flagler's st. augustine, part 1 of 5

St. Augustine is a truly unique place, architecturally speaking. It is known as one of the oldest cities here in the States, with an official founding in 1565 by the Spanish. St. Augustine is also famously known as a Victorian vacation destination. You may or may not recall Newland Archer visiting May Welland there in Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence... Anyone? What about the movie version with Daniel Day-Lewis?

Well here is your true set: Ponce de León Hotel built by Henry M. Flagler in 1888. Today the Hotel still stands in use and repair as Flagler College, a small private school founded in 1968. images from my flickr and here

The hotel was designed in the Spanish Renaissance style by the New York architects John Carrere and Thomas Hastings. It is also entirely lit and wired thanks to Flagler's friend Thomas Edison.

The hotel was built on part of the property that once belongs to Markland House which also now belongs to Flagler College. Image