Villa Zorayda, Saint Augustine, Fl

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Villa Zorayda Informational Plaque
     Villa Zorayda is a historic home located at 83 King Street, Saint Augustine, Florida. It was built in 1883 as a winter house by Franklin Smith.  Mr. Smith was an eccentric Boston millionaire.  He was an amateur architect and experimented in using poured concrete in buildings.  His inspiration for his winter home was the 12th century Moorish Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. His home was an 1/10th scale of this structure.
Another Informational Plaque
     Over the years, the building was used as a restaurant, a night club, a casino and as a hotel. The night club and casino close in 1925.

Villa Zorayda Museum Sign

     In 1913, the building and a portion of Franklin Smith’s art and antique  collection were sold to the Abraham Mussallem, a rug and antique merchant from Syria.  In 1936, Villa Zorayda opened a tourist attraction the Castle.  It exhibited items fitting the architectural theme.  The museum is still owned by the Mussallem family.  It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Villa Zorayda, Saint Augustine, Florida

Villa Zorayda Saint Augustine, Fl.

Same as above

Villa Zorayda Saint Augustine, Fl.

Same as above

Cooper Memorial Library Historic Village Clermont Florida

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Cooper Memorial Library built in 1914
Cooper Memorial Library Historic Village Clermont Florida
     In 1906, Mrs. Payson Pierce offered her home which was located on Montrose Street in Clermont for library meetings and a place to store the book collection.
     In 1911, the book collection was transferred to the Isaiah Benson Home at 607 Lake Avenue, Clermont.
     In 1911, the name of the library was changed  Clermont Library Club.  The book collection was transferred to the small Baptist Church.
     In May, 2014, the decision was made to build a permanent home for the Clermont Library Club.
     The Cooper Memorial Library was built in 1914. It was located near the City Hall in Clermont.   The library building was moved to the Historic Village in 2009.  It was renovated and converted to a museum of local/world history.
     

Bridge of Lions, Saint Augustine, Fl.

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Bridge of Lions, Saint Augustine, Florida

     

Statues Bridge of Lions

     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.

Bridge of Lions

     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.

Bridge of Lions

     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

Auburn Theater 202 Park Street, Auburndale, Florida.

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Site of Former Auburn Theater
     The Auburn Theater is located at 202 Park Street, Auburndale, Florida. It opened in 1948. It overlooked a park in the downtown area.  
Site of former Auburn Theater
     The Auburn was a large, air conditioned theater with 530 seats. There was one screen.  It featured first run movies, comedy shorts, and cartoons.  Due to decreasing attendance, it closed in 1964.
Site of Former Auburn Theater
     After its closure, the building operated as an auto parts store and a fitness gymn.

Alcazar Hotel Saint Augustine Florida

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Signage Alcazar Hotel
     This building is located at 75 King Street Street Augustine, Florida.  It was built from 1887 to 1889 for Henry Flagler. The architects were Carrere and Hastings.  Before its official completion in 1889, it was used to accommodate the overflow from the  Hotel Ponce de Leon. Construction costs were in excess of 1,000,000 dollars. Architectural style is a combination of Spanish Renaissance and adaptations from Moorish buildings in Spain.
Hotel Alcazar
     This distinctive building is four stories high. It occupies an area of 250 by 450 feet. It was one of the first buildings in the United States made of poured  concrete. Originally, the hotel had 300 rooms; later this was reduced to 170.
Same as above
     The Hotel featured elaborate and expansive writing rooms and lounge rooms.  There were spacious lobbies.  There were 2 large dining rooms.
     In the south section were Turkish and Russian baths, Swedish massages. There was the large indoor swimming pool likely the largest in the United States at the time. There was a large casino.  There was a gymn, bowling alleys, A movie theater and tennis courts.
Hotel Alcazar
     Due to the financial down turn in the 1920’s-1930’s, the Alcazar Hotel closed.  It remained closed until 1947.  During this time the long abandoned building deteriorated and was in shambles.

  • 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.