Quick, run ask Florida Sailor if he knows about…

This photograph comes from the splendid Carol M Highsmith Collection in the Library of Congress. Highsmith's wonderful photographs, all taken in the late 20th Century, are a valuable addition to the Americana of the LC. The photo merely bears the description, 'The oldest house in Florida.' If we want to know more, we need to look further.

The St Augustine Historical Society are much more informative. These folks tell us that the González-Alvarez House site has been occupied since the 17th Century. The current house was built in the early 18th. It was declared a landmark in 1970. There's a museum, and you can visit to learn all about the history of European settlement in Florida. You can probably pick up a few quick decorating tips, too.

There's a detached kitchen, and a garden where you can ponder some of the features of the Columbian Exchange, no doubt. You can get married there, if you've a mind to. Of course, there's a gift shop(pe) – I'm sure they'd love to sell you a tchotchke or two. You're helping the historians, after all. (But note the downloadable discount coupon…)

St Augustine's an interesting place, and it's good to remind ourselves that the, ahem, British were not the first European interlopers on the North American continent, being preceded by a few sundry others, even if we discount that wild tale about the Irish getting there first – in a goatskin boat, no less. And then there were the Vikings, but we can prove they were there, since they left graffiti all over the place. We won't talk about the aliens who left the runways in Peru…

Anyway, enjoy St Augustine if you're headed that way. Take your own photos, and maybe we'll get another Guide Entry out of Florida Sailor.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

19.08.13 Front Page

Back Issue Page