Feb
11
2012

St. Augustine’s Old Jail offers a compelling look at the cell blocks, gallows and sheriff’s quarters. Built in 1891, the jail held prisoners for over 60 years. Your guided tour led by the jailers includes a close-up view of the men’s and women’s cells, maximum security, as well as a collection of weapons. See where the sheriff and his wife and children lived right upstairs from the prisoners and used their own kitchen to prepare meals for the inmates. The Old Jail deputies will entertain you with tales of justice and punishment when Florida was America’s southernmost frontier. You might even meet America’s most feared sheriff, Joe Perry. It’s a fun and historic outing for adults and children.
Feb
11
2012

When in St. Augustine, the best way to find out about all there is to see and do is to visit the Old Town Trolley Welcome Center. Located conveniently on US1, the center is staffed with local professionals who can assist you with everything from booking tours, making hotel reservations and getting discount tickets for local attractions, to providing you with area maps, brochures and more.
Telephone: 904-829-3800
Address: 1618 N Ponce De Leon Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32080
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Feb
11
2012

The Villa Zorayda was constructed in 1883 as the winter home of Franklin Smith, a Boston millionaire who
was so impressed by the magnificence of the Alhambra Palace which he saw during a visit to Granada, Spain, that he decided to build the as the exact replica of one wing of the palace at one tenth of the original size. The 12th century palace had been built by the Moors who had ruled Spain for six centuries before being expelled in 1492. Smith, a gifted amateur architect, designed the house himself, using the innovative technique of constructing the building with poured concrete reinforced with crushed coquina stone. Many other materials used in finishing the residence were imported from Spain. In 1913, the building was bought by Abraham S. Mussallem. In 1922, it became a nightclub and gambling casino which closed in 1925 when Florida outlawed gambling. In 1936, it was opened as a tourist attraction called the Zorayda Castle, exhibiting items fitting the architectural theme of the building. The property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Feb
11
2012

Get face-to-face with some of the world’s most famous and prominent people. A visit to Potter’s Wax Museum provides an up close and personal look at nearly 170 different wax sculptures of Presidents, Kings, explorers, movie stars, artists, authors and more. The life-size wax figures are astoundingly real-looking and as you tour through you can learn interesting facts about the folks you are viewing. See Tiger Woods—one of the newer figures, or the cast of the hit TV series Jerry Seinfeld, just to name a few. Potter’s Wax Museum has been captivating guests for 50 years and is the first museum of its kind in Florida.
Feb
11
2012

The Spanish Military Hospital Museum offers visitors a look into how healthcare operated during the Spanish Colonial Period. The building that the museum is housed in is a reconstruction of a Military Hospital that was on the same site in the late 1700’s. As you tour the museum, you’ll be given an inside look into how patients were treated here. From the ward beds to the surgeon’s tools and even the mourning room where patient’s last rights were given by Priests, the museum is an interesting and unique spot to see.
Address: 3 Aviles Street, St Augustine, FL 32084
Feb
11
2012

The first interment took place in the area of the cemetery in 1828 it was then used as the post cemetery for the St. Francis Barracks. The first burials were soldiers stationed at St. Francis Barracks and veterans of the Indian Wars, including many that were transferred from burial grounds in what was then Seminole controlled territory.
During the American Civil War, St. Augustine was initially claimed by the Confederacy, but was quickly occupied by Union forces and remained in Union hands for the remainder of the war. After the war, the cemetery was expanded and improved, and in 1881 it became a National Cemetery.
Feb
11
2012

The Bridge of Lions spans the Intracoastal Waterway and connects downtown St. Augustine to Anastasia Island. Lions made of marble guard the bridge, begun in 1925 and completed in 1927 across Matanzas Bay. From its earliest days, it was hailed as “The Most Beautiful Bridge in Dixie.” It has long been a symbol of the nation’s oldest city.
It gets its name from two Carrara marble lion statues that are copies of those found in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy. The statues were a gift of Dr. Andrew Anderson (1839-1924), the builder of the Markland House. The lions reference the name “Leon” in Ponce De Leon, which means “Lion” in Spanish.