The white monument contains a plaque sent from Spain along with orders to rename all Spanish plazas to “Plaza de la Constitución.” Made of coquina and covered in stucco, the amount of money and length of time it took for the local citizenry to build the monument meant that when orders arrived upon the return of the monarchy in 1814, the order was ignored and only the plaque was removed. The plaque was later reinstalled when Spain was once again under a constitutional government in 1818.

This is one of the oldest public monuments in the United States.]]>
Photograph 1 (c.1920): St. Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Van Noy-Interstate, c.1920s.

Photograph 2 (early 1940s): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the 1930s and 1940s. Acadia Publishing, 2019.

Photograph 3 (1952): Vollbrecht, John L. St. Augustine’s Historical Heritage as Seen Today…With Historical Notes on the Oldest House. Photography by J. Carver Harris. Foreword by David R. Dunham. St. Augustine, FL: The Record Press/J. Carver Harris, 1952.

Photograph 4 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Constitution Obelisk." October 20, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Adams, William R. St. Augustine and St. Johns County: A Historical Guide. Pineapple Press, 2009.

Adams, William R., and Paul L. Weaver, III. Historic Places of St. Augustine and St. Johns County: A Visitor’s Guide. St. Augustine, FL: Southern Heritage Press, 1993.

Gordon, Elsbeth “Buff.” Walking St. Augustine: An Illustrated Guide and Pocket History to America’s Oldest City. Univ. of Florida Press, 2015.

Reynolds, Charles B. The Standard Guide: St. Augustine, East Coast, Indian River and Lake Worth. Published by the author, 1895.]]> Plaza de la Constitution.]]> Plaza de la Constitution, please refer to the list in that record.]]> 1 Cathedral Place
St. Augustine, FL 32084]]>
After Anderson's wife's death, and his remarriage to his wife's friend who had come to St. Augustine to care for the three Anderson daughters, Clarissa Cochrane Fairbanks from New Hampshire, Anderson was desperate to build a new, more comfortable home for his family. He moved his family out of the rented wooden house on Hospital (now Aviles) Street where they lived. Markland Hall began being built from coquina, but the construction did not finish because Anderson died in late 1839 during a yellow fever epidemic. Clarissa Anderson completed construction of a smaller version of the home in 1842. Markland countinued to undergo various changes to keep up with both maintenance and improvements, such as a major exterior paint job in 1858. 

In the mid-1860s, Clarissa Anderson's son, Andrew Anderson Jr., back home in St. Augustine after completing medical school, and decided that another source of income was needed after the 1868 freeze killed off many of the carefully cultivated trees that had been planted after the 1835 freeze. The new income stream was turning land east of Markland on King Street, in 1870, into a new, two-story rentable cottage, called Anderson Cottage. 

After his mother's 1881 death, in 1885, Anderson Jr. sold the eastern portion of the estate to Henry Flagler for $20,000. He remained in residence, mostly, at Markland House, but rented out the house during the winter. Flagler later acquired the surrounding marshland and more pieces of the Markland estate including those owned by Anderson Sr.'s daughters. Anderson Cottage was moved to its current location on Sevilla Street as it did not fit with the architectural style of the Ponce de Leon Hotel that was in contruction at that point. 

Anderson Jr. continued work on Markland with conversations in 1895 with New York architect, Charles A. Gifford, to double the square footage of the house to include 14 bedrooms and a two-story brick structure added to the west wing. Gifford also
built a Billard Room separate from the main house that now serves as the St. Augustine branch of the Florida Public Archaeology Network. When Anderson Jr. died in 1924, Herbert E. Wolfe, the mayor of St. Augustine at the time, purchased Markland House. 

In 1968, the year that the former Hotel Ponce de Leon opened as Flagler College, Markland House was purchased by the school. Markland House was added to the  National Register of Historic Places in 1978.]]> Dr. Andrew Anderson, Sr.]]> The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (1870): Waterbury, Jean Park. Markland. St. Augustine, FL: St. Augustine Historical Society, 1989.

Photograph 2 (1902): Waterbury, Jean Park. Markland. St. Augustine, FL: St. Augustine Historical Society, 1989.

Photograph 3 (1989):Waterbury, Jean Park. Markland. St. Augustine, FL: St. Augustine Historical Society, 1989.

Photograph 4 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Markland." August 1, 2025.

Photograph 5 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Markland Plaque." August 1, 2025

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Graham, Thomas. The Awakening of St. Augustine: The Anderson Family and the Oldest City, 1821-1924. St. Augustine, FL: Saint Augustine Historical Society, 1978.

Murray, James R. “Markland.” Edited by Bernard Fisher. HMdb.org: Historical Marker Database. October 30, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=77212.

Nolan, David. The Houses of St. Augustine. Pineapple Press, 1995.

Visit St. Augustine. “Markland House.” https://www.visitstaugustine.com/thing-to-do/markland-house.

Waterbury, Jean Park. Markland. St. Augustine, FL: St. Augustine Historical Society, 1989.]]> Anderson Cottage was once part of the Markland estate.]]> King Street.]]> Proctor Library, Ringhaver Student Center, Crisp-Ellert Art Museum, in addition to Markland House.]]> The following St. Augustine Fiction books feature this historic site as a location:

One Happy Winter; or, a Visit to Florida
The Seminole Trail]]> Flagler College
74 King St.
St. Augustine, FL 32084
www.flagler.edu]]>
The house featured a bookstore, grocery store, billiards room, family living quarters, and warehouses. After Juana's death in 1802 and Andrés's in 1806, the estate passed to Francisco Pellicer who managed the property on behalf of his under-age grandchildren until 1819 when he requested the government to relive him of guardianship and responsibility for maintaining the property. The three surviving Ximenez children shared ownership equally but sold their inheritance to Mrs. Margaret Cook between 1827 and 1830. In 1830, Mrs. Cook renovated the buildings into a boarding house, managed by Mrs. Eliza Whitehurst. A Northern guest, Clarissa C. Fairbanks, in 1832 turned out to be the future Mrs. Dr. Andrew Anderson, mother to the second Dr. Anderson, friend of Henry Flagler, and owner of Markland House.

In 1838 the home/business was sold to Mrs. Sarah Petty Anderson. In 1851 Miss Louisa Fatio began working for Mrs. Anderson and then bought it in 1855, maintaining the home/business until her death in 1875. Authoress of several books with St. Augustine settings, Constance Fenimore Woolson stayed at the Madame Fatio Boarding House for several winters in the 1870s. Prior to the building of the big hotels in St. Augustine, Miss Fatio's boarding house offered the best accomodations for visitors.

The Galleon Club began in 1924, later to evolve into the St. Augustine Art Association, was first organized in the Ximenex-Fatio home, and there was talk of turning it into the Longfellow University. The property remained in the Fatio family, and continued to operate as a boarding house until 1939 when The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in The State of Florida purchased and restoring it as a historic house museum. Today, the house continues to be owned and operated by women.

The Ximenex-Fatio House is one of the sites in St. Augustine to be added to the Historic American Buildings Survey published March 1, 1941. The Ximenez-Fatio House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. By the last 1970s, deferred maintenance of the buildings had to be addressed and numerous archeaological findings proved the import of this site. A 2002 archeaological dig dates European habitation on this lot back to the 1650s.]]> Don Andres Ximenez ]]>
Photograph 1 (c.1860): Tellier, Mark. St. Augustine’s Pictures of the Past: The Second Discovery. 1st edition. Published by the author, 1979.

Photograph 2 (1937): Historic American Buildings Survey. Historic American Buildings Survey: Catalog of the Measured Drawings and Photographs of the Survey in the Library of Congress, March 1, 1941. Department of the Interior; National Park Service, 1941.

Photograph 3 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Modern Ximenez-Fatio House." February 22, 2023.

Photograph 4 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Florida Historic Marker." October 22, 2025.

Photograph 5 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "NRHP Marker." October 22, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Gordon, Elsbeth “Buff.” Walking St. Augustine: An Illustrated Guide and Pocket History to America’s Oldest City. Univ. of Florida Press, 2015.

Nolan, David. The Houses of St. Augustine. Pineapple Press, 1995.

Tellier, Mark. St. Augustine’s Pictures of the Past: The Second Discovery. 1st edition. Published by the author, 1979.

Waterbury, Jean Parker. The Ximenez-Fatio House: “Long Neglected, Now Restored.” St. Augustine, FL: The St. Augustine Historical Society, 1985.

Winsberg, Morton D., compiler. Florida’s History through Its Places: Properties in the National Register of Historic Places. Institute of Science and Public Affairs/Florida State Univ., 1988.

The Ximenez-Fatio House Museum. "The Ximenez-Fatio House: Our Story."  https://www.ximenezfatiohouse.org/our-story/.]]> Aviles Street.]]> St. Augustine Historical Society's Research Library is next door to this building.]]> NSCDA-FL).]]>
Guns of the Palmetto Plains
Love and Honors
Margaret's Story
St. Augustine A to Z: A Young Reader's Guide to America's Oldest City
The Picolata Road
Voices in St. Augustine]]> Tours and Experiences" page.]]> 20 Aviles Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Ximenez-Fatio House Museum]]>
Woolworth's is known for its importance to the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights sit-ins. On February 1, 1960, students in North Carolina organized a sit-in at a Woolworth's whites-only lunch counter and this inspired the black youth all across the South. Soon after, six students from Florida Memorial College had the first sit-in in St. Augustine at Woolworth's.

In 1963, high school students named Samuel White, Audrey Nell Edwards, JoeAnn Anderson, and Willie Carl Singleton organized their own sit-in at the St. Augustine location. They were arrested and the judge ordered an end to their protesting, but they refused. Instead, they spent six months in jail and reform school. This group of students and their legal case is known as The St. Augustine Four. The governor of Florida ordered their release in 1964 after their case gained national attention, including praise from Jackie Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the early 21st century, Atlantis Resort Wear & Gifts moved into the old Woolworth's store. In 2013, a Wells Fargo bank branch was located here which lasted until 202-. A section of the Woolsworth counter and four seats were saved and in 2014 installed as a static exhibit within the bank. In the late 2010s, these pieces were given to the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center for permenant display.

This location is currently under renovation.]]> Morris Lapidus]]> The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (c.1950s): “Ponce de Leon Shopping Center - St. Augustine, Florida.” N039716. Located on Florida Memory: State Library and Archives of Florida. https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/147963.

Photograph 2 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc "Woolworth Store." March 4, 2023.

Photograph 3 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Woolworth's Store Door." March 4, 2023.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Accord Freedom Trail. “1.Accord Freedom Trail Site – 31 King Street: Location of Woolworth’s Department Store – Downtown.”  2011. https://accordfreedomtrail.org/31King.html.

Eubanks, Gerald. The Dark Before Dawn: From Civil Wrongs to Civil Light. iUniverse, 2012.

Rajtar, Steve, and Kelly Goodman. A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida. 1st edition. The History Press, 2007.

The St. Augustine Record. “Historic Civil Rights era Woolworth's counter installed at King Street Wells Fargo in St. Augustine.” July 26, 2014. Located on The Florida Times-Union. https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2014/07/26/historic-civil-rights-era-woolworths-counter-installed-king-street-wells/15791459007/.]]> King Street.]]>
Forcing Change
Hydra Pit
Once to Every Man
Sugar Cage]]> St. Augustine, FL 32084]]> Design and Prospectus (1891).

In 1903, the home was transformed into the Zorayda Club, a restaurant with a dance floor as a place for the well-heeled to mingle. It continued to operate even after Smith's 1911 death, but in 1913, Abraham S. Mussallem bought the building.

However, Mussallem did not upgrade the club into a full scale nightclub with casino until 1922. In 1925 Florida outlawed gambling. The Mussallem's decided to convert the club back into a private residence. But, in 1933, Mussallem reopened the building as a tourist attraction under the name, Villa Zorayda Museum. The attraction had objects that fit with the architectural theme/style of the building, which dovetailed with Mussallem's oriental rug business and collecting of Middle Eastern and Oriental art. He'd previously been an Egyptian consulate and many items on display date to his time there.

After the Mussallem's died in the 1960s, care of the building passed to their sons who renamed the attraction, Zorayda Castle. Between 2000 and 2008, the Villa Zorayda was renovated by a 3rd generation Mussallem, Marcia and her husband, Jimmy Byles. The building needed extensive work before its grand reopening in Feburary 2008, again under the name, Villa Zorayda Museum.
 
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, which is an affiliate of the National Park Service.]]> Franklin W. Smith ]]> The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (1888): Witteman, A. A Souvenir of St. Augustine. New York: A. Wittemann, 1888.


Photograph 2 (1891): Bierstadt, Edward. Sunlight Pictures: Saint Augustine. New York: The Artotype Publishing, 1891.

Photograph 3 (1904): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Gilded Age. Acadia Publishing, 2008.


Photograph 4 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Villa Zorayda." March 24, 2023.

Photograph 5 (2025): Holly, Zufelt. "Villa Zorayda Plaque." October 10, 2025.

Photograph 6 (2025): Holly, Zufelt. "Villa Zorayda Plaque 2." October 10, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Harvey, Karen. St. Augustine Enters the Twenty-First Century. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 2010.

Villa Zorayda Museum. “Our History.”  https://villazorayda.com/our-history/.

Rajtar, Steve, and Kelly Goodman. A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida. 1st edition. The History Press, 2007.

Villa Zorayda Museum Sign. 83 King Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084.

]]> King Street.]]>
Bad News Travels
St. Augustine A to Z]]> Hours and Location.]]> 83 King Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Villa Zorayda Museum]]> Located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Tolomato River, south of what was known as Grant’s Villa in the British Period is a stretch of barrier island that came to be known as North Beach. In 1799, the land was first claimed on a Spanish land grant to Joseph Arnau as White Oyster Bay. But before and after that date, the land was primarily used as a place to fish or hunt rather than for permanent habitation, but imprisoned Native Americans who died at Fort Marion were interned somewhere in the North Beach area from the 1830s-1880s.

Land ownership went down the generations of the Arnau family to Aldolphus Pacetti in 1878 who in the 1890s partnered with The Saint Augustine and North Beach Railway to build a spur line from the St. Augustine and Halifax Railway out to North Beach for the ease of access for visitors to Flagler’s hotels. This North Beach resort offered dining, dancing, horseback riding, bathhouses, and of course ocean swimming near today’s Reef Restaurant. The complex burned down in 1895, but not before the sale of lots in the general vicinity had taken place to establish residences.

In 1900 the Minorcan family of Frank and Catherine Usina moved into one of the abandoned homes and became the first permanent residents of the area. They fished and operated a charter boat to bring tourists over to the island for a day at the beach. Their descendants still operate Aunt Kate’s Restaurant and tour-boat business.

Across from today’s Vilano Beach on the mainland is the Fountain of Youth and in 1901, the MacConnell’s bought up land with the plan for a hotel as an extension of their tourist spot on the mainland. They began construction of a drawbridge from Magnolia Avenue over to the island, but it was taken over by the Hoggson’s who lived on the island.

In 1904, a rival tour-boat company was founded by the Minorcan Paul and Helen Capo family south of the Usina’s with a horse-drawn trolley across the island to a beach they called Surfside and built a Casino. They laid out a plat for North Beach City in 1914 that was sold to the Mario Brothers and renamed the Surfside subdivision in 1926. The Casino remained in operation until the 1960s, and after not being maintained, was torn down in the 1970s.

It was during the 1920s that the name "vilano" began to be used, which means "thistle-burr" in Spanish, and in 1927, August Hecksher built the Grand Vilano Casino, an entertainment hall for beachgoers with a saltwater swimming pool and fine dining. Hecksher purchased the drawbridge being built by the Hoggson’s and improved it to provide vehicular access to the mainland. The casino was built too close to the ocean though and was demolished in 1938 after the actions of the waves made it structurally unsound. Hecksher saved the ornate columns from his casino and donated them to Florida Memorial College. The hamlet of Vilano Beach developed around the casino near the southern tip of the barrier island which is known as Porpoise Point. The area grew substantially between the 1970s and 1990s.

Hecksher’s drawbridge purchase was timed just right to make the bridge part of the new Highway being built by the Federal government down the east coast of Florida, known as the Coastal or Ocean Highway (now A1A) and the connection point from the barrier island over to the mainland just north of St. Augustine. This bridges meant easier beach access for tourists to St. Augustine and in fact, in the 1930s, Kim's Guide listed Vilano Beach as one of the three beaches tourists should visit when in St. Augustine; the others were St. Augustine Beach and Lighthouse Park Beach. Part of the drawbridge burned in 1938, but was rebuilt in 1948 and stood for decades, until being replaced in 1995 with the 65-foot-tall cement bridge named after Francis and Mary Usina. Part of the original drawbridge remains as a fishing pier.

Civic improvements for the residents occupied the 1990s and first part of the 21st century including the introduction of electricity, and improvements to the town center, including building a Publix in 2012. More beach homes have been built up and down Hwy A1A throughout the 21st century, obstructing the one long stretches of ocean views. Vilano Beach though remains a one-traffic light town.

Today, North Beach, Vilano Beach, and Surfside Beach are considered separate. When exiting the Usina Bridge, one enters Surfside Beach. To the south is Vilano Beach, and driving north on HWY A1A part way up to the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve is North Beach. The local attraction, Castle Otttis is in North Beach.

]]> The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (1890): Browning, Vivian C., Sallie L. O’Hara, John T. Pilechi, and Vilano Beach Main Street. Images of America: Vilano and the North Beaches. Acadia Publishing, 2015.

Photograph 2 (1948): Browning, Vivian C., Sallie L. O’Hara, John T. Pilechi, and Vilano Beach Main Street. Images of America: Vilano and the North Beaches. Acadia Publishing, 2015.

Photograph 3 (1995): Browning, Vivian C., Sallie L. O’Hara, John T. Pilechi, and Vilano Beach Main Street. Images of America: Vilano and the North Beaches. Acadia Publishing, 2015.

Photograph 4 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "North Beach." October 2, 2025.

Photograph 5 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Surfside Historic Marker." October 17, 2025.

Photograph 6 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Old Bridge's Dolphins." October 17, 2025.

Photograph 7 (2025): Owens, Katherine "End of the Old Bridge and the New Bridge." October 17, 2025.

Photograph 8 (2025): Owens, Katherine "Vilano Beach Casino Historical Marker." October 17, 2025.

Photograph 9 (2025): Owens, Katherine "Vilano Beach." October 17, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Browning, Vivian C., Sallie L. O’Hara, John T. Pilechi, and Vilano Beach Main Street. Images of America: Vilano and the North Beaches. Acadia Publishing, 2015.

Florida Vilano Beach Main Street. “History.” https://www.vilanobeachfl.com/history/.

Kim’s Guide to Florida. Anna Maria, FL: Ethel  Byrum Kimball, 1937.

King, Phil. “Vilano Beach ~ Its Time Has Come!” Old City Life Magazine, Inc. December 15, 2012. https://dinestaugustine.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/vilano-beach-its-time-has-come/.

Rajtar, Steve, and Kelly Goodman. A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida. 1st edition. The History Press, 2007.

St. Augustine Record. “Around the Region: There’s a Lot of History in the Bridges of Vilano.” February 17, 2015. https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/local/2015/02/17/around-region-theres-lot-history-bridges-vilano/16249239007/.

Visit St. Augustine. “Vilano Beach.” https://www.visitstaugustine.com/thing-to-do/vilano-beach.

]]> The GTMNERR is a few minutes north of the North Beach/Vilano Beach section of the barrier island primarily known as Ponte Vedra.]]> HWY A1A runs through North Beach and is the northern edge of Vilano Beach.]]> The Intercoastal Waterway/Matanzas Bay is the western and southern boundaries of the barrier island upon which North Beach/Vilano Beach is located.]]> The following St. Augustine Fiction books feature this natural feature as a location:

Colcorton
Flamingo Rising
Florida Is Closed Today
Forbidden Area
Ghosts: Another Summer in the Old Town
A Golden Sorrow
Grace: A Suspenseful Love Story Laced with Intrigue
One Summer in the Old Town
St. Augustine's Spirits in Our Midst
Stepping Off a Cliff

]]> Beach Access website.]]>
On the corner of St. George Street (Calle Real) and Treasury Street (Paniagua Lane) is the Peña-Peck House (Treasurer's House), which is how the street got its name. The Treasury building was originally located either next to the home or across the street (Treasury). There is evidence that originally this street was called Paniagua Lane, although this was slightly unconventional for the Spanish, as they did not name their streets in the traditional sense, but based on landmarks. 

There is a legend that Treasury Street was built narrow so burglars could not carrying off the city's gold from the treasury building because the road was not wide enough for a horse and carriage. However, pre-1850s, most of St. Augustine's streets were this narrow. The section of Treasury Street from Charlotte to Bay streets has never been widened so it is original to serve as an authentic piece of St. Augustine’s colonial history.]]> The Spanish]]> The following books, articles, websites, and photographers were used to find the above photographs or illustrations:

Photograph 1 (1883/1885): Knibloe, Walt. F. Schneur's Illustrated Guide and History of St. Augustine, Fla. St. Augustine, FL: Chas. F. Schneur, 1883/1885.

Photograph 2 (1888): Witteman, A. A Souvenir of St. Augustine. New York: A. Wittemann, 1888.

Photograph 3 (1891): Bierstadt, Edward. Sunlight Pictures Saint Augustine. New York: The Artotype Publishing, 1891.

Photograph 4 (c.1920s): St. Augustine. Kansas City, MO: Van Noy-Interstate, c.1920s.

Photograph 5 (2025): Owens, Katherine. "Treasury Street Intersection with Charlotte Street." June 3, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Gordon, Elsbeth “Buff.” Walking St. Augustine: An Illustrated Guide and Pocket History to America’s Oldest City. Univ. of Florida Press, 2015.

GovernorsHouseLibrary. “Fact or Fiction: Treasury Street.” Governor’s House Library: Explore St. Augustine’s History. February 8, 2018. https://governorshouselibrary.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/govhouselibrary-treasury-street/.]]> The eastern terminus of Treasury Street is on Avenida Menendez.]]> The Peña-Peck House is on this street.]]>
Don Juan McQueen
Goldon Sorrow
Grandmother in Cellophane
Reckless Endeavor
Voices in the Fire: A Novel]]>
During the British Period (1763-1783), this street was named George Street after King George III. On a 1764 map by Don Juan Josef Elixio de al Puente to record Spanish property in the different blocks of the town, St. George Street is a prominant, unnamed, feature running from the northern (surviving) City Gates to what is today called St. Francis Street.

After the reinsitution of Spanish rule in 1783, the street was translated to Calle Jorge. By the 1793 census, streets had stanardized names and Calle Jorge had become Calle de San Jorge. It is not conclusive why the "San" (Saint) was added at this time.

Once St. Augustine became part of the Florida Territory, the street name was translated to St. George Street in the early 1830s. 

In 1958, the route of St. Augustine's first Easter Parade was down St. George Street. In the 1960s, in an attempt to restore Colonial St. Augustine, St. George Street was altered for imitation colonial buildings that would feature tourist-y shops. In the mid- to late-1970s, the northern part of St. George Street became pedestrian-only. The southern part remains residential and a vehicular road. There are many historically preserved locations along St. George Street that are both homes, businesses, and restaurants. The pedestrain-only portion of St. George Street is one the most acclaimed locations to visit for visitors and locals alike.]]> The Spanish]]>
Photograph 1 (c.1897): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Gilded Age. Acadia Publishing, 2008.

Photograph 2 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of St. George Street." March 11, 2023.

Photograph 3 (c.1900): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Gilded Age. Acadia Publishing, 2008.

Photograph 4 (c. 1970): Van Campen, J.T. St. Augustine: Florida’ Colonial Capital. 3rd printing. St. Augustine, FL: St. Augustine Historical Society, 1971.

Photograph 5 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of Buildings on St. George Street." March 11, 2023.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

GovernorsHouseLibrary. “What’s in a Name? St. George Street.” Governor’s House Library: Explore St. Augustine’s History. November 9, 2017. https://governorshouselibrary.wordpress.com/2017/11/09/govhouselibrary-st-george-street/#:~:text=The%20British%20were%20the%20first,reigning%20monarch%2C%20King%20George%20III.

Harvey, Karen. St. Augustine and St. Johns County: A Pictorial History. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 1980.

Nolan, David. The Houses of St. Augustine. Pineapple Press, 1995.

]]> Bull and Crown Publick House is on St. George Street.]]> The Bunnery used to be on St. George Street.]]> The Cathedral Basilica is on the corner of Cathedral Place and St. George Street.]]> The Casa del Hidalgo is on the corner of Hypolita and St. George streets.]]> The Casa Monica is located on the corner of Cordova and King streets.]]> Colonial Quarter St. Augustine is on St. George Street.]]> Cuna Street intersects St. George Street.]]> Florida Cracker Cafe is on St. George Street.]]> The Governor's House is on the corner of St. George and King streets.]]> Lake Maria Sanchez borders St. George Street.]]> The Magnolia Hotel used to be on the corner of St. George and Hypolita streets.]]> Milltop Tavern is on St. George Street.]]> The Old City Gates are now the northern terminus of St. George Street but would have continued onto Shell Road during the Colonial Period.]]> The Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse is on St. George Street.]]> Orange Street intersects St. George Street.]]> The Peña-Peck House is on the corner of Treasury and St. George streets.]]> The Plaza de la Constitucion borders St. George Street.]]> Savannah Sweets is on St. George Street.]]> The Spanish Bakery is on St. George Street.]]> The St. Francis Inn is on the corner of St. Francis and St. George streets.]]> The St. George Tavern is on St. George Street.]]> St. Joseph's Convent is on St. George Street.]]> The Taberna de Gallo is on St. George Street.]]> Trinity Episcopal Church is on the corner of King and St. George streets.]]>
After Dark
Breed
Body Shop
The Bones of the Holy
The Butterfly Game
Chasing Shadows
Deadly Listings
Down South
The Eagle and the Rose
First Discoveries
A Florida Enchantment
Florida Is Closed Today
A Golden Sorrow
Grandmother in Cellophane
Gullible's Travels
I'll Be Home for Peacemas
In a Dark Garden
La Vida Vampire
Last Vampire Standing
Love and Honors
Love Insurance
Matanzas Moon
Matanzas Moon Ablaze
The Minorcan Quarter
The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms
Mystery of the Missing Candlestick
One Happy Winter
One Summer in the Old Town
Pablo's Search
Papa and the Gingerbread Man
The Picolata Road
The Reaper of St. George Street
Redfish Oak
The Relic
River in the Wind
Rosie, the Oldest Horse in St. Augustine
The Seminole Trail
Slingshot
Stepping Off a Cliff
Sugar Cage
Tales from the Oldest City
There Were Two Pirates
Three Vassar Girls at Home
Yella Gal: Queen of the Montclair
The Vessel Tinaja
White Moccasins
Wicked Rich]]>
Between 1889 and 1892, St. Francis Street was one of the streets that was paved with wood blocks. After 1892, asphalt began to be used to pave St. Augustine's streets.]]> The Spanish]]>
Map 1 (c.1770s): Reynolds, Charles B. The Standard Guide: St. Augustine, East Coast, Indian River and Lake Worth. St. Augustine, FL: C.B. Reynolds, 1895.

Map 2 (1884): Bloomfield, Max. Bloomfield’s Illustrated Historical Guide, Embracing an Account of the Antiquities of St. Augustine, Florida (with map). To Which is Added a Condensed Guide of the St. John’s, Ocklawaha, Halifax, and Indian Rivers. St. Augustine, FL: Max Bloomfield, 1884.

Map 3 (1952): Vollbrecht, John L. St. Augustine’s Historical Heritage as Seen Today…With Historical Notes on the Oldest House. Photography by J. Carver Harris. Foreword by David R. Dunham. St. Augustine, FL: The Record Press/J. Carver Harris, 1952.

Photograph 1 (1883/1885): Knibloe, Walt. F. Schneur's Illustrated Guide and History of St. Augustine, Fla. St. Augustine, FL: Chas. F. Schneur, 1883/1885.

Photograph 2 (1882): Glaser, Louis, fec., St. Augustine. New York: Wittemann Brothers, 1882.

Photograph 3 (c. 1893): Pollack, Deborah C. Felix F. de Crano: Forgotten Artist of the Flagler Colony. Lightner Museum, 2014.

Photograph 4 (c. 1920s): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Roaring Twenties. Acadia Publishing, 2012.

Photograph 5 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "St. Francis Street." June 20, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Graham, Thomas. Mr. Flagler’s St. Augustine. Univ. of Florida Press, 2014.

Reynolds, Charles B. The Standard Guide St. Augustine; The Florida East Coast. St. Augustine, FL, C. B. Reynolds, 1895.]]> St. Francis Street and Avenida Menendez merge at the northeast corner of the St. Francis Barrack's.
]]> The western half of St. Francis Street is Lincolnville.]]> The Oldest House Museum Complex is located on St. Francis Street.]]> The St. Francis Inn is located on St. Francis Street.]]>
A Golden Sorrow
Gullible's Travels
Redfish Oak]]>
In 1737 the Spanish replaced the most recent of the wooden watchtowers with a new watchtower made of coquina that was 30 feet tall. In 1763 Florida came under British rule after the French and Indian War. The British built an additional 30 feet onto the Spanish watchtower by building a wooden extension. It became a true lighthouse during this time.

In 1783 Florida was returned to the Spanish and they removed the wooden extension on the tower that the British constructed. After St. Augustine became part of the Florida Territory, the Americans lighted  the watchtower with lamps and reflectors. These was not visible at sea, so in 1852 the tower was raised by 10 feet. In 1853 it received a fourth order Fresnel Lens. It was powered by an oil lamp that used whale oil. During the American Civil War the lens was removed and hidden to make it harder for Union ships sailing nearby. Eventually the location of the lens was revealed and the tower was relit in 1867.

One resident of the old Spanish Watchtower and lighthouse keeper's home was local Minorcan, Maria Andreu. Her husband, Joseph Andreu, also a local Minorcan, was named lighthouse keeper in 1854, and more than likely she and her eight children helped care for the light and keeping it lit. Tragically in 1859, while whitewashing the now-60 foot high tower, Joseph Andreu slipped, fell, and died. Maria Andreu became the first lady lighthouse keeper in the U.S., serving in that position until 1862 when at age 61, she moved away from St. Augustine.

In 1871 it was becoming obvious that the old coquina tower was coming to an end due to erosion. Construction on a new lighthouse further inland was started in 1871 and finished in 1874. The lighthouse was lit for the first time on October 15, 1874 by William R. Russell with a light specially designed for this lighthouse.

Unused by 1970, twenty-four years of grassroot efforts were necessary to save the keeper's house. In 1981, the Lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1991, the Coast Guard replaced the light with an airport beacon. And in 1994, the Maritime Museum was opened full-time. In 2017, the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum joined the prestigious American Alliance of Museums.]]> The Spanish]]>
Photograph 1 (c.1850s-1871): Waterbury, Jean Parker, ed. The Oldest City: St. Augustine, Saga of Survival. St. Augustine, FL: St. Augustine Historical Society, 1983.

Photograph 2 (c.1890): Tellier, Mark. St. Augustine’s Pictures of the Past: The Second Discovery. 1st edition. Published by the author, 1979.

Photograph 3 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of Foundation of Original Watchtower/Lighthouse [1]." February 25, 2023.

Photograph 4 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of Foundation of Original Watchtower/Lighthouse [2]." February 25, 2023.

Photograph 5 (c.1920s): Bowen, Beth Rogero, and the St. Augustine Historical Society. St. Augustine in the Roaring Twenties. Acadia Publishing, 2012.

Photograph 6 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Picture of the St. Augustine Lighthouse." March 5, 2023.

Photograph 6 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "St. Augustine Lighthouse." October 24, 2025.

Photograph 7 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "St. Augustine Lighthouse Plaque." October 24, 2025.

Photograph 8 (2025): Zufelt, Holly. "Sentinels of the Coast." December 19, 2025.

The following books, articles, and/or websites were used to find information about this location:

Harvey, Karen. Daring Daughters: St. Augustine's Feisty Females, 1565-2000. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 2002.

St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum. "History."  2023. https://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/get-involved/about-mission-uvp/history/.

Winsberg, Morton D., compiler. Florida’s History through Its Places: Properties in the National Register of Historic Places. Institute of Science and Public Affairs/Florida State Univ., 1988.]]> ]]> Anastasia Island.]]>
Always the Vampire
Candledancer
Cracker Cop
Down South
East Coast Toast
First Discoveries
Frank Merriwell's Life Struggle
Ghost Squad
In the Wilds of Florida
A Jolly Fellowship
The Land Where the Sun Dies
Mandie and the Seaside Rendezvous
My Mother Is a Violet Woman
Mystery of the Missing Candlestick
St. Augustine A to Z
St. Augustine's Spirits in Our Midst
Storm and the Mermaid's Knot
Things That Hang from Trees]]> https://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/.]]> St. Augustine, FL 32080]]>