Extra, extra! Read all about it! Today, we have a piece of news that is not so hot off the presses. To be exact this story is over 50 years old: The printing pressed used by the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board from the 1960s until 1990s is a replica! The Board's shop built the …
Continue reading Hot Off The Presses: Printing History At San Agustin Antíguo
In 1969, St. Augustine Record journalist Anne Carling wrote "everything's coming up chrysanthemums, marigolds, zinnias, or petunias" for the St. Augustine Historic Restoration Commission (later renamed the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board). She really meant it as she covered the Commission's new project to construct a greenhouse on Cuna Street. With 15 gardens, the Commission …
We all know about Nights of Lights here in St. Augustine, but what about Night Watch? Let's learn a little more about this military exercise turned festive. In the colonial period of St. Augustine, the town was mostly occupied by soldiers at the Castillo or their family members. The town revolved around the fort and …
There’s nothing quite like a cookie to get us in the holiday spirit, so we’re celebrating by highlighting the sweet treats from the Spanish Bakery. Located behind Salcedo House, this bakery once offered tourists "Spanish bread and cookies in the old-fashioned way" as part of the living history museum San Agustin Antiguo. Salcedo Kitchen, looking …
We think the best part about the de la Puente map is that we're able to make connections not only between people and their homes, but between neighbors. On Friday, we explored the Rodriguez family and their home, and today we're heading just a few feet southeast to the Sanchez de Ortigosa family. Jose Sanchez …
Continue reading Vecinos en San Agustin (Neighbors in St. Augustine)
You may have walked up and down St. George Street countless times and never noticed the Rodriguez House, a petite structure unusually set far back from the road. It's nestled between the former Monk's Vineyard and the Spanish Dutch Convoy shop near the intersection of St. George and Cuna Streets. Though it's small in square …
Have you ever been to the Hyppo on St. George Street? Way before they were serving us all deliciously cold pops, it was the home of the Ortega family! If you've been following along this month, you know how vital the de la Puente map is to our understanding of Spanish colonial St. Augustine and …
When it comes to cigars, St. Augustine probably does not come to mind first. You might instead imagine Tampa or Cuba. Well, let us cure that by chomping down on our city's long, smokey relationship with cigarro. Let us start at the beginning. When Europeans arrived in the Americas, they found Native Americans cultivating tobacco …
Continue reading Rolling History and Cigars in St. Augustine
Here at Governor’s House, we spend a lot of time researching and talking about the buildings that the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board restored and reconstructed, but lately we’ve become interested in learning more about the people who made the dream of San Agustín Antiguo, their museum village, possible. One couple in particular, Kjell and …
Supermarkets and grocery stores play an important role in our communities. They keep us fed and supplied with everything we need and want. These days, we could not be more grateful for their essential work. So today let us take shopping trip back in time to one such store which once stood on St. George …
Governor's House Library 