On Day 3, we returned to adventures in St. Augustine downtown. We started out at the Lightner Museum, which is housed in the historic Hotel Alcazar built in 1887. The building is Spanish Renaissance Revival style and very pretty.
The courtyard where you could feed fish
I have no idea who this guy is, but it was a neat statue.
The museum mostly features of a bunch of mediocre Victorian junk. Victorians were into collecting stuff: shells, rocks, tobacco labels, glass dishes, etc. I guess if you’re into collecting, you’d like this place. The cut glass collection was impressive.
Hotel Alcazar swimming pool, now a dining room. Can you imagine swimming in this?
St. Augustine was founded on September 8, 1565, by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. This statue is in front of the Lightner Museum.
Across the street is Flagler College. Check out this gorgeous building!
Flagler College, a private residential university established in 1968. It is partly housed in what was originally the stunning Hotel Ponce de Leon opened in 1888 by Henry Flagler.
Flagler College - the dome in the lobby. And people go to university here!
St. Augustine has some pretty neat historic places to visit, but it also has a whole bunch of tourist traps. Everything is labeled “the oldest” something or other. For example…
The oldest wooden schoolhouse, circa 1716ish. Wood being key here. Apparently not the oldest schoolhouse in the US, which goes to a place on Staten Island. We didn’t waste money on this tour.
The Oldest House: The Gonzalez-Alvarez House, otherwise known as the oldest surviving Spanish colonial residence in Florida. We didn’t waste money on this tour, either.