If you're following along with our ABC's of St. Augustine Architecture on Instagram (@govhouselibrary), you'll already know that "B" is for Balcony! As you walk down St. George Street, or most any street in the historic downtown, the overhanging balconies automatically stick out, literally and metaphorically, as a recurring feature in our city's architecture. These …
Continue reading A Birds’ Eye View of History: The Balconies of St. Augustine
Florida Archaeology Month is drawing to a close, so today we are going to illustrate one of our favorite digs. The 1993 archaeological excavation of Government House's plaza. The excavation aimed to investigate Government House's past - and grounds. Field notes from archaeological work at Government House in 1993. (UFDC) Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board …
Tomorrow, February 22, is George Washington's birthday, but it is also an important day in Governor's House history; it's the day the building we currently occupy officially opened to the public in 1937! The building operated very differently on its opening day 83 years ago, but our artifact of the day will give us some …
It's not very often that you can claim that your workplace is featured on fine china, but we're some of the lucky few that can! This dinner plate got us thinking about all of the feasts that would have been held on this site when it was the Royal Governor's residence, so we did some …
You will find many unique objects illustrating St. Augustine's past in Government House. The storied walls contain collections ranging from archaeological archives to colorful paintings. But no other object holds as many of Florida's stories as Dr. Michael Gannon's desk. Dr. Gannon - a historian and former priest - served as a University of Florida …
Did you know that St. Augustine is laid out in accordance with the typical Spanish town plan? This means that each town should feature a large plaza area in the center of the town, flanked by a religious center (the Cathedral) and governmental offices. Government House stands at the west end of our Plaza at …
We're so excited to announce that Governor’s House Library in we've completed our two-year Access to Historical Records grant project a few weeks ago! The project, Opening St. Augustine: Preserving & Providing Access to 450 Years of American History, began in May 2017 and was generously funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Through …
Hi I'm Claire Barnewolt and I'm the library assistant at Governor's House. Last week I was fortunate enough to have my first experience at the Society of Florida Archivists’ Annual Meeting. Held in Miami, this meeting brought together approximately one hundred archivists and librarians from the state of Florida, all bent on identifying and preserving …
If you haven't heard the news already, we are hosting an amazing free lecture at Governor's House this Saturday, September 22nd! The lecture starts at 4pm, but we will be having an library open house starting at 2:30, complete with tours of the library space and light refreshments. We are excited to get to show …
81 years ago a printing plate was cast to commemorate a very special occasion: the dedication of a brand new post office and customs house building for the city of St. Augustine. The present-day site of Governor's House had served as the U.S. Post Office and Customs House since America acquired Florida from Spain in …
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