Spanish Pavilion

Spanish Pavilion

Casa del Hidalgo

Café del Hidalgo

Theatre Magic St. Augustine

Sangrias Wine and Tapas Bar

Shopaholic Plus

Bear Mountain Outfitters, Manly Toys and Hobbies

1964-1965

2003

This building was built by the Spanish government to highlight Spanish Colonial history and culture.

This building is now two restaurants, a clothing store, a hobby store, and a small theatre.

Casa/Cafe del Hidalgo was built in 1964-1965 by the Spanish Government for the 400th anniversary of St. Augustine as the Spanish Pavilion to be an exhibit space of Spanish culture. The portion of the building fronting St. George Street was intended to be a "casa" display of a typial Spanish colonial home. Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson was present at and spoke about the symbolic cornerstone laying ceremony in 1965 where officials from Spain set the cornerstone of the new building.

On September 5, 1965 during the week-long Quadricentennial celebration, many official Spanish dignitaries and governmental officials traveled to St. Augustine to take part in the celebration and oversee the dedication of the building to help foster closer relations between the U.S. and Spain. 

On April 1, 2001, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain visited the building on their tour of St. Augustine.

The building remained a Spanish government building until 2003 when the City of St. Augustine purchased it and they lease it to private businessmen.

This building recreated the home owned by Senor Hidalgo during the Colonial Period that had since been replaced by a wooden structure that by the 1960s was not structurally sound.

The Spanish Government

City of St. Augustine

35 Hypolita Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084

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

Photograph 1 (c. 1965): San Agustin Antiguo: The Restoration of Old St. Augustine, 1960-66. [St. Augustine, FL]: St. Augustine Historical, Restoration and Preservation Commission and St. Augustine Restoration, Inc., [1967].

Photograph 2 (c.2010): Harvey, Karen G. "St. Augustine Enters the Twenty-First Century."

Photograph 3 (2023): Augusty, Jean-Marc. "Casa Del Hidalgo on St. George." March 5, 2023.

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

City of St. Augustine. The Royal Visit to St. Augustine, April 1, 2001. St. Augustine, FL: Department of Heritage Tourism, 2002.

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

San Agustin Antiguo: The Restoration of Old St. Augustine, 1960-66. [St. Augustine, FL]: St. Augustine Historical, Restoration and Preservation Commission and St. Augustine Restoration, Inc., [1967].

Flagler College’s Rare Books, Floridiana & Institutional Repository are neither the original nor current copyright owner for the photographs. Please contact the publisher or source cited for each photograph to obtain a copy and/or permission to reproduce these items.

The following St. Augustine Fiction books feature this building as a location:

Papa and the Gingerbread Man

This record was last updated on May 22, 2025.