Section 1.7 – St. Augustine: Art in America’s Oldest City

Visitors explore the historic streets of St. Augustine, where galleries, shops and cultural experiences line the walkable downtown area. Photo courtesy of Emergent Media.

North of Palm Coast on Florida’s Historic Coast, the air is alive with the sound of music during the summer months when free concerts and other live performances descend on the St. Augustine Amphitheater and Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. In February, the Annual Fort Mose Jazz and Blues Festival features some of the genre’s greatest performing artists.

Aviles Street in St. Augustine invites visitors to browse local galleries and shops, especially during First Friday Art Walks when the district comes alive with art and conversation. Photo courtesy of Interpret Studios.

The downtown area of Florida’s “Oldest City” of St. Augustine invites visitors to stroll past dozens of galleries featuring the works of local and regional artists as well as join First Friday Art Walks, when gallery owners open their doors, offering food and drink and conversation about the featured works.

The Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, housed in the former Hotel Alcazar, showcases an eclectic collection within a stunning Spanish Renaissance Revival landmark. Photo courtesy of Interpret Studios.

St. Augustine also boasts one of the country’s most unique artistic venues, the Lightner Museum, which started life as the Hotel Alcazar, a stunning Spanish Renaissance Revival masterpiece commissioned by oil tycoon Henry Flagler in 1888. The Gilded Age landmark houses an eclectic collection of period furniture, vintage typewriters, American Brilliant Era cut glass and Victorian mechanical musical instruments.

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