u Originally built by Henry M. Flagler as the Hotel Ponce de León, today this structure is home to Flagler College, a four-year liberal arts college.
related to his passions and hobbies. The museum was willed to the City of St. Augustine and is still in operation today as the Lightner Museum. Flagler also bought the Casa Monica Hotel, a nearby Moorish Revival–style edifice, which opened in 1888, and renamed it the Hotel Cordova. The Hotel Cordova closed during the Great Depression as well, but has since been completely and beautifully renovated and reopened as the elegant Casa Monica Hotel. Henry M. Flagler’s influence is seen all around St. Augustine. He built houses and financed the building of churches and other structures. He was intent on surrounding himself with what he deemed beautiful, and lucky for the citizens of St. Augustine, he built in what most people would consider good taste. Wanting to attract culture and art to St. Augustine as well as tourists, Flagler even set aside space in the Hotel Ponce de León for use as artists’ studios.
One of Flagler’s business col- leagues, William Warden, also developed property in St. Augustine. The most recognizable of these properties was his winter home, a
T H E E L K S M A G A Z I N E
massive Moorish Revival–style structure built in 1887 that looks more like a castle than a private residence. In 1941, Castle Warden, as it came to be known, was bought and made into a hotel by Norton Baskin, the husband of writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Robert Ripley, of Ripley’s Believe It
or Not! fame, was a visitor to the hotel, and wanted very much to buy it for himself. He died in 1949 before his wish ever came true, but ever since 1950, Castle Warden has been home to St. Augustine’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. It is among the most popular attractions in the city. Some are drawn to St. Augustine by the offerings of its museums, like the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, the Colonial Spanish Quarter Mu- seum, the Lightner Museum, and the World Golf Hall of Fame. (Yes, that’s here, too.) Others are intrigued by the Moorish or Spanish Revival–style architecture or the magnificent Castillo de San Marcos. And, of course, many are attracted by the ocean air, the view from the light- house, or the photos in National Geographic of the oak trees of Magno- lia Avenue. American history buffs
find St. Augustine’s story is one they want to learn more about up close. Whatever the reason for people’s interest in St. Augustine, there is plenty to see and do here.
St. Augustine is already planning for 2015, when it will celebrate 450 years of history. Without a doubt, the city’s calendar will boast historical reenactments, parties, festivals, and other special events. Visitors from all over the world will fill the pretty streets and swarm the museums and historic sites. Why not join in the festivities? Whether you stay at a small, privately owned property, like 44 Spanish Street or the Old Mansion Inn or a hotel that boasts a familiar name, like Holiday Inn or Howard Johnson (where you can see the Old Senator, a live oak tree that is believed to be more than five hundred years old), it will be an exciting time to be in St. Augustine. You might want to begin making plans for 2015, though, because the hotels will no doubt be booked to capacity. But then again, why wait? Why wait to take in the city’s beauty, its charm, its history? Why not visit St. Augustine soon? ■
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PHOTO: © FRIDMAR DAMM/CORBIS
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