July 29: St. Augustine

Today was the great sightseeing push of St. Augustine, which is turning out to be a fascinating city.  We woke to almost clear skies, but knew better than to hope that would last all day.  Later on in the morning we had a downpour, but were on the sightseeing tram when it hit.  

Both Nancy and I enjoyed avocado toast and lemon arugula salad with a hard-boiled egg and sundried tomatoes—a very good way to start a day, along with a cup of chai tea.  

After that fortification, we were off to Trolley Stop # 2, where we parked the car and caught the trolley for all 23 stops:  Potter’s Wax Museum, the Tolomato Cemetery; the CIty Gates, St. George Street (historic walking mall), and the oldest wooden school house; the Colonial quarter, Pirate and Treasure Museum, and the Castillo de San Marco Fort; the Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church, Grace United Methodist Church, and the Ancient City Baptist Church; the Villa Zorayda Museum; the Lightner Museum and Flagler College; the St. Augustine Distillery; San Sebastian Winery; Whetstone Chocolate Factory; Government House and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine; the Spanish Military Hospital Museum; the oldest house in St. Augustine; Ripley’s Believe It or N ot; the Mission of Nombre de Dios, and the Fountain of Youth.

After a full round on the trolley and a drenching rain which had us all receiving ponchos from the driver, Nancy and I got off at Stop #9, which included the three places we wanted to visit most—Flagler College, the Lightner Museum, and the Zorayda Museum.  Remember that yesterday I had talked about the exterior, with a few photos of the interior.  Today we focused more completely on the lobby and the dining room, as we participated in a tour of both.  Our guide was a former student of Flagler College.  I had talked about the exterior of that building yesterday, so today will focus on the dining room, which was a knockout!  Seventy-nine Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows stream light onto the beautiful handpainted murals on the walls and ceiling.  We also visited the Flagler Room, formerly the Women’s Grand Parlor, where we gazed upon handcrafted Austrian crystal chandeliers, a clock containing the largest piece of intact white onyx in the western hemisphere, original hotel furniture and art, as well as personal photos and memories of Henry Flagler and his family.  Since we had arrived 20 minutes late for the tour, our tour guide afterwards gave Nancy and me the tour of the dining room, which is currently under renovation.  However, I understand that the Tiffany windows and murals in that room will be untouched.  Bravo!  A truly grand space, in every sense of the word!

After Flagler College we went to a building opposite that grand space—the Lightner Museum, housed in the former Alcatraz Hotel, built in 1888 by Henry Flagler.  It was commissioned by him to appeal to wealthy tourists who traveled south for the winter on his railroad, the Florida East Coast Railway.  It was designed by NYC architects in the Spanish Renaissance style.  The firm also designed the Ponce de Leon Hotel, which later became Flagler College.  Both structures are notable for being among the earliest examples of poured concrete buildings in the world.  The hotel had a steam room, massage parlor, sulfur baths, a gymnasium, a 3-story ballroom, and the world’s largest indoor swimming pool.  However, after years as an elegant winter resort for wealthy patrons, the hotel closed in 1932.  After purchasing the building to house his extensive collection of Victorian Era pieces in 1947, Chicago publisher Otto Lightner turned it over to the city of St. Augustine.  The building is an attraction in itself, centering on an open courtyard with palm trees and a stone arch bridge over a fish pond.  The museum occupies three floors of the former Hotel Alcatraz and is housed in the former health facilities of the hotel, including the spa and the Turkish bath, in addition to its 3-story ballroom.  

Our first stop, as we were famished, was Cafe Alcatraz, which is located on what used to be the bottom of the swimming pool.  Nancy and I had a half-sandwich, half-soup plate:  in my case, curry chicken sandwich and a wonderful Greek soup, and a cup of coffee for dessert.  Then we began to explore what proved to be one of my favorite museums ever.  What made it even more exciting was the piping-in of music, which created an unmistakable ambiance that was unforgettable.  The first floor of the museum housed a Victorian village, with shop fronts representing emporia selling wares; a Victorian Science and Industry Room displayed shells, rocks, minerals, and Native American artifacts in beautiful Gilded Age cases, as well as stuffed birds, a small Egyptian mummy, a model steam engine, elaborate examples of Victorian glassblowing, a golden elephant bearing the world on its back, and a shrunken head.  The first floor also contained a music room filled with mechanized musical instruments, including player pianos, reproducing pianos, orchestrions, and others, dating from the 1870s through the 1920s.  

The second floor contained examples of cut glass, Victorian art glass and stained glass work from Louis Comfort Tiffany’s studio.  The third floor, the ballroom, exhibited paintings, sculptures, and furniture, including a “grande escritoire” created for Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother and King of Holland between 1806 and 1810.  This desk has 200 drawers and must be seen to be believed!!!!!!!  See Facebook for a photograph of this monumental piece.  

Our last stop for the day and right across from the Lightner was a visit to the Villa Zorayda, built in 1883 by the eccentric Boston millionaire Franklin W. Smith as his winter home.  It was inspired by the 12th c. Moorish Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain.  He named it “Villa Zorayda” after one of the princesses in Washington Irving’s “Tales of the Alhambra.”  In 1993 it was added to the US National Register of Historic Places.  The Villa Zorayda was the first residence built in the Moorish Revival style in Florida, and the first poured concrete building in St. Augustine.  There were some interesting elements, such as intricately designed fireplaces and doorways, geometrically shaped windows and stained glass, but the super-abundance of Oriental rugs, sculptures, carved furniture, decorative tiles, and Egyptian artifacts made me experience sensory overload.  Less could have been more!

After that we were back on the trolley and cruised back through the city and back to our parking place.  From there we proceeded to Sunset Grill, where we had coconut shrimp (B- in quality after our A+ shrimp the first day I came); and I had a baked sweet potato.  Nancy has introduced me to a new, dynamite, non-alcoholic drink called an Arnold Palmer and made of unsweetened tea and lemonade!  Excellent!

After this missive, I will be posting on Facebook all the photos I took today.  Have a look and enjoy them as much as I did.  Nancy says hello to all!  As ever, SV