Yesterday's St. Augustine
A nostalgic view of St. Augustine, through the eye of the camera, from the 1860's to the 1920's
by Geoff Dobson

Visit Geoff's award winning history site, Wyoming Tales and Trails, a history of Wyoming told through more than 600 historic photos of the Old West.

This Page:The Grand Hotels
Music:Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody, on a theme from Paganini,

Ponce de Leon Hotel, 1910. The hotel was opened by Henry M. Flagler in January 1888. Ultimately Flagler owned three hotels in the City, the Ponce de Leon, now Flagler College; the Alcazar, now the City Hall and Lightner Museun; and the Cordova, now the Casa Monica, formerly the St. Johns County Courthouse. A 1912 panoramic view of all three are included in Movable Cam Shots.

Dinner Menu for opening night, Ponce de Leon Hotel, January 10, 1888. Note, canned corn was regarded as something quite good and not to be relegated to a blue plate special. Menu courtesy Florida Archives, Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

Parlor, Ponce de Leon Hotel, approx. 1902. Photo from Detroit Publishing Company Collection, State Historical Society of Colorado

Sunday Afternoon Band Concert, Logia Ponce de Leon Hotel, approx. 1902. Photo by William Henry Jackson. Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

Courtyard, Ponce de Leon Hotel, approx. 1919.

Another view of Courtyard, Ponce de Leon Hotel, 1919

Logia, Ponce de Leon Hotel, approx. 1919.

Concert Hour, Ponce de Leon Hotel, approx. 1919

Hotel Magnolia, approx. 1902. Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

Florida House, photo courtesy Florida Archives, Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

On April 2, 1914, a fire starting in the Florida House, allegedly started by rats chewing on matches, raged through the central part of the city destroying or damaging many of the City's hotels including the Magnolia, the Monson House, and the Central Hotel. Other buildings destroyed included Capo's Bath House on the bayfront, the Genovar Opera House and the Courthouse then located on the corner of Treasury and Charlotte.

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