St Augustine Gold Tours

01/20/2025

Did you know? Franklin Smith's winter home, Villa Zorayda, set an architectural precedent in St. Augustine, Florida!

Smith's choice of Moorish/Spanish revival architecture, paired with his innovative method of poured concrete building construction, sealed his fate as the "Father of Architecture in St Augustine!”

Here is a chronological list of some of the buildings in St Augustine built with Smith's method of poured concrete construction:

✨Villa Zorayda, 1883
✨Lyon Building, 1886
✨Castle Warden, 1887 (Ripley's)
✨Grace Methodist Church, 1887
✨Cathedral Basilica restoration and Bell Tower, 1887
✨Casa Monica Hotel, 1888
✨Ponce de Leon Hotel, 1888 (now Flagler College)
✨Hotel Alcazar, 1888 (City Hall and Lightner Museum)
✨Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1889
✨Brooks Villa, 1891 (174 Avenida Menendez)

➡️ Take a tour of the Villa Zorayda Museum. Details here: villazorayda.com

09/23/2024

09/08/2024

Celebrating 459 Years in St. Augustine! The city was founded on September 8, 1565 by Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles for Spain.

From history.com:

Even before Jamestown or the Plymouth Colony, the oldest permanent European settlement in what is now the United States was founded in September 1565 by a Spanish soldier named Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in St. Augustine, Florida. Menéndez picked the colony’s name because he originally spotted the site on August 28, the feast day of St. Augustine.

📸: — Castillo de San Marcos fort, built from 1672-1695 by the Spanish to defend the city.

09/04/2024

09/04/2024

08/08/2024

Along with multiple partner organizations, the City will be hosting a delegation from our Aviles, Spain to celebrate 100 years of our sister city relationship! Some public events include:

🎼 Asturian folk band concerts
💐 A wreath-laying ceremony
⛪ Founder's Day Commemoration activities
✂️ Historic marker unveiling
🛣️ Aviles street festival

Events will be held from Thursday, September 5 through Monday, September 9!

For a full schedule, to make reservations, and for more information: https://bit.ly/3Ww9up3

St Augustine Sister Cities St. Johns Cultural Council Flagler College Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine (official)

06/10/2024

BEFORE THE BRIDGE OF LIONS! In the late 1800s, a small bridge with a horse-drawn trolley connected historic St. Augustine, Florida to Anastasia Island, where the St. Augustine Lighthouse stands.

📸: We believe this photo actually shows another bridge in the marsh area of Anastasia Island that led to the St. Augustine Lighthouse, where visitors could see this landmark after boating over from the historic district to the island.

“The Bridge to Anastasia Island” or “South Beach railroad bridge” was built in 1895, and after a major renovation in 1904, the bridge could accommodate a trolley. The span contained no rise, and had a movable opening for ship traffic, and charged a toll for transit.

The Bridge of Lions was completed in 1927. It was rebuilt in 2010.

The bridge gets its name from a pair of marble Medici lion replicas that guard the bridge.

06/02/2024