St. Augustine
St. Augustine is Florida at her finest. It is a city
that bridges gaps in time and culture. First, understanding St. Augustine’s long
and convoluted history is crucial in beginning to understand the city itself.
St. Augustine was founded in 1565, making it the oldest continuously occupied
settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States. To put
this into perspective, this was 42 years before the English colonized
Jamestown and a whole 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at
Plymouth Rock. The Spanish first claimed the land St. Augustine sits upon for strategic
military purposes and enlisted hundreds of Franciscan priests to start missions
among the Native Americans. During this time, conflict with Great Britain came
early and often, leading the Spanish to construct forts to defend their city.
The one that has survived and still stands today is the Castillo de San Marcos,
which is made of coquina, making it both fire resistant and impenetrable to
enemy attack. However, Florida was ceded by the Spanish in 1763 to Great
Britain. The Spanish returned to reclaim the land, but their victory didn’t last
long. As revolution swept South America and Napoleon’s armies threatened to
conquer Europe, the Spanish crown’s resources were spread too thin. In 1821, the
young and opportunistic United States swooped in and acquired the land from
Spain via treaty. Today, although the city is coated with a thick veneer of
tourism, St. Augustine’s ties to its Spanish heritage have remained strong.
Former hotels such as the Lightner Museum and Flagler College bear a distinctive
Spanish Renaissance architectural influence. Tourists wander between souvenir
shops housed in historic Spanish colonial buildings, and informational panels
tell the history of city in English and Spanish, side by side. Tropical
flowers such as hibiscuses and bird-of-paradise flowers cast their shadows on
pastel walls, and cabbages palmettos stand proud a burning sky. St. Augustine's
soul is both Spanish and American, both historic and touristy, but always unique
and always its own.
St. Photios National Shrine
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