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     The Bridge of Lions carries FL A1A over Mantanzas River (intracoastal waterway) from downtown Saint Augustine to Anastasia Island.  The bridge type is metal variable depth girder, movable double leaf bascule (rolling lift) and approach spans, metal cantilever deck deck fixed girder. The bridge was built in 1927 by Virginia Bridge and Iron Company of Roanoke Virginia. The engineer/designer was J.E. Greiner Company of Baltimore, Maryland and Chicago, Illinois.

     The main span length was 135 feet.  The structure length is 1,545 feet.  Width  is 25 feet.  There is one main span and 23 approach spans.  There are decorative lion statutes at the west end of the bridge.  These gave rise to the bridges name.  They were a gift of Doctor Andrew Anderson.

     Beginning in 2010, the bridge underwent an extensive renovation including complete replacement of the bascule spans, replacement of the interior of the approach girder  spans, bridge was widened. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

     The prior bridge was built in 1895. It was wooden bridge.  It was called the bridge to Anastasia, Islandm

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Same as above

Interior Stained Glass

View of the Ceiling

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  Hotel Alcazar

     The Alcazar Hotel was purchased in 1947 by Otto Lightner for $150,000.
•      Who was Lightner?  He was a self made newspaper editor and publisher of Hobby Magazine–an antique and collectible publication. In the 1940’s, Mr. Lightner moved from Chicago to Saint Augustine for his health.  When he purchased the Alcazar, it was to serve as a museum for his sizable antique and collectible collection.
•      Lightner used a sizable portion of his wealth to rehabilitate the building. After moving his collection into the Museum, it opened in 1948.  He eventually donated the museum to the city of Saint Augustine with the provision that it would forever house his collection.
•      Since the 1970’s, the Saint Augustine city offices have been located in the front of the building with the museum in the rear.

     The Garden Theater is located at 160 W. Plant Street, Winter Garden, Florida.  It was the first theater in Florida built for talkies. It first opened on December, 1935.It had a single screen and over 200 seats.  There was a sloping floor.

       The building’s style was Mediterranean Revival. The interior was modeled after a Spanish courtyard with Romeo and Juliet balcolnies, a Spanish tile roof and a dark ceiling with stars. Over the years the building underwent multiple renovations.  It closed in 1963.

     After the theater’s closure, it was remodeled to become a farm supply store.  The theater’s seats were removed and the sloping floor was leveled.

     The Theater was purchased by the city of Winter Garden.  The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation acquired the building in January, 2004 with an operating agreement with the city.  The Foundation under took a multiyear renovation of the building seeking to return it to its original simplicity.    The theater had its grand reopening in February, 2008.  It featured up to 400 events per season including living plays, concerts and movies.