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Flagler wanted a third hotel for his master plan to establish St. Augustine as the "American Riviera."  He didn't have to build it because Franklin W. Smith had begun the Casa Monica and went bankrupt.  Flagler bought it for pennies on the dollar and renamed it the Cordoba.  The St. John's County Courthouse was in this building for about 30 years, but in 1998, a firm came in, bought and refurbished it, reinstating the original name of Casa Monica.  It is now a thriving five star hotel across from the Flagler College (former Ponce de Leon) and The Lightner (former Hotel Alcazar).

In the 1890's to 1900's, St. Augustine was called the "Newport of the South."  Henry Flagler owned 3,500,000 acres of land in the State of Florida.  He spent over sixty million dollars for eleven hotels stretching down the east coast including the still famous Breakers in Palm Beach.  The last hotel was built in Key West.  Flagler's East Coast Railroad comfortably transported the Yankees south.  As Flagler moved south from St. Augustine to build hotels, the northerners also went south for warmer weather, gradually draining business from St. Augustine.

St. Augustine's old history influenced the layout of the town.  Streets from the water into the heart of town were not built straight, but curved slightly to the left.  That way, cannon balls shot down the street would hit the corner of buildings rather than going straight into the middle of town. 

St. Augustine is the beginning of the Old Spanish Trail across the United States.  A monument marks its zero mile here; the trail ends in Balboa Park, San Diego, California.

In 1965, the Catholic Church donated a 208-foot cross to celebrate the four hundred year anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine.  The cross is located on the old mission grounds where there is also a statue of Father Lopez, the priest who held the first Catholic mass in the new world. 

The oldest resident of St. Augustine is the Old Senator, a live oak tree said to be over 600 years old.  Where he sits is now a Howard Johnson's motel and he is ignobly surrounded by a parking lot, not very elegant for his age and status.

The Cathedral in St. Augustine was built, burned, rebuilt then made a basilica because of its importance in the new world.  The pope visited it and blessed it. 

The Wachovia Building was built in the 1930's next door to the Cathedral.  As the building continued to rise, story by story, to a height of 10 stories, town officials became very upset.  They had not realized that the new building would tower over the town's cathedral and other structures.  They passed a law prohibiting future buildings taller than the cathedral.

Old St. Augustine Village is a downtown block of nine homes spanning the period from 1790 to 1909 and representing various traditional construction styles.  Guides in costumes conduct tours through the courtyard and exhibit areas. 

A millionaire philanthropist built this castle for his wife's winter home.  The castle is patterned after the Alhambra in Grenada, Spain.  There are over forty different-sized windows intended to keep bad spirits from entering the home. 

Sears Roebuck used to sell a catalogue house at a cost of $600.  The kit came with 2 kegs of nails, 2 hammers, and instructions, one of which was not to throw away the crate that it came in since it served as part of the foundation!  This is one of those houses.

The only entrance into the typical Spanish house was through a fence and courtyard. 

15 Bridge Street is one of last original gates in St. Augustine.

Harry, tour guide at the winery, conducted a wine tasting.  He was very informative and entertaining.