Blogs from Saint Augustine, Florida, United States, North America - page 2

Flagler College, a National Historic Site, is ultimately the product of one visionary man … the “gazillionaire” Henry Flagler (1830-1913), who epitomized the lifestyle of the ultra rich before the advent of Income Tax. One of the world’s richest men, he played a key role in Florida’s history, and the college which now bears his name is but a small testimony to his vast influence. Almost single handedly he launched the tourist industry that brought Florida from being a sleepy quasi-backwater to its present role as one of America’s foremost tourist destinations. Since his first wife was in poor health he brought her south, where he soon realized that Saint Augustine would make an ideal vacation place for other wealthy people fed up with northern winters. Since there were no appropriate facilities, in 1885 he undertook ... read more

Saint Augustine has come a long way since the days of pirates, fortresses, and conflicts among empires: today it has much more to offer than history. A most unusual place that attracts visitors of all ages is the original Ripley’s “Believe it or Not!” Museum. It offers a truly fascinating insight into what Mankind has wrought, for better or for worse. Champion athlete, graphic artist, cartoonist, world traveler, inveterate collector and amateur archaeologist, Robert Ripley (1890-1949) was quite a man! Initially a traveling showman who went from exhibition to exhibition displaying a collection of unusual people and things, his so-called “Odditorium, he began to draw his informative cartoon series “Believe it or Not!” for newspapers during the Great Depression. He eventually had an estimated 80 million readers around the world, and for 20 years even employed ... read more

This 400-year old Spanish structure is Saint Augustine’s most famous attraction. It was built by the Spanish colonizers over a 20-year period in the late 1600s to replace nine previous wooden fortifications. It effectively protected the colony’s strategic location and inhabitants from attacks by pirates and the British. Today it is a National Monument run by the US National Parks Service (NPS). Occupying a 20 acre (8 ha) site, it is the oldest and best preserved masonry fort in the USA. Well, it’s not “masonry” in the usual sense, because it was built of coquina, a shell-rock that is soft and porous underground, but becomes hard when cut into blocks and exposed to air. Then it acts as a sort of structural shock-absorber, somewhat like tacky marshmallow, so that enemy cannon balls could only embed themselves ... read more

A warm, pretty, neat and friendly city about 50 miles south of Amelia Island on Florida’s Historic Coast, St Augustine was one of the most interesting places we have ever visited. We hope you will enjoy this introduction, and subsequent articles about individual landmarks and places within the city and its surroundings. Some 500 years ago, following the Gulf Stream which flowed past Florida’s east coast, Ponce de Leon landed, looking for the fabled Fountain of Youth, and claimed the site and everything around it for Spain. Soon convoys of treasure-laden galleons were sailing past, also following the Gulf Stream. Since pirates, freebooters and other governments were starting to show interest in the New World and in Spanish treasure, in 1545 Pedro Menendez was dispatched with soldiers and colonists to found a settlement, which became today’s ... read more

Rich in culture and beautiful cobblestone streets, St. Augustine has been on my “must-visit” list for quite some time. As a Floridian myself I find that it is often too easy to overlook a lot of activities and places that are deemed touristy; I live here year-round and always assume that I’ll have plenty of time to explore my own backyard when snowbirds and northerners attempting to escape the frigid cold aren’t flocking to bask in the sun. Recently, I made the drive from Tampa to St. Augustine and would recommend this quaint, yet beautiful town to anyone interested in exploring and learning more about the history of the Sunshine State. After just a three and a half hour drive, I found myself in a town unlike any other I’ve visited in Florida. Two friends and ... read more