Casa Monica

Casa Monica opened on January 1, 1888, with 138 rooms made of poured concrete and in the Moorish-Revival style first used on the Villa Zoryda. Four months later, Franklin W. Smith the owner became the victim of financial problems and had to sell the hotel to Henry Flagler. Flagler changed the name of the hotel to the Cordova Hotel. In 1902, a bridge was built to connect the Cordova Hotel with the Alcazar Hotel. During the time the Florida East Coast Railway owned the Cordova Hotel, an early 20^th century travel agent, Ward G. Foster set up office in one of the businesses on the first floor. He later would become famous for “Ask Mr. Foster,” a well-respected travel agency. After Flagler’s death in 1913, the Cordova became known as the Alcazar Annex, courtesy of that 1902 bridge over Cordova Street, even after it was torn down sometime after 1932 when Flagler’s heir shuttered the doors due to the Great Depression.

Until 1962, the building stood vacant. In 1962, the St. Johns County Commissioners purchased the hotel and renovated it for use as a courthouse. Due to the state of the building though, it took six years for renovations and repairs to be completed. During this time, murals by Hugo Ohlms were added and a stained-glass door featuring the scales of justice.

The building was purchased from St. Johns County by Richard Kessler in 1997. He paid Howard W. Davis to create a design that would renovate the building in such a way as to return it to its former glory as a luxury hotel. In a nod to the historic namesake of St. Augustine, St. Augustine of Hippo, a Bishop in North Africa in the 5^th Century, and the Moorish-Revival style of the building, the new hotel was given the name of Augustine of Hippo’s mother, St. Monica.

The Casa Monica reopened to hotel guests in December 1999. In 2001, it became a member of the Historic Hotels of America, which is affiliated with the National Trust for Preservations. Hotels with this designation are recognized for their contributions, historically and/or architecturally, to the history of the United States.

Historic Hotels of America. “History of Casa Monica in St. Augustine.” Casa Monica Resort & Spa. 2024. https://www.historichotels.org/us/hotels-resorts/casa-monica-resort-spa/history.php.

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

Bad News Travels
The Case of the Deadly Diary
A Florida Enchantment
The Last Resort
Matanzas Bay
Once to Every Man
The Relic
There Is a Season
Three Vassar Girls at Home