St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District

The St Augustine Town Plan Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District encompassing the colonial heart of the city. It substantially encompasses the street plan of the city as contained within the bounds of walls (no longer standing) built between the 16th and early 19th centuries. The district is bounded by Cordova, Orange, and St. Francis Streets, and Matanzas Bay. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970, although its boundaries were not formally defined until 1986.[1]

St Augustine Town Plan Historic District
Gonzalez-Alvarez House, an NHL itself and contributing property to the district
LocationRoughly bounded by Grove Ave, the Matanzas River, and South and Washington Sts., St. Augustine, Florida
Coordinates29°53′31″N 81°18′51″W
Area113 acres (46 ha)[1]
NRHP reference No.70000847[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPApril 15, 1970[2]
Designated NHLDApril 15, 1970[3]

Description and history

St. Augustine, founded by Spain in 1565, is the oldest permanent European settlement on the mainland of North America, north of Mexico. Its long colonial history extends to 1822, when Spanish East Florida was annexed to the United States as part of the Florida Territory. The city core's street plan, with narrow streets, dates to the first period of Spanish control, which ended in 1763 with the cession of Florida to Great Britain. Britain returned Florida to Spain in 1784. Roughly half of the area's buildings were built before 1925, with a substantially large number in either Spanish Colonial or Moorish Revival styles.[1]

Landmarks

Some of the most distinctive of the city's landmarks are located in the district, and have their origins in the Spanish settlement. Construction of the Castillo de San Marcos, located at the northeastern end of the district, began with the community's founding, and the central plaza was also an early defining feature. The plaza is now faced by the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, built during the second Spanish period in 1793–94, and by a 1930s post office that was designed to strongly resemble the original Spanish governor's palace, which it replaced. Further south in the district stand a cluster of some of the city's oldest surviving residences, including the c. 1723 González–Alvarez House (a.k.a. the Oldest House, the oldest surviving house in the city) and the Llambias House.[1]

Other contributing properties

See also

References
  1. ""National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination St. Augustine Historic District", by Diana Primelles". National Park Service.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District Archived 2009-05-02 at the Wayback Machine at National Historic Landmarks Program
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