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Being the oldest European colonial city
in the United States, St. Augustine has
an abundance of historic sites and museums
to explore. From homes and school buildings
to the magnificent Castillo de San Marcos,
the history and culture of St. Augustine
is diverse and interesting.
Alcazar Hotel
- 75 King Street / St. Augustine
/ 904-824-2874
The Alcazar was the second luxury hotel
built by oil and railroad magnet Henry
M. Flagler. Constructed in 1887 in the
Spanish Renaissance Revival style, it
currently houses the Lightner Museum.
/ see Lightner Museum
Cathedral of Saint Augustine -
37 Cathedral Place / Saint Augustine
/ 904-824-2806
Home church of the oldest Catholic parish
in this country, St. Augustine was established
by Spanish priests in 1594. The mission-style
Cathedral, built in the 18th century
with its late 19th century Spanish Renaissance
bell tower, is still the heart of an
active and dynamic parish.
Colonial Spanish
Quarter - St. George Street /
historic downtown St. Augustine / 904-825-6830
A living history museum village, the
Spanish Quarter encompasses several city
blocks. Authentically costumed interpreters
work in the same crafts and recreate
the lifestyles of the city’s inhabitants
during the 1740s. Highlights include
observations into the day to day lives
of Spanish soldiers and their families,
tradesmen of the era and their crafts
such as carpentry, leather work and blacksmithing,
household maintenance including the preparation
of meals and farming practices. Be fully
engulfed into the Spanish Colonial era
in St. Augustine’s Colonial Spanish
Quarter. / Gift Shop on premises selling
reproduction items / Open daily from
9 am to 5 pm
The Government
House Museum - 48 King Street
/ St Augustine / 904-825-6830
Illustrating the history of the area
with a time-line of exhibits, this museum
houses the most complete collection of
items about St. Augustine. From archaeological
exhibits to Native American and Spanish
artifacts, shipwreck treasures, military
paraphernalia and religious pieces are
on display. / Open daily
National Park
Service - One S. Castillo Drive
/ St. Augustine / 904-829-6506
Originally built to protect the Spanish
colonial settlement of St. Augustine
from English invasion and as an outpost
to shelter treasure ships returning to
Spain as well as harbor support for their
sea routes. The impressive fort was constructed
from 1672 to 1695. The fort has served
many nations over the centuries, however
it was never taken by force. Purchased
by the United States in 1821, the fort
was renamed Fort Marion, a name it retained
until 1942 when the dedicated 1933 National
Monument was renamed honoring its original
titles, its inhabitants and creators.
The Castillo and its grounds cover 25
acres. / Open daily
Fort Matanzas National Monument –
8635 Highway A1A / St. Augustine / 904-471-0116
Built on the site of the 1565 massacre
of French Huguenots by the Spanish, the
masonry watchtower was constructed in
the 1740s. As part of the southern defenses
for St. Augustine, sentrys on the watchtower
could spot hostile vessels in time to
warn local citizens. Now the National
Monument is home to many endangered species.
Guided nighttime torchlight tours of
the park are a popular attraction.
Fort Mose Site
– Fort Mose Historical Society –
P.O. Box 4230 / St. Augustine / Florida
32805
Two miles north of the Castillo is a
National Landmark dedicated to African
Americans who settled in this area during
the early Colonial period to escape slavery
in the Carolinas. These African Americans
who helped to build the Castillo and
also bravely defended St. Augustine,
were granted lands for a settlement they
called Fort Mose. The fort was attacked
by the British in 1740 and was successfully
defended, however severely damaged. Rebuilt,
Fort Mose was abandoned in the 1760s
when the families left the area for Cuba.
Information on Fort Mose and relics found
from the site are housed at the Old Florida
Museum.
Fountain of Youth
- 11 Magnolia Avenue / St. Augustine
/ 904-829-3168
The “Fountain of Youth” in
actuality was an Indian Spring used from
pre-historic times. In this place Ponce
de Leon first came ashore to “claim”
his discovery hoping it was the fabled
fountain. Once part of the ancient Indian
village of Seloy this place is an official
National Archeological Site. Today there
are gardens, excavations of the Indian
sites and life-sized exhibits as well
as a planetarium. Take a drink from the
fountain and decide if the “fabled”
claims are true. / Open 9 am to 5 pm
daily
The Gonzalez-Alvarez
House - 14 St. Francis Street
/ St. Augustine / 904-824-2872
The oldest house in St. Augustine, the
building has been continuously occupied
since the early 1600s. The home is filled
with period antique furnishings displaying
the Spanish and later English based cultures
that settled Florida.
Lightner Museum
- 75 King Street / St. Augustine
/ 904-824-2874
History and art are blended into a museum
dedicated to the decorative arts of the
America’s Gilded Age. Originally
built in 1887 as the Alcazar Hotel, in
1946 the building was bought by publisher
Otto C. Lightner to house his extensive
Victoriana collection. / Café
Alcazar is on premises / Museum Open
Daily
Mission de Nombre
de Dios - 27 Ocean Avenue / Saint
Augustine / 904-824-2809
Look for the “Great Cross”
along the St. Augustine waterfront to
visit the site where Pedro Menendez de
Aviles landed and dedicated his discovery
for Spain and the Church. As part of
the Mission de Nombre de Dios and La
Leche Shrine, the quiet gardens and grounds
are beautiful and well worth a visit.
A 208 foot tall cross marks the landing
site and dedication.
Museum of Weapons
& Early American History -
81-C King Street / St. Augustine / 904-829-3727
The museums focus is on old and unusual
guns, weaponry, Civil War artifacts,
historic documents and relics of American
history. With armaments dating back to
the 1500s, documentation of St. Augustine’s
local history from the colonial period
through 1900, Native American artifacts,
items salvaged from ship wrecks and Presidential
paraphernalia, the gamut of the collections
span over 400 years of America’s
past. / Antiques & Collectibles Gift
Shop on premises / Open Daily from 9:30
am to 5 pm
Old Florida Museum
- 254-D San Marco Avenue / St. Augustine
/ 904-824-8874
A living history museum where visitors
can experience the past by using historic
era tools, games and daily use objects.
There are hands-on activities from mundane
daily tasks to creative artistic endeavors
as well as rare breed animals from different
periods live on site. Experiences include
the “Florida Cracker" Pioneer
Program - Florida homesteading from 1821
through the 1920s; Timucua Indian Program,
the native American, pre-European era
in Florida; and the Spanish-Fort Mose
Program dating from 1565 to 1763 when
Afro-American slaves of the English colonies
where encouraged to seek freedom by joining
the Spanish Colony and becoming members
of the Catholic Church.
Old St. Augustine Village - 246
St. George Street / St. Augustine / 904-823-9722
A collection of nine houses that date
from 1790 to 1910 stretch along this
historic block interspersed with five
galleries, several courtyards and intimate
gardens. Four centuries of history are
included beginning with references in
a 1572 town map indicating a 16th century
hospital and cemetery in the area. Other
points of interest include pin-pointed
sites of a Spanish Colonial defense line,
an early city bridge, the site of the
reading of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation,
collections of Kenneth Dow and the Star
General Store.
Oldest Store
Museum - 4 Artillery Lane / St.
Augustine / 904-829-9729
A museum filled with thousands of artifacts
that would have been found in an American
turn-of-the-century general store.
Oldest Wooden
Schoolhouse / Genopoly House -
14 St. George Street / Old City / St.
Augustine / 904-824-0192
Originally built in 1780 by Juan Genopoly,
many of the schoolhouse details remain
as they were constructed. Using wooden
pegs and handmade nails, it was built
of red cedar and cypress woods. The schoolroom
was on the main floor, the teacher and
his family lived in the rooms above.
The kitchen, as traditional in southern
climates during the colonial period,
was a separate building and like the
main schoolhouse contains appropriate
period artifacts and utensils. The garden
is quite charming.
Ponce de Leon Hotel / Flagler College
- between Valencia and King Streets /
St. Augustine
The Ponce de Leon was the first of three
grand hotels built in St. Augustine during
the Victorian Era by Henry M. Flagler.
Since 1971, the Ponce de Leon has housed
Flagler College, an institution of higher
learning offering four year degrees in
the arts and in science.
Potter's Wax
Museum - 17 King Street / St.
Augustine / 904-829-9056
Since 1948, the Potter’s Wax Museum
has been America’s premier wax museum.
Check on Elvis, Arnold and 160 other
famous celebrities and statesmen in this
fun and educational exhibition.
Ripley's Believe
it or Not - 19 San Marco Avenue
/ St. Augustine / 904-824-1606
With museums in many major tourist areas
throughout the country, this Ripley’s
setting is a bit different. Housed in
an 1887 mansion, the building is filled
with over 500 exhibits of amazing artifacts.
As the museum claims, Seeing is Believing!
/ Free parking
San Sebastian
Winery - 157 King Street / St.
Augustine / 904-826-1594
A full wine producing facility, the winery
offers tours of the production as well
as tastings of Florida’s premium
wines. / Open daily to 6 pm
St. Augustine
Lighthouse and Museum - 81 Lighthouse
Avenue / St. Augustine / 904-829-0745
In 1824, an old Spanish watchtower became
the first Florida Lighthouse, in 1871
due to the fear of the old tower falling
into the ocean they began construction
on a new lighthouse. The accompanying
light keepers house was completed in
1876. Maintained by the Junior Service
League, the St. Augustine Lighthouse
and Museum is a non-profit organization.
For a fee, visitors can climb the tower,
tour the Visitor Center as well as the
Museum in the Light keepers House.
St. Augustine Historical Society -
271 Charlotte Street / St. Augustine
/ 904-824-2872
Interpreting and showcasing the history
of St. Augustine and St. Johns County,
the Historical Society is housed in the
city’s oldest residential neighborhood.
The complex includes the city’s
oldest house, two museums, a gallery,
museum store and a Research Library.
/ Museum complex open from 9am to 5pm
daily.
World Golf Hall
of Fame - One World Golf Place
/ World Golf Village / St. Augustine
/ 904-940-4123
A museum dedicated to the greatest players
of the game, each year inductees from
both the American and international levels
are added to the illustrious list of
golf greats. Interactive and traditional
exhibits staged within a clever 18-hole
golf course theme plays homage to the
game, its innovators and greatest players.
A 300-seat IMAX Theater is also part
of the complex.
Ximenez-Fatio
House - 20 Aviles Street / St.
Augustine / 904-829-3575
Operated by The National Society of The
Colonial Dames of America, the house
was built around 1798 and displays original
architecture, with very few structural
alterations. Originally built by Spanish
storekeeper Andres Ximenez, the house
was constructed of native coquina with
both Spanish and English design sensibilities.
/ Open Thursday through Mondays / Closed
in September / Free Admission
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