Historic Walks in St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine was the Spanish Empire's bastion against the expansion of British colonial America throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  It became British in 1763, Spanish again after the American Revolution, American after the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819 which made Florida a territory of the United States, Confederate during the Civil War, and American once again when the war was over.  In the late nineteenth century, St. Augustine became a destination for Gilded Age titans of industry such as Henry Morrison Flagler.  This charming city has preserved many of its historic buildings and makes for wonderful walks for lovers of history and architecture.

The city of St. Augustine runs a parking garage close to the visitor information center.  The parking fee is $10 (flat fee per entry).  I would recommend this if you are going to remain in the city all day.  There might be more convenient options for those who are wanting to see some of the city during the day and then go out to the beaches in the afternoon, but parking is a bit of a challenge in the historic district.  

On my visit, rather than spend the money on one of the trolley tours, I decided to purchase a book for $2.95 at the visitor center which offers five different self-guided walking tours with color photos of the various points of interest.  The tours in the book include the following: (1) the Castillo San Marcos, (2) St. George Street, (3) the Plaza area, (4) the Flagler buildings, and (5) the neighborhood south of King Street.

The Castillo de San Marcos is one of the oldest surviving structures in the United States.  It is well preserved and has several informative exhibits in the rooms of the fort.  It is maintained by the National Park Service and requires a $7.00 fee to tour the grounds.  The walk up along the top of the fortress provides some amazing views of St. Augustine's harbor and the surrounding areas.

After touring the Castillo San Marcos, I walked through the old city gate and down St. George Street.  My self-guided tour book pointed out the historic homes along its stretch and descriptions of some of the past residents of the area.  Plaques on the buildings often provided additional information.  The street is lined with one to two story houses, with architectural designs dating from the first Spanish era to the antebellum period.  Some of the homes are reproductions and not original structures.  Most of the buildings now function has tourist shops, giving the area a bit of a kitschy feel.  You will even find some people walking around in colonial garb.

During my tour of St. George Street, I ate a baja style burrito at A1A Burrito Works;"The Taco Shop," which provided a tasty and inexpensive lunch.  Since it was hot outside, I also bought a gourmet popsicle from Hyppo, a peanut butter and banana flavored one called the "Elvis."

The Plaza tour covers several historical buildings in the center of St. Augustine such as the Government House, the Seth Wakeman House and the First National Bank Building.   The Plaza tour also goes through the park, which includes historic markers discussing the The Saint Augustine Movement, demonstrations which took place during the Civil Rights era. The guide itself does not say anything about the demonstrations, possibly because the monuments were added after the guide's publication.

Standard Oil magnate Henry Flagler built three hotels in St. Augustine during the Gilded Age.  The first was the Ponce de Leon Hotel, which is now the campus of Flagler College, the Alcazar Hotel (which now serves as the Lightner Museum) and the Casa Monica Hotel. These buildings were designed by Carrere and Hastings, the New York architectural firm the designed the New York Public Library.

As is usual with summertime in Florida, the grey clouds were threatening an afternoon downpour, so I decided to take the tour of the Flagler College buildings.  The tour is $10 and shows you the magnificent architecture of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, the Tiffany windows, the ornate dining room, the ladies sitting room and the lavishly manicured grounds.  After the tour, I followed my guidebook's walking tour of the surrounding buildings and residences which had been associated with the hotel.

The final walking tour goes through a primarily residential area south of King Street and provides some fine examples of architecture, including colonial, antebellum and Victorian homes.  

Overall, St. Augustine impressed me with its array of historic architecture.  Those interested in colonial America or the Gilded Age should be attracted to its many buildings from those eras of American history.