Published by the Department of Public Affairs, City of St. Augustine. Florida July 6 2010
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Aviles Street's historic makeover |
 Gibbs & Register's streetscape team will take on the challenge of transforming our city's oldest residential street from a narrow way clogged by parking and rutted by carriages into an historic lane with fresh brick surface and sidewalk dining.
The Winter Garden contractor has a $206,500 contract to complete the transformation of the first block of Aviles Street off King by Labor Day. The street will be closed to traffic beginning August 2, but will remain open for pedestrians and businesses. A strip of parking will be replaced with a wider sidewalk for outdoor dining. That parking will be shifted to the Trinity Church parking lot on Artillery Lane through agreement with our city. Among elements in the transformation: underground utilities, benches, landscaping, and new street lights. Background information on our city website or call our Public Works Department at 825-1040. |
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What to wear
on 1513 voyage Ever wonder how to pack for a voyage to the New World in 1513?
The Colegio de Juan Ponce de Leon (College of Juan Ponce de Leon) can help you, in classes describing "basic, research-based, historically accurate, early 16th-century garb and personal gear."
Colegio will be in session from 9 to noon July 17 in the Sala de Montiano at Government House.
It's only for paid members of La Compania de Juan Ponce de Leon (The Company of Juan Ponce de Leon), so this might be a good time to sign up and join in preparations for a planned April 2011 "First Landing" re-enactment and Florida's 500th anniversary observances in 2013.
Contact La Compania toll-free, at 1-877-FLA-HIST (1-877-352-4478).
Photo: National Park Service |
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| Eras merge in restoration | |
In 1565, Spain's Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine. Three centuries later, in 1887, Henry Flagler built the Ponce de Leon Hotel.
 Another century later, in 2010, art students from Menendez' birthplace have descended - rather ascended - on Flagler's grand hotel to restore the murals on the ceiling in the hotel's former dining room, now the Flagler College dining hall.
As part of a developing exchange program between Flagler and the School of Art and Design in Aviles, Spain, six students of the Escuela Superior de Arte del Principado de Asturias (Aviles School of Art) have spent the past month restoring the murals, along with Flagler students Libby Couch and Taylor Loughlin, and under the direction of Don Martin of Flagler's Department of Art and Design and Maria Sedano, head of the painting restoration department in Aviles.
A photo gallery of the work is on the Flagler College website.
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| Summer readin' time, author time |
Summertime, and the readin' is easy. Our St. Augustine Historical Society has a wealth of authors coming on board each Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. through August for book signings at the Oldest House complex on St. Francis Street.
Karen Harvey, Drs. Susan Parker, Thomas Graham, Kathleen Wu, and Pat Griffin are among the authors on tap.
An added feature will be historic videos showing continuously in the Tovar House, including the 1916 Florida enchantment, 1954's Creature from the Black Lagoon filmed at Marineland, and the 1964 Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine. Call 904-824-2872 for details. |
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| In the Mailbag |
'Mother City of the Nation'?
A reader notes, "I just ran into something I had not before encountered. An ad in the St. Augustine Evening Record, February 3, 1921, reads: 'The Mother City of the Nation WELCOMES President-elect WARREN G. HARDING, P. R. Perry, Mayor.'
"I like Mother City. Found it in the 2009 El Escribano, page 34, Susan Parker's article on Harding's visits here. Has anyone else used the term??"
Dr. Parker's article notes that Harding kept St. Augustine in the national spotlight for three years of vacationing (1921-1923) until his death in August, 1923.
Fortified city's line of sight
"Nothing could reinforce to the visitor passing out of the parking garage that they are entering a special, fortified city, than the completion of this missing section of the Cubo Line," says a reader, suggesting a good 450th project would be completing the Cubo Line between the City Gate and the Santo Domingo Redoubt.
The Cubo line is evident along the western glacis on the Castillo grounds, and plans have been on the books for years to continue it along the south edge of the Huguenot Cemetery, completing a visible stretch to the redoubt at Cordova and Orange streets.
The Cubo line, a palm log wall that stretched from the Castillo to the San Sebastian River, defended the northern side of St. Augustine in the 1700s and 1800s.
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History's Highlights
Henry Flagler's luxurious Rail Car 90
One in a series of historic features as we prepare for our commemorations, drawn from research by George Gardner.
5 years, 2 months, and 3 days to St. Augustine's 450th anniversary
Henry Flagler's life was all about transportation, from his fortune made in oil for an emerging automobile industry, to a fleet of horse-drawn carriages to move his wealthy guests about St. Augustine, and of course his Florida East Coast Railroad (FEC).
Always one to travel in style, he had not one but six luxurious rail cars built - and all six still exist, according to Railroad enthusiast Carter Reese of Wyomissing, PA. Numbered 90 through 95, the cars were built in 1888 by Jackson and Sharp Co. of Wilmington, Del., for use on Flagler's private train.
 One is at the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, while his personal "rolling hotel suite," FEC No. 90, is on personal loan to the Indiana Transportation Museum.
"While most private cars during the 1880's and 1890's were paneled in dark varnished oak or mahogany, FEC No. 90's interior has the bright, sunny look of its Florida home base," the museum reports. "All interior walls are paneled in the finest satin wood and framed with intricately hand carved blonde mahogany. Empire ceilings are painted in two-tone green and decorated with an elaborate gold leaf floral pattern.
"Carpeting, curtains, and upholstered furniture designs reflect the decorative tastes of the period and are color coordinated with the ceiling. Chandeliers and lamps are made of bronze and fitted with cut glass globes.
An unusual feature of the car is a working fireplace of onyx and bronze located in the dining room."
FEC No. 90 remained on the FEC line until the 1950's, when it was purchased by Ike Duffey, president of the Central Indiana Railroad, who painted the car dark green and named it "Duchess" after his dog. Collector/restorer Reuben Darby of Hagerstown, Maryland, bought the car in the 1960's after Duffey's death, and embarked on a meticulous $110,000 restoration.
In 1969, Darby delivered FEC No. 90 to Anton (Tony) Hulman, Jr, best known for buying the dilapidated Indianapolis Motor Speedway immediately after World War II. The car remained in Terre Haute until it was placed on permanent loan to the Indiana Transportation Museum.
Photo: Indiana Transportation Museum |
The St. Augustine Report is published by the Department of Public Affairs of the City of St. Augustine each Tuesday and on Fridays previewing City Commission meetings. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, former St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and Commissioner (2006-2008) and a longtime newspaper reporter and editor. Contact The Report at gardner@aug.com |
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