Saint Augustine Lighthouse

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, EOS 24-105 L Lens, Florida, HDR, High Dynamic Range, Lighthouse, Saint Augustine, St Augustine

Nearby historic Saint Augustine, Florida but closer to the ocean is the famous Saint Augustine Lighthouse. This beautiful Lighthouse was originally built in 1824, but then current version is from 1871.  It has a unique daymark of black and white stripes with a red lantern.

Towers of the Ponce de Leon Hotel

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, EOS 24-105 L Lens, Florida, High Dynamic Range, Hotel, Ponce de Léon, Saint Augustine, St Augustine

The architectural styles of the Ponce de Leon Hotel in Saint Augustine, Florida were so fascinating and beautiful that I had to take a few more photos of details. Here are three styles of towers on the various corners of the hotel. The main walls appear to be concrete with ultra ornate red terracotta ornaments.

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Rotunda of the Ponce de Leon Hotel

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, EOS 24-105 L Lens, Florida, HDR, High Dynamic Range

Let us go inside the famous Ponce de Leon Hotel in Saint Augustine, Florida to see what is inside. As you enter the massive arch you go into relative darkness compared to the bright sunshine outside. Here you go into the massive three and a half story tall Rotunda room. This amazing room is situated on the intersection of the East-West and North-South axis. The room was huge and very dark so I had to make a vertorama (vertical panorama) with five images stitched together to see it all from top to bottom. The ceiling was gold plated and painted in scenes by the artist George Willoughby Maynard.

Arched Doorway at the Ponce de Leon Hotel.

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, Flagler College, Florida, Hotel, Ponce de Léon, Saint Augustine, St Augustine

When walking through the large courtyard at the Ponce de Leon Hotel in Saint Augustine, Florida you can see one of the main entrances on the other side. Here was a giant arched brick doorway in the palladium style. The doorway now leads into Flagler College since the 1960s.

Courtyard of the Hotel Ponce de Leon

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, EOS 24-105 L Lens, Flagler College, Florida, HDR, Henry Flagler, High Dynamic Range, Hotel, Ponce de Léon, Saint Augustine, St Augustine

In Saint Augustine, Florida we are visiting the famous Ponce de Leon Hotel (that is now Flagler College).  It was originally built by Henry Flagler in 1888 as a Winter Palace for the rich and famous to travel to during winter cold months. The front of the Ponce de Leon has a very large 10,000 square foot private courtyard. The surrounding building has arches and a lovely porch looking out in three directions. Here there were and still are rocking chairs and tables for people to relax.

Exterior Views of the Hotel Ponce de Leon

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, Flagler College, Florida, HDR, High Dynamic Range, Hotel, Ponce de Léon, Saint Augustine, St Augustine

While visiting Henry Flagler’s Ponce de Leon Hotel in Saint Augustine, Florida we walked around the outside to take in the amazing architecture of the 1888 building. The round structure was a rotunda and was turned into a dining hall when Flagler College opened in the 1960’s.

Ponce de Leon Hotel Saint Augustine

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, Flagler College, HDR, Henry Flagler, High Dynamic Range, Hotel, Ponce de Léon

The original Ponce de Leon Hotel is right across the street from the Lightner Museum (formerly the Hotel Alcazar). Both were built by the oil and railway magnate Henry Flagler in 1888.  Initially it had 4 stories on 5 full acres with 540 rooms. It had only one private bathroom and that was in Flagler’s suite. Soon all the rooms had bathrooms, electricity and steam heat. Vanderbilt, Ulysses S. Grant and William Rockefella all stayed there. It turned into the Winter palace for the rich and famous. Later in 1968, it became Flagler College.

Bronze Canon at the Top of Fort Marion

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, Castillo de San Marcos, EOS 24-105 L Lens, Florida, Fort, Fort Marion, HDR, High Dynamic Range, Museum, National Monument, photography, Saint Augustine, St Augustine

We have climbed the stairs at Fort Marion (formerly Castillo de San Marcos) in Saint Augustine, Florida. The walls are made of large enduring blocks of white Coquina shells.  There are large bronze canon here with views of historic downtown Saint Augustine. This fort was originally built by the Spanish in 1672 and taken over by the United States and the name changed to Fort Marion.  Note the closeup of the handles of the Bronze Canon. They were cast into the forms of “Dolphins”.

Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, Castillo de San Marcos, EOS 24-105 L Lens, Florida, Fort, HDR, High Dynamic Range, Museum, Palm Trees, Saint Augustine, Spanish Fort, St Augustine

In Saint Augustine, Florida there is a lovely Spanish Fort called Castillo de San Marcos which is now a National Monument.  It dates back to 1672 and is the oldest and largest masonry fort built in the continental United States. The walls are made of enduring “Coquina Stone” cut from a nearby quarry. This was made up of tiny coquina shells and sand that hardened into the white stone. Here is one corner of the fort with palm trees near the shoreline.  After the fort and city came into the possession of United States, it was renamed Fort Marion.

Oldest Schoolhouse in Saint Augustine

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Architecture, Canon, Canon 5D Mark III, EOS 24-105 L Lens, Florida, HDR, High Dynamic Range, Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, photography, Saint Augustine, schoolhouse, St Augustine

You can tour downtown in the old part of Saint Augustine, Florida where there is an ancient Spanish Fort and a few streets of incredibly old houses. Here is the “oldest wooden schoolhouse in the United States” on one of the historic streets. Out front of the wooden building was a giant wrought iron anchor.