Travel Bug: The Freedom Trail and A World-Class Destination, St. Augustine, Florida

Monday, November 2, 2020

The Freedom Trail and A World-Class Destination, St. Augustine, Florida - Part 2, Monday, November 2, 2020

When we exited through the Old City Alleyway, it was like stepping from old St. Augustine into a New World. The City Square impressed us with the multi-story Treasury on the Plaza, originally built as a bank in 1927.

Treasury on the Plaza.

One of the first historical exhibits we saw was "The Freedom Trail." In 1955, St. Augustine's first downtown shopping center was built. It was designed by Morris Lapidus, Florida's most famous mid-twentieth century architect, and is the only example of his work in this ancient city. The shopping center was anchored by a Woolworth's store on the west side. The door handles still say Woolworth's!

Woolworth's door handles.

On February 1, 1960, black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina, began a sit-in at their Woolworth's lunch counter to protest racial discrimination. Just a few weeks later, students from Florida Memorial College in St. Augustine began sitting-in at this Woolworth's lunch counter. In the summer of 1963, local black high school students sat-in here and were arrested. The St. Augustine Four--Audrey Neil Edwards, JoeAnn Anderson, Samuel White, and Willie Carl--refused to end their participation in the civil rights movement. They spent their next six months in jail and reform school, and received national publicity as an example of injustice. The governor and cabinet of Florida ordered them released in January 1964. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jackie Robinson hailed the St. Augustine Four as heroes of the civil rights movement. [Information obtained from a historical marker placed by Northrop Grumman in downtown St. Augustine.]

As we walked down the street, we went from the 1960s, back in time to the late 1880s. Three imposing, world-class structures came into view simultaneously: Casa Monica Resort, Flagler College, and Lightner Museum. Most of these buildings were made possible by Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil Company, and developer of the Florida East Coast Railway.

I'll talk about Casa Monica first, since it was the first of the three buildings we walked to. Our walk directions suggested we go inside to see the lobby and bar. We were so impressed, I looked up the history of this Grand Dame on historichotels.org. Here's the scoop:

Casa Monica Resort & Spa.

Henry Flagler sold the land to Franklin Smith as soon as he founded a spur to one of his local railways through St. Augustine. Franklin W. Smith, an architect, was a noted Civil War-Era abolitionist and social activist, who possessed a deep interest in Victorian architecture. He originally decided to build a magnificent building at the end of the 19th century due to the rise in Florida's tourism industry. The hotel debuted on New Year's Day in 1888, following a year of arduous construction work. Smith had a passionate fascination with Revivalist architectural forms, specifically Moorish Revival style.

Casa Monica lobby.

Casa Monica lounge area off the lobby.

Casa Monica's car.

In just four months, Smith had put the hotel in serious financial trouble. Fearing he could not keep the business going, he reached out to Flagler for relief. The railroad magnate subsequently purchased the entire facility from Smith, including "all fixtures, furnishings, silver, hardware, linen, bedding, parlor, hall, dining room, and kitchen furnishings and all other chattels" for $325,000. Flagler renamed it the Cordova Hotel and it prospered under his ownership. Flagler was also one of the nation's top hoteliers. In fact, Flagler already owned two other destinations in St. Augustine--the Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler College) and the Hotel Alcazar (currently the Lightner Museum).

We exited Casa Monica through the lobby door and were immediately in awe of the buildings across the street. Our next destination was the Lightner Museum building, formerly Hotel Alcazar. The Hotel Alcazar was originally owned, constructed, and opened as a luxury hotel by Henry Flagler in 1887-1889. The Alcazar was part of a trio of Moorish and Spanish Renaissance Revival-styled resorts that depicted Flagler's ideal of an "American Riviera" in St. Augustine. The hotel was constructed of cast concrete with coquina shell aggregate and terra cotta features.

The interior photos below are of the recently restored lobby/ballroom area which can be viewed free of charge. The Lightner Museum entrance is behind the ballroom. Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore the museum today.

Lightner Museum
(formerly Hotel Alcaraz).

Lightner Museum.

Lightner Museum tower with
terra cotta finishes and
statue of Pedro Menendez.

Interior courtyard koi pond.

Interior courtyard of Lightner Museum,
complete with Lightner's grave.

Cassone (wedding chest) from Italy,
unsigned, circa 1880.

Restored lobby/ballroom.

Mid-19th century
Grandfather Clock.

The hotel closed in 1931 and was purchased by O.C. Lightner in 1947 to exhibit his collections. The building is now the Lightner Museum and City Hall.

Next, we crossed Granada Street to Flagler College. Wow! This was originally Henry Flagler's Ponce de Leon Hotel, one of the most fabulous hotels in the world. My jaw dropped upon seeing the detail and grand design displayed on the outside.

The inside is supposed to be extremely luxurious, including the windows in the dining hall which comprise the single largest private, currently in-use collection of Tiffany stained glass works in the world. Not too surprising since Louis C. Tiffany was hired to decorate the interior of the hotel.

Unusual for the era, this hotel had electricity installed at the time it was built. Thomas Edison, Flagler's friend, did the installation. He used DC generators to power the electricity which caused the bulbs to explode from time to time as they were turned on.

Now for the name dropping...Frederick Vanderbilt and William R. Rockefeller attended the opening. Guests included Mark Twain, Babe Ruth, Robert Frost, John dos Passos, Somerset Maugham, Ernest Hemingway, and Presidents Grover Cleveland, William McKinney, Theodore Roosevelt, Warren Harding, and Lyndon Johnson.

During World War II, the hotel was taken over by the federal government and was used as a Coast Guard Training Center. St. Augustine is considered to be the birthplace of the Coast Guard Reserve. After the war ended, the building was deactivated by the Coast Guard and returned to operation as a hotel.

Originally, the twin towers of the hotel were water storage tanks and contained 8,000 gallons of water each which provided running water to the guests. During World War II, one of the towers served as a brig for the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center.

We could not go in to see all the opulence contained within due to the COVID-19 virus. Only students are allowed in at this time. I hope they know how lucky they are!