In
1882, Henry Flagler, New York entrepreneur and cofounder of Standard Oil, became
interested in the historic city of St. Augustine and its potential as a winter
resort. Flagler's subsequent development of transportation and resort facilities
in St. Augustine and along the east coast of Florida spurred rapid development
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A focal point of this development
was Flagler's Hotel Ponce de León. In 1887 Flagler hired two young architects
from the prominent New York firm, McKim, Mead, and White, to design the hotel.
With the design of the Ponce de Leon, John Carrere and Thomas Hastings launched
a new architectural firm, Carrere & Hastings, which would gain national
prominence. Flagler chose the Spanish Renaissance Revival style so that the
hotel's design would compliment its historic surroundings. Retained to decorate
the interior of the hotel, Louis C. Tiffany used stained glass, mosaics and
terra cotta relief on the walls and ceilings and commissioned several grand
murals. The hotel was the first large scale building constructed entirely of
poured concrete. The popularity of "the Ponce" and its style strongly
influenced the architecture of southern Florida for the next fifty years. The
success of the Hotel Ponce de Leon was episodic, immediately contending with
a yellow fever epidemic and the worst freeze in state history in 1895. St. Augustine's
weather proved not to be as warm and sunny as other resort areas that were developed
further south along the peninila, and the town never boomed as a winter resort.
However, toursits did come during the first decades of the 20th century, and
the Ponce de Leon was one of only three Flagler Hotels to survive the Great
Depression. Following a lull in tourism during World War II, the hotel attracted
large crowds for several years, but decline resumed and in 1967 the hotel closed
and was sold to Flagler College. It has been renovated and retains most of its
original integrity.
The Hotel Ponce de León (Flagler College) is in downtown St. Augustine on the block bounded by King, Valencia, Sevilla, and Cordova Streets.
In
1882, Henry Flagler, New York entrepreneur and cofounder of Standard Oil, became
interested in the historic city of St. Augustine and its potential as a winter
resort. Flagler's subsequent development of transportation and resort facilities
in St. Augustine and along the east coast of Florida spurred rapid development
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A focal point of this development
was Flagler's Hotel Ponce de León. In 1887 Flagler hired two young architects
from the prominent New York firm, McKim, Mead, and White, to design the hotel.
With the design of the Ponce de Leon, John Carrere and Thomas Hastings launched
a new architectural firm, Carrere & Hastings, which would gain national
prominence. Flagler chose the Spanish Renaissance Revival style so that the
hotel's design would compliment its historic surroundings. Retained to decorate
the interior of the hotel, Louis C. Tiffany used stained glass, mosaics and
terra cotta relief on the walls and ceilings and commissioned several grand
murals. The hotel was the first large scale building constructed entirely of
poured concrete. The popularity of "the Ponce" and its style strongly
influenced the architecture of southern Florida for the next fifty years. The
success of the Hotel Ponce de Leon was episodic, immediately contending with
a yellow fever epidemic and the worst freeze in state history in 1895. St. Augustine's
weather proved not to be as warm and sunny as other resort areas that were developed
further south along the peninila, and the town never boomed as a winter resort.
However, toursits did come during the first decades of the 20th century, and
the Ponce de Leon was one of only three Flagler Hotels to survive the Great
Depression. Following a lull in tourism during World War II, the hotel attracted
large crowds for several years, but decline resumed and in 1967 the hotel closed
and was sold to Flagler College. It has been renovated and retains most of its
original integrity.
The Hotel Ponce de León (Flagler College) is in downtown St. Augustine on the block bounded by King, Valencia, Sevilla, and Cordova Streets.