Welcome to the photo tour you history buffs and fans of Europe have been waiting for: St. Augustine, FL. Please research St. Augustine on your own terms as there is too much history for me to put down here. First settled in 1565, the Spanish plotted and laid out the city. It was the first American colonial settlement to be laid out in a typical Spanish plan, and the first European settlement period in the United States (yes it technically predates Williamsburg, and there are plenty of structures still around in St. A that are every bit as old and even older than the colonial buildings in Williamsburg).
The closest thing that I can think of that St. A reminds me of is actually the French Quarter of New Orleans (I guess the Spanish and the French were more similar than the Spanish and the British). St. A has had three major periods of development, but has been ruled by more than 3 countries and has changed rule something like 8 times.
The first period was from 1565 to about 1748 when the Spanish laid out the city and began building it. The second period of development followed Spanish architecture, but happened under British rule until the early 1800s. The final icing on the cake period of development happened when Henry Flagler (Rockefeller’s partner in Standard Oil) extended his FEC railway from Jacksonville (then known as America’s winter resort) down to St. Augustine and built 3 opulent resorts in the 1880s. Today Henry Flagler is buried in a church photographed in the tour here in St. Augustine, along with his family.
2 million+ people come to St. Augustine’s historic Spanish Quarter every year for the history, and tons more people from Massachusetts, New York, PA, and Jersey come to live in St. Augustine during the winter. St. Augustine is only 15-30 minutes south of Jacksonville (basically a suburb) and while comparatively speaking to some other parts of FL, Jacksonville is not a winter resort and snowbird hub while St. Augustine certainly is. When you visit, you will most likely see a ton of NE license plates and plates from all over the country, and no matter the time of year, the day, or the time of day, traffic is dense. Everyone needs to go at least once in their life. A week long vacation is easy in St. A. There are so many attractions in the historic district and on Anastasia Island (Alligator Farm, Lighthouse, and just south Marineland). There is the beach, and there are two of the country’s best outlet malls at the entrance to St. A on 95. Temps in the summer (which lasts from early April to late October) range from 75 at night to 90 in the day, and there is a comfortable period from Late October to Christmas, 2 months of winter (temps range from 45-50 at night, sometimes colder, to 60-70 in the day), and 1 month of spring. Temps in Jax are similar since they are next to each other.
Anyway on to the tour.
One of the visitor centers, yes it is an old building.
The garage one parks in to walk into the historic Spanish Quarter.
Some city gates probably dating to the 1500 or 1600s
One of many side streets off of the main artery, St. George
Hey buddy, put a shirt on.
Columbia Restaurant, in the family since 1905. The original is actually in Ybor City, Tampa, but this restaurant was second and came shortly after. It’s run by the Cuban great grandchildren of the original owners.
1710 Governor’s house
The original cathedrals were all torched on numerous occasions by the British (Sir Francis Drake was one of them). The current cathedral was fully completed in 1793 (started earlier, though). I couldn’t get a picture inside because it was Sunday and there were services.
I like taking pictures of tropical plants, forgive me, the King Sago growing nicely at the highest latitude it can grow (basically coastal Jacksonville, no higher). At the base are some tropical palms.
Don’t know what happened to my lens. A huge storm had just passed through though.
Has a sort of French look. The French may have ruled here at one point. I know they settled Jacksonville at Fort Caroline in 1563, 2 years before Menendez settled St. Augustine.
Some Foxtails that barely survived our last winter (worst winter in NE FL since probably the 1980s). Foxtails can’t really survive in temperatures lower than 30 degrees Fahrenheit, so even in St. Augustine and Jacksonville, they need to be near water which keeps the local property warmer in the winter and they need to be under larger trees and protected from the west by fencing. It’s a challenge, but worth it. We had foxtails at my house in Jacksonville for years until this winter.
Residential district where the houses date to the 18th and 19th centuries. (some date to the 17th century, too)
Areca palms barely holding on after this winter. Again, they can’t handle temps below 30 degrees.
Barracks. Couldn’t tell you if they were Spanish, French, British, or even American back in the day.
Can you see the lighthouse on Anastasia Island?
The oldest surviving Spanish colonial dwelling in Florida. It dates to the 1600s and is named the Gonzalez-Alvarez house. It has been a museum since 1893.
Wedding.
A convent.
Can anyone identify this plant?
Don’t know what this plant is.
