St. Augustine – The charm of Europe on the coast of Florida
// April 5th, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Travel, U.S.A.
First of all, I’d like to apologize to all of you for neglecting my blog for the past few months. I don’t have any excuse so I’ll just hope that you’ll forgive me 
This is the first time I have visited St. Augustine, the oldest town in the United States of America and frankly, the beauty and the spirit of this place is overwhelming. It’s a real tourist attraction with crowded streets so for those of you fishing for some nice shots of the old town (without the tourists), I warmly recommend to arrive early in the morning to take advantage of empty streets.
One thing you don’t want to do in this town is to drive in it. There is too much congestion.
The Castillo de San Marcos forth. The Castillo is a masonry star fort made of a stone called "coquina", literally "little shells", made of ancient shells that have bonded together to form a type of stone similar to limestone. Workers were brought in from Havana, Cuba, to construct the fort.
Something about the history
The mainland of the North American continent was first sighted by the Spanish explorer and treasure hunter Don Juan Ponce de Leon on Easter, March 27, 1513. He claimed the land for Spain and named it La Florida, meaning “Land of Flowers”. Between 1513 and 1563 the government of Spain launched six expeditions to settle Florida, but all failed. The French succeeded in establishing a fort and colony on the St. Johns River in 1564 and, in doing so, threatened Spain’s treasure fleets which sailed along Florida’s shoreline returning to Spain. As a result of this incursion into Florida, King Phillip II named Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spain’s most experienced admiral, as governor of Florida, instructing him to explore and to colonize the territory. Menendez was also instructed to drive out any pirates or settlers from other nations, should they be found there.
When Menendez arrived off the coast of Florida, it was August 28, 1565, the Feast Day of St. Augustine. Eleven days later, he and his 600 soldiers and settlers came ashore at the site of the Timucuan Indian village of Seloy with banners flying and trumpets sounding. He hastily fortified the fledgling village and named it St. Augustine.
Utilizing brilliant military maneuvers, Menendez destroyed the French garrison on the St. Johns River and, with the help of a hurricane, also defeated the French fleet. With the coast of Florida firmly in Spanish hands, he then set to work building the town, establishing missions to the Indians for the Church, and exploring the land.
Thus, St. Augustine was founded forty-two years before the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts – making it the oldest permanent European settlement on the North American continent.
After the British established colonies in Georgia and the Carolinas, Spain authorized the building of a stone fort to protect St. Augustine as assaults from the north became more frequent. The Castillo de San Marcos took twenty-three years to build but, once in place, stood as the town’s stalwart defender. Major attacks were made against her in 1702 by Governor James Moore of South Carolina and in 1740 by General James Oglethorpe of Georgia. Neither siege was successful however, and to this day, the fort has never fallen to enemy attack.
It was not until 1763 that Spain ceded Florida to England in order to regain the capital of Cuba, ushering in twenty years of British rule in Florida. This period coincided with the American Revolution, during which Florida remained loyal to the Crown. In 1783, under the Treaty of Paris, Florida was returned to Spanish rule for a period of thirty-seven years. The Spanish departed for the last time when Spain sold Florida to the United States of America. At a colorful military ceremony on July 10, 1821, US troops took possession of the territory and Spain relinquished control of Florida forever.
The Henry Flagler era
The arrival of Henry Flagler in 1885 marked the beginning of a golden era for St. Augustine that extended through 1914. Enticed by the city’s temperate climate and unique ambiance, Flagler saw great potential for St. Augustine as a popular winter resort and playground for rich Northerners. a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller, he immediately put his vast fortune to work building his dream. He constructed two lavish hotels, the beautiful Alcazar, and his masterpiece-the Ponce de Leon.
These hotels allowed St. Augustine to accommodate the wealthiest of travelers with luxurious lodgings and a fine array of leisure activities. His Florida East Coast Railway ensured a transportation link between New York and St. Augustine, and he built a two-story depot to properly receive arriving guests. Flagler was also responsible for building the town’s hospital, city hall, and several churches. Flagler expanded his dream south toward Palm Beach when he moved there in the early 1900’s, but had given St. Augustine an era of prestige and prosperity – the effects of which are still evident today.
One of the "Living History Volunteers" who helps make the past come alive at the Castillo. Dressing in a variety of period uniforms they assist in informal talks, crafts demonstrations, living history events and historic weapons firing demonstrations.
The Crucial Coffee house was built in late 17th century. They offer some delicious gourmet coffee in 32 different flavors.
The Ponce de León Hotel was built 1885-87 for Henry Flagher. Of all the Flagler Hotels, it was only one of three which survived the Great Depression. It has since become part of Flagler College.
The Old Drug Store was built on an old Indian burial ground.
the González-Alvarez House is the oldest surviving Spanish Colonial dwelling in Florida. The site has been occupied since the 1600s and the present house dates to the early 1700s. The visitors can see how people faced the challenges of living in pre-electricity era with no windows, being exposed to all kinds of insects.
Cathedral of St. Augustine. this church was originally founded in 1565 and was razed time and time again, mostly by pirates, until the final Spanish Colonial Renaissance style structure was built in 1797 and reconstructed in the late 1880's. The church is made of native coquina stone and features an impressive steeple donated by railroad magnate Henry Flagler.
St. Francis Barracks. The Florida National Guard headquarters is named after the gentlest of all Christian saints, St. Francis of Assisi.
Grace United Methodist Church, built in 1887
Ancient City Baptist Church from 1897
Flagler's Memorial Presbyterian Church. Both Flagler and his wife are buried here. Flagler wanted to get the church built in less than a year. The contractor didn't think it is possible, so he hired 1000 men and paid them triple the going wage ($1.50/day) and the project was completed in 353 days.
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés statue in front of the Lightner Museum of antiquities.
The historic district of St. Augustine
Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park. This tourist attraction was created by Luella Day McConnell in 1904.
The spring was discovered in 1513 and was recorded a landmark in a Spanish Grant. They were out of bottles during my visit so they had these cups filled with water from the fountain. If you wonder how it tasted, well, like water
These two cannons and the below anchor was salvaged off the coast of Cape Canaveral and are believed to have been from Jean Ribault's ill-fated French fleet which went down during the hurricane in 1565. They were on the way to destroy the Spanish attempt to found St. Augustine under Pedro Menendez De Aviles. The French survivors were massacred at Matanzas Inlet located 27 kilometers south of St. Augustine.
By Robert Browning, a Victorian Poet... in our century, these words have been set by a number of composers, John Lennon is perhaps the best known.
The 444 years old anchor!
Don Juan Ponce de Leon statue in Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park
Chief Oriba was a chieftan of the Timucuan indian village located on these grounds when Ponce De Leaon landed here in 1513. Chief oriba was a very tall man (over2 meters) and had a great influence on the relationship between the Spanish and Indians.
The Magnolia Avenue is listed by National geographic society as a top ten most beautiful avenues in USA. The moss from the trees was used by Spanish for bed mattresses as a cushion. They had to boil it first before using because the mass is a home of a microscopic biting insect called the “red bug”. Henry Ford didn’t know about the red bugs when he was stuffing the moss into the car seats and he didn’t boil it first. That resulted in America’s first automotive recall.
The old jail was built in 1891 by the same people that built the famous Alcatraz and it was functioned as a county prison until 1953. It was a hanging jail where at least 8 people were executed – legally! About 90% of the interior remained intact until today. The citizens of St. Augustine refuse to go to the Old Jail. They say it has too much paranormal activity.
A tour guide
To the left is the authentic replica of the orriginal hanger (right) but the tree is the same tree!
