On November 18, 1963, President John F. Kennedy made a five-hour trip to Tampa, Florida. From his family's winter home in Palm Beach, Kennedy flew into MacDill Air Force Base. The president then toured Tampa International Airport before embarking on a 28-mile motorcade through downtown Tampa. Thousands of people came out to see the 35th …
St. Augustine is known as the “Oldest Continuously Occupied European Settlement in North America.” Pedro Menéndez de Aviles and his fleet landed on August 28, 1565, the Catholic feast day of St. Augustine of Hippo. Here, Spain established a presidio, military outpost, and staked claim to la Florida as a colony. Centuries later, St. Augustine …
St. Augustine celebrated its Quadricentennial, or 400th anniversary, in 1965. To commemorate the occasion, the United States Postal Service released the Florida Settlement Stamp and a series of collectible first day covers. The Florida Settlement Stamp, designed by New York artist Brook Temple, is printed in red, black, and yellow. It depicts a conquistador with …
Continue reading First Day of Issue: St. Augustine’s Quadricentennial Stamp
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
In celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, we have been looking back at the formation of the Pan American Center during the event of the 400th Anniversary of St. Augustine’s founding. In 1965, Herbert Wolfe and the Quadricentennial Committee invited all to celebrate the restoration of St. Augustine to its colonial appearances and to celebrate the creation …
We're so excited to continue celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Preservation Board! We'll be continuing to highlight the lives of those involved in St. Augustine's historic preservation movement for the rest of the month. How much do you know about the very first executive director of the St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission? …
Artists' Rendering of the Salcedo House. UFDC. The Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (HSAPB) uncovered the original foundations of the Salcedo House & Kitchen (at 42 and 42 ½ St. George Street) during archaeological excavations in 1962. This discovery led to the subsequent reconstruction of both buildings on their original foundations. The Salcedo House was …
There are a plethora of art galleries in downtown St. Augustine. But none perhaps have the same unique history as those inside the Florida Heritage House, or the Wakeman House located at 11 King Street. This building, with its hard-to-miss second floor balcony, is a reconstruction of a late Second Spanish Period home built in …
Arrivas House today. Today we're shining a spotlight on the first restoration project completed by the St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission; the Arrivas House! Located at 46 St. George Street, it has a long and varied history, with a long list of owners and uses. It is one of our favorite buildings because …
This is the second installment in a series about an interesting piece of commemoration used by the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board with their reconstruction projects: the cornerstone. This time we’ll be looking at the cornerstone for the reconstructed Marin-Hassett House, which was also known as the Pan American Center. The Pan American Center, 1972 …
Governor's House Library 