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ancientcity

Ponce de León Hall

Here’s an image that I shot just inside of the gates to the courtyard of Ponce de León Hall. Originally built as an exclusive luxury hotel by millionaire developer Henry M. Flagler, it is now part of Flagler College. It’s simply gorgeous. I’ve posted some photos recently of coquina. The building was the first of its kind to be constructed using poured concrete with local coquina as a component. The building is of the Spanish Renaissance style and was architected by John Carrère and Thomas Hastings. I suggest reading up on the history of original Ponce de León Hotel.

Ponce de León Hall

Flagler College Architectural Detail

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Flagler College, a private liberal arts college, in St. Augustine, FL is chock-full of architectural design intricacies. John Carrere and Thomas Hastings designed Ponce de Leon Hall, built around 1888, as a luxury hotel. The image above is part of the main gates to the courtyard in front of the complex. I’ll post a wider shot of the hall from inside the courtyard in an upcoming post in this series from my St. Augustine trip. Stay tuned.

Medici Lion in St. Augustine, Florida

Medici Lion

Here’s another photo from a walk around Old Town with my parents. This is one of the original Carrara marble Medici lions that’s perched on the Old Town end of the bridge. The original bridge spanning the Matanzas Bay was opened in 1927. It connects downtown St. Augustine with Anastasia Island.

After the original bridge, as well as a temporary bridge were demolished, the new bridge opened in 2010. My Uncle was one of the few lucky ones to first cross the new bridge at the ribbon cutting ceremony on opening day. The bridge is a really pretty component of such a beautiful area.

The lions were a gift from Dr. Andrew Anderson. He’s known for putting artwork in public places around St. A. Even though St. Augustine is known for heavy Spanish influence, he had the lions made by Romanelli Studios in Florence, Italy.

Coquina in St. Augustine, FL

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Ever heard of coquina? This type of rock is made of various size pieces of shells and other invertebrates. It was quarried and used as building material all over St. Augustine hundreds of years ago. Most of the buildings in old town and the walls of the Castillo de San Marcos are made of coquina. It was essential in the fort and city walls as it would basically absorb cannonballs rather than shatter. These are a few of my shots from wandering around during my visit to St. A. back in July.

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