Professional Documents
Culture Documents
St. Augustine and St. Johns County by William R. Adams
St. Augustine and St. Johns County by William R. Adams
A Historical Guide
S t . Jo h n s C o u n t y
Author William (Bill) Adams received
his Ph.D. in history at Florida State
University and currently serves as dir-
and
ector of the Department of Heritage
Tourism for the City of St. Augustine.
He has taught history at FSU and
A H i st o r i c a l G u i de
served as executive director of the
Florida Bicentennial Commission.
William R. Adams
Justin Itnyre
William R. Adams
Title page photograph courtesy of the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, & The Beaches Visitors &
Convention Bureau (VCB).
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First Edition
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Area One—N o r t h C o lo n ia l C i ty 12
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument 14
Visitor Information Center 15
Colonial City Historic District 16
Restoration Area 17
Cubo Line of Defense 18
City Gate 19
Public Burying Ground (Huguenot Cemetery) 20
Genopoly House (“Oldest Schoolhouse”) 21
Avero House (St. Photios Shrine) 22
de Mesa Sánchez House 23
Rodríguez-Avero-Sánchez House 24
Paredes-Dodge House 25
Peña-Peck House 26
Government House 27
Colonial Town Plaza (Plaza de la Constitución) 28
Constitution Monument (Monumento de la Constitución) 29
Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine 30
Exchange Bank Building 31
Trinity Episcopal Church 32
Bridge of Lions 33
Area Two— S o u t h o f t h e P l a z a 34
Seguí–Kirby Smith House 36
Ximenez-Fatio House 37
González-Alvarez House (“Oldest House”) 38
Tovar House 39
St. Francis Barracks 40
National Cemetery 41
Fernández-Llambias House 42
O’Reilly House 43
Col. Upham Cottage 44
Bronson Cottage 45
Prince Murat House 46
Canova House 47
Palm Row 48
Lincolnville Historic District 49
St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church 50
St. Benedict the Moor Church 51
Area Three— W e st o f t h e C o l o n i al C i ty 52
Alcazar Hotel 54
Lightner Musuem 55
Casa Monica Hotel 56
Ponce de Leon Hotel (Flagler College) 57
Villa Zorayda (Zorayda Castle) 58
Xavier Lopez House 59
Markland 60
Solla-Carcaba Cigar Factory 61
Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church 62
Ingraham House (Presbyterian Manse) 63
Model Land Company Historic District 64
Ancient City Baptist Church 65
Grace United Methodist Church 66
Tolomato Cemetery 67
I ndex 10 8
V CB
9
Spanish accents have been retained where they are historically justified. If
the Spanish name or word has been anglicized (such as the name of nineteenth-
century soldier and politician Joseph Hernandez), the accent is not applied. Where
a date cannot be precisely set, the abbreviation of the Latin preposition circa (ca.),
meaning “about,” is used.
Readers should understand the distinction between the often-used terms
“restored” and “reconstructed.” A restored building is a standing structure that has
been accurately rehabilitated to resemble its appearance at some point in its historic
past. A reconstructed building is one that has been built from the ground up to look
like a building that once stood on the same ground at a previous time.
For this publication, we have divided St. Johns County into discrete areas
and organized the historic places within each in a geographically sequential fashion
that will facilitate travel from one to another.
11
49
PONCE
PINE
CO
MAR
A r e a48One
W AT E R
SAN
CA
N o rth Colonial City
GROV
E
S T I L LO SHENENDOA
H
RESTORATION
2 AREA (gray box)
4
RIA
ORAN
GE 7
5 1
RIBE
6
O VA
8
43
CO R D
11 9
37 12 10
ERA 40 42 CUNA
Z
39
M ATA N Z A S
NENDE
H Y P O L I TA
CIA
RIVER
38 41
OT T E
RGE
A ME
S T. G E O
SEVILLA
CHARL
13
AV E N I
34
C AT H E
31 D R A L17
18
KING KING
14 16
32 29 15
5 33 30 19
A
20
GRANAD
AV I L E S
AV E N ID A E N E N D E Z
BRIDGE
M
19
20
I N G TO N
LU T H E R
21
ARINE
24 12
36
23
1 Cas ti l l o d e S a n M a r c o s N a ti on a l M o n u m en t 14
2 Vi s i tor I n f o r m a t io n C e n te r 15
3 Col oni a l C it y H ist o r ic D i s tri c t 16
4 Res torat io n A r e a 17
5 Cubo Lin e o f D e f e n se 18
6 Ci ty Gat e 19
7 Publ i c B u r yin g G r o u n d (H u g u e n o t C e m ete ry ) 20
8 Genopo ly H o u se ( “ O ld es t Sc h o o l ho u s e ” ) 21
9 Av ero H o u se ( S t . P h o t io s Sh ri ne ) 22
1 0 de Mes a S á n c h e z H o u s e 23
1 1 Rodrí gu e z- Ave r o - S á n c he z H o u s e 24
1 2 Parede s- D o d g e H o u se 25
1 3 Peña-P e c k H o u se 26
1 4 Gov ern m e n t H o u se 27
1 5 Coloni a l To w n P l a z a
(Pl aza d e la C o n st it uc i ón ) 28
1 6 Consti t u t i o n M o n u m e n t
(Monu m e n t o d e la C on s ti tuc i ón) 29
1 7 Cathedr a l B a silic a o f St. A u g u s ti ne 30
1 8 Exchan g e B a n k B u ild i ng 31
1 9 Tri ni ty E p isc o p a l C h u r c h 32
2 0 Bri dge o f Lio n s 33
13
Cas ti l l o de S a n M a r c o s 1672–1695
Location
On the waterfront, along U.S. A1A near its intersection with Orange Street
Visitor information
Maintained by the U.S. National Park Service and open daily to visitors. Plan your
visit before 4:00 p.m. Parking at the site is limited. Ample parking is available at the
City’s Visitor Information Center parking facility, less than a block away. Guardrooms
surrounding the interior courtyard of the Castillo contain exhibits and a gift store.
History
Construction of
the Castillo de San
Marcos began in
1672, little more
than a century
after the founding
of St. Augustine. A
menacing English
presence in the
Carolinas after
1670 persuaded
the Spanish Crown
to erect the fortress
and strengthen
the city’s defenses.
The Castillo’s VCB
physical integrity and structural splendor remain largely intact more than three
centuries after the initial phase of construction ended in 1695. The fortress was
fashioned from coquina, a conglomerate shell stone dug from quarries on Anastasia
Island, some two miles distant and on the other side of the Matanzas River. On
two occasions, in 1702 and 1740, attacking armies from the English colonies to the
north failed to capture the Castillo. Upon transfer of Florida to the United States
in 1821, the U.S. War Department, new owner of the fortress, renamed it Fort
Marion in honor of Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. It remained an active
U.S. military post until 1900. In 1933, the U.S. Department of the Interior assumed
stewardship of the Castillo, which it subsequently designated a national monument.
The Castillo is the oldest masonry fortification in North America and the best-
preserved example of Spanish colonial military architecture in the continental
United States. The majestic Castillo historically reflects Spain’s imperial presence in
North America.
Visitor information
This building contains the city’s principal information center for visitors, open
seven days a week. Brochures explaining attractions and places of interest in the
city may be found here. Information hosts are available to answer questions about
restaurants, lodging, attractions, and directions. A four-story parking facility adjacent
to the building provides ample parking for automobiles. It is the city’s principal
parking lot. The entrance to the lot is off Castillo Drive and Cordova Street. Two
private transportation companies maintain ticket counters in the building.
History
The Visitor Information Center (VIC) is one of a few major buildings in the city
constructed during the Depression Era of the 1930s. It was built under the auspices
of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal agency organized to
alleviate unemployment. As such, it exemplifies the architectural contributions
the WPA made to American communities during a difficult economic time. The
building, designed by St. Augustine architect Fred A. Henderich, served as a
community center until the 1950s, when the Chamber of Commerce began using
it for visitor orientation. The building’s location near the northern entrance to the
colonial city and the Castillo de San Marcos positions it well for that purpose.
Constructed of coquina, the most historically significant building material used in
St. Augustine, the VIC has in the past quarter-century played an important role in
tourism, which drives
the city’s economy. In
1991, the City of St.
Augustine assumed
responsibility
for managing
the building and
its associated
information services.
A major renovation
of the building’s
interior space and
surrounding grounds
was completed in
2006.