As well as being an old city, with many historic houses on quiet, narrow
streets, St. Augustine is a bustling modern city with a range of
facilities and accommodations to meet all expectations and travel
budgets.
Begin your visit to the city at the Visitor Information Center on San
Marco Avenue, opposite the Castillo. Here you can get free information,
maps, and answers to your questions from the staff. The center is open
daily from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Limited parking is available for patrons.
You may write: Visitor Information Center, P.O. Drawer 210, St.
Augustine, FL 32085; or call 904-825-1000. Additional information is
available from the St. Augustine and St. Johns County Chamber of
Commerce, 1 Ribera Street, St. Augustine, FL 320841 or call
904-829-5681.
St. Augustine is a wonderful city to walk in, for it is compact and easy
to find your way around. Take time to leave the main streets and walk
through residential areas to get a feel for the city and the way it was
laid out. St. Augustine has its own personality and charm that
distinguish it from such other colonial communities as Williamsburg,
Charleston, and Santa Fe. Today’s St. Augustine bears the imprint of
Henry Flagler (1830-1913), a close partner of John D. Rockefeller in the
development of the Standard Oil Company and a railroad tycoon in
Florida. Flagler bought several small railroads in Florida, consolidated
them, and laid track that eventually ran from Jacksonville to Key West.
Along with his railroad he built luxury hotels in Daytona, Palm Beach,
Miami, and St. Augustine and helped to create the tourist industry that
has played such an important role in Florida’s economy in the 20th
century. Flagler’s legacy lives on in St. Augustine where Flagler
College occupies the former Hotel Ponce de Leon at Cordova and King
streets and in the Lightner Museum housed in the old Alcazar Hotel
across the street from the college. The St. Johns County Courthouse and
the St. Augustine City Hall also occupy Flagler buildings. Flagler is
buried on the grounds of the Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church.
St. George Street, a pedestrian walkway between Castillo Drive and
Cathedral Place, is lined with shops and restaurants of every type and
description. The Spanish Quarter, a restored 18th-century portion of the
city, is a living history museum operated by the state of Florida on the
north end of St. George Street. Along this street a number of residences
dating back more than two centuries have either been reconstructed or
restored by the St. Augustine Restoration and Preservation Commission.
Some of them may be open to the public. But do not assume that they are.
Inquire at the Visitor Information Center for specific information about
opening and closing times.
The Oldest House, located at the corner of St. Francis and Charlotte
streets, is administered by the St. Augustine Historical Society. Guides
give house tours, for which there is a charge. The adjacent museum tells
the story of St. Augustine and of the people who lived here through the
four centuries of the city’s history. In Government House, at the corner
of St. George and King streets, the Historic St. Augustine Preservation
Board, an agency of the state of Florida, also runs a museum that tells
a more inclusive story of Spanish Florida, including Fort Mose, the
oldest free black settlement in the United States.