Casa Monica Hotel

Casa Monica Hotel is a historic hotel located at 98 Cordova Street, Saint Augustine, Florida. It is one of the oldest in the United States. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America in the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Casa Monica Hotel

Casa Monica Hotel opened in 1888.It was built by Franklin Smith. It was constructed of poured concrete. The architectural styles are Moorish Revival and Spanish Baroque.

Shortly after its opening, the hotel ran into financial difficulties and was sold to William Flagler for $325,000. It was renamed the Cordova Hotel. In 1902, a bridge was built over Cordova Street connecting the second floors of Cordova Hotel and the Alcazar. The Cordova was renamed the Alcazar.Annex. The two hotels were treated as one entity. They were closed during the Depression. The bridge was taken down in 1945.

Casa Monica Hotel

In 1962, Saint Johns County Commission voted to purchase Casa Monica for $250,000 for use as their courthouse. It underwent a 6 year renovation. It was dedicated as a courthousei in 1968 It was used foe the purpose until the 1990’s.

In February, 1997, Richard Kessler purchased the county courthouse for 1.2 million dollars. He remodeled the building and reopened as the Casa Monica Hotel. The Moorish Revival Style was preserved.

The Hotel currently operates as part of the Kessler Collection.