Published by former Mayor George Gardner May 18 2016
The Report is an independent publication serving our community
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A master plan for
Historic preservation
 An effort begun 133 years ago is on course to reach fruition - a St. Augustine Historic Preservation Master Plan.
It was in 1883 the St. Augustine Historical Society took an active role in efforts to persuade residents and local officials to preserve historic buildings. This followed writers' comments in 1871, "St. Augustine can be made the most attractive of American cities," and 1875, amid talk of demolishing the Castillo de San Marcos to make way for a railroad station, "Such vandalism would be a disgrace to us."
Thursday, May 19, a public forum 5:30-7:30 pm in the Alcazar Room at City Hall will get an outline of steps to develop a St. Augustine Historic Preservation Master Plan.
City staff began the initiative a year ago, made presentations to the Historic Architectural Review Board and City Commission, completed a survey of citizen concerns in January, and has hired Preservation Design Partnership, LLC (PDP), to prepare the plan.
Find excerpts of city preservation efforts through the years in a mid-1990s analysis here.
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Obelisk Program
is award winner
Compassionate St. Augustine's Obelisk Program has won a $500 State of the Arts grant for its Through the Eyes of Children 3, a continuing version of the children's program, to take place at the St. Johns County Youth Academy, a residential facility for boys 14-18 who are required to stay in the care of the Department of Juvenile Justice for an extended time.
The award is added to its Florida Trust for Historic Preservation award for Outstanding Recognition in Preservation Education/Media.
The grant was made at a ceremony held Monday, May 16, at the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum.
Image - Artist Cecilia Lueza, Lightner Museum and City Hall, Hope Photography (Michelle Mallard)
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PDP "is a nationally recognized firm specializing in heritage planning and design with direct experience in many cities including New Orleans, Ft. Lauderdale, Newton, MA and Portsmouth, NH," says city Historic Preservation and Special Projects Planner Jenny Wolfe.
City planning staff and the citizen Historic Preservation Committee "are most knowledgeable about local concerns and issues, best equipped to create a plan that is relevant to the community and meets the needs of the city's preservation program, and best placed to guide community engagement," says Wolfe. "But we often have limited time to devote to developing a plan which can result in project delays or less-developed plans.
"The consultant can provide objective evaluation of current programs and future needs, is knowledgeable on recommended practices for preservation planning, can bring experience from planning processes with other communities, and can complete a plan on a schedule," she said.
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Preservation awards to
reporter, obelisk project
The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation has presented awards to First Coast News Reporter Jessica Clark and the nonprofit Compassionate St. Augustine.
The awards were presented last Friday, May 13, in ceremonies at Tallahassee.
Jessica Clark
 First Coast News Reporter Jessica Clark became the first journalist ever to receive an award from the Florida Trust, recognizing her ten years covering history stories in St. Augustine, specifically for her coverage of archaeology. Jessica is First Coast News St. Augustine area reporter and weekend night news anchor. Compassionate St. Augustine An award for Outstanding Recognition in Preservation Education/Media went to Compassionate St. Augustine for the Obelisk Art 450 Tour of Compassion public art project and Compassion through the Eyes of Children. The award recognizes outstanding heritage education programs, including books, brochures, curriculum, DVDs, websites, interactive media and other publications that deal with historic preservation or local history.
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Ticket booth for
Colonial Quarter
 The Colonial Quarter brings an adjusted location for a ticket booth on St. George Street to the city's Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) tomorrow following a continuation from last month.
The meeting begins at 1 pm in the Alcazar Room at City Hall and will be live-streamed at www.cosatv.com. The adjustment sets the booth further back between the de Mesa House and Bull & Crown Publick House, following board comments last month that the forward location closes off any visibility to the Quarter.
"We want it there because we want to use the de Mesa house as an orientation center," Colonial Quarter Manager Cindy Stavely told the board of the location.
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Demolition request for 1894 building
 That somewhat iconic building that's stood at 121 Riberia Street since 1894 faces demolition if approved by the city's Historic Architectural Review Board tomorrow.
The building, which has been vacant for years, is considered a contributing building to the Lincolnville National Register Historic District.
Also up for demolition requests, 133 Cedar Street, a 1915 contributing building to the Lincolnville National Register Historic District, 32 Granada Street, an 1899 building not located in a local or national register district, and 149 Riberia Street, a 1954 building not located in a historic district.
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Centennial Evenings at the Castillo
Continuing commemoration of the National Park Service Centennial and its "Find Your Park" program, the Castillo de San Marcos is extending hours the third Friday each month to September.
May 20, June 17, July 15, August 19 and September 16.
"Visit the Castillo from 5 - 7 pm to informally explore the history and importance of this fortress," park rangers say. Admission is $10 for adults; children 15 and younger free. 904-829-6506 www.nps.gov/casa
Changing of the Guard
At 6 pm, see history come to life when 18th century Spanish soldiers march down St. George Street to Government House where they will perform authentic military drills before firing a volley of musketry. The event features the St. Augustine Garrison. 48 Cathedral Place, St. Augustine. http://hfm.club/garrison/cog
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History's Highlight
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The Castillo de San Marcos
The Castillo de San Marcos is the only extant 17th century military construction in the country and the oldest masonry fortress in the United States.
It is a prime example of the "bastion system" of fortification, the culmination of hundreds of years of military defense engineering.
 It is also unique for the material used in its construction. The Castillo is one of only two fortifications in the world built out of a semi-rare form of limestone called coquina (The other is Fort Matanzas National Monument 14 miles south). The fortress itself is both a product of and evidence to the multitude of forces both political and technological that created the competition for empire during the colonial era.
But above all the Castillo is an enduring legacy of the craftsmanship and skill of the engineers, artisans and laborers who built it.
Bastion System
Originating in Italy in the 15th century, the particular star shaped design of the Castillo is a result of architecture adapting to technology.
The change in warfare brought about by black powder weapons created new types of defensive structures adapted both to withstand or avoid the impact of cannon projectiles and to effectively mount cannons to repel any attackers.
Of the major architectural variations the "bastion system," named for the projecting diamond or angle shaped formations added onto the fort walls, was the most commonly and effectively used.
The Stone That Saved Spanish Florida
Given its light and porous nature, coquina would seem to be a poor choice of building material for a fort. However the Spanish had few other options; it was the only stone available on the northeast coast of La Florida.
However, coquina's porosity turned out to have an unexpected benefit. Because of its conglomerate mixture, coquina contains millions of microscopic air pockets making it compressible.
A cannon ball fired at more solid material, such as granite or brick, would shatter the wall into flying shards, but cannon balls fired at the walls of the Castillo burrowed their way into the rock and stuck there, much like a bb would if fired into Styrofoam.
So the thick coquina walls absorbed or deflected projectiles rather than yielding to them, providing a surprisingly long-lived fortress.
Image - Map detail showing the design of the Castillo and its outerworks. St. Mark was its name during the British Period.
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The St. Augustine Report is published weekly, with additional Reports previewing City Commission meetings as well as Special Reports. The Report is written and distributed by George Gardner, St. Augustine Mayor (2002-2006) and a former newspaper reporter and editor. Contact the Report at gardner@aug.com or gardnerstaug@yahoo.com
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