets
Saint Augustine, Florida

Prsbyerian
Henry M. Flagler, great "empire builder" of Florida, erected this inspiring example of Venetian renaissance architecture in 1889 as a memorial to his daughter.  Flagler and members of his family lie in the mausoleum of Italian marble.  The church has one of the finest pipe organs in the country.  Open every day; visitors welcome.

Florida - St. Augustine Fountain of Youth

After Visiting the Fountain of Youth.
This is How I Feel
St. Augustine, Florida

Florida, land of sunshine, is the Winter Playground of the nation.  Every known form of outdoor pleasuring is pursued without the necessity of considering winter conditions - for winter skies are always smiling and December breezes are as balmy as May.

Florida - St. Augustine, Oldest House Multiview

Oldest House, St. Augustine, Florida
The Oldest House, at 14 St. Francis Street is a National Historic Landmark documented from 1727.  Owned and operated by the St. Augustine Historical Society, a not-for-profit organization.  Open Daily 9 am to 5 pm.  Admission includes Oldest House, 2 Museums, Museum Store, picnic area and gardens.
2013

Florida - St. Augustine Lighthouse (Two Postcards)

St. Augustine Lighthouse, Florida

Construction of the current brick lighthouse was completed in 1874, to replace an earlier wooden structure.  The lighthouse is165' tall with 219 steps up 8 flights of spiral staircase to a breathtaking panoramic view of historic downtown St. Augustine and beautiful St. Augustine Beach.  Its bold black and white stripes with a red top is St. Augustine's distinguishing navigational daymark.

May visitors have visited the top of  the lighthouse, while others wait patiently below - as shown in this 1875 woodcut.

The back reads:
St. Augustine, Florida
Lighthouse and Maritime Museum

Built in 1874 of brick and iron at a  cost of $100,000.  The lighthouse on Anastasia Island is 165 ft with 8 flights of spiral staircase.  Tower is open for tours and Lightkeeper's' House is a Maritime Museum.
2013
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St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine Lighthouse

Built in 1874 of brick and iron at a cost of $100,000.  The lighthouse on Anastasia Island is 165 ft high with 8 flights of spiral staircase.  Its bold black and white stripes serve as daylight landmark.  Tower is open for tours and Lightkeeper's House is a Maritime Museum.
2008

Florida - St. Augustine, Municipal Dock, Bridge of Lions, and Atlantic Ocean

Municipal Dock, Bridge of Lions and the Atlantic Ocean, St. Augustine, Florida

Viewed from any point, the Municipal Dock, Bridge of Lions and the Atlantic Ocean combine an unequalled picture.  Many north and south bound yachts traveling by the coastal waterways, stop at the Municipal Dock to take advantage of its many conveniences.

Florida - St. Augustine, Hotel Ponce De Leon

Hotel Ponce De Leon,
St. Augustine, Florida - 88k

Spanish dignity and grandeur is reflected in the architecture of beautiful Ponce de Leon Hotel, world-famous for its beauty of design and its artistic and expensive interior decorations.  This hotel was built in 1885 - 87 of coquina and concrete.