Constitucion Obelisk

Constitucion Obelisk

1813-1814

1818

This is a memorial monument.

The thirty-foot-tall Constitución monument, located in the western section of the Plaza, was erected in 1813 to celebrate Spain’s short-lived constitutional government, which only lasted until 1814.

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.

City of St. Augustine

As part of the Plaza, access to the monument is free and open to the public.

Plaza de la Constitucion
1 Cathedral Place
St. Augustine, FL 32084

The Constitution Monument is located in the western quadrant of the Plaza de la Constitution.

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

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.

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.

To see which books likely include the Obelisk as part of a visit to the Plaza de la Constitution, please refer to the list in that record.

This record was last updated on December 18, 2025.