St. Augustine...

I had the opportunity to head east, to Florida, and spend some time with my brother. I always jump at the chance to do that, and this time was no exception.

My brother lives just outside of St. Augustine, Florida. St. Augustine has the distinction of being the oldest city in the United States, having been founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés on September 8, 1565. Since that time, the city has been continuously occupied.

When you get a city this old, you get two things: Really, really old buildings and ghosts.

One of my little hobbies (okay, I admit, it’s a weird one) is to try to visit locations featured on the television show “Ghost Adventures”. I’ve only been to a couple of them but, every so often, I get to add to the list. This trip to St. Augustine afforded me that exact opportunity, as it’s the home of the Castillo de San Marcos, which the “GAC” visited in 2009.

Construction on the Castillo de San Marcos began in 1672, and wasn’t finished until 23 years later. While it saw its share of battles (including the War of Spanish Succession in 1702, during which the English damn-near burned St. Augustine to the ground), it’s survived largely unscathed. In fact, the Castillo de San Marcos has never fallen to an enemy flag.

During its history, the Castillo de San Marcos has also been known as Fort St. Mark (1763) and Fort Marion (1825), but the original name was restored in 1942, eighteen years after it was proclaimed to be a national monument, and nine years after the War Department transferred responsibility to the National Park Service:

The Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida...

The entrance way into the fort...

The San Carlos Bastion...

The San Augustin Bastion...

The Plaza de Armas...

 

For a photographer, there are few places I can think of which afford such a wide variety of photo opportunities. Sure, the Castillo de San Marcos is cool, but there’s really so much more to shoot in a city as old as this. So, I put on my comfortable shoes, grabbed my gear and went out to do just that.

And, just because I know it's overdone and passe and cliche and some people frown on it, I still like messing around with HDR stuff, so here ya' go:

The "Bridge Of Lions", going into downtown St. Augustine...

Storefronts, in old buildings, on Orange Street...

Memorial Presbyterian Church...

Memorial Presbyterian Church...



Inside the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine...

The deck of the Santa Maria Restaurant...

A rare view, indeed: Tradewinds with no customers. That changes, drastically, by about 8:00pm nightly...

Along Avenida Menendez in St. Augustine...

Outside Tradewinds...

And now for some of the not-so-edited-because-I-was-bored-out-of-my-freaking-mind photos of the beautiful "Ancient City", St. Augustine:

 



The courtyard at Flagler College, once the Hotel Ponce de Leon...

Something about Casa Monica reminds me of something you'd see in a movie about Cuba...

One of the very historic, and very private, homes along the water in St. Augustine...

Where the "Bridge Of Lions" gets its name. There's a matching one on the other side...

Another historic home in St. Augustine, this one on St. George Street...

The "Slave Market" in downtown St. Augustine...

A serene view from Avenida Menendez...

Oddities available for purchase on Orange Street. Elvis would likely be proud...

 

Had I been able to spend a month shooting this city, I honestly believe I could’ve done so without the burden of having to shoot anything twice. If you enjoy history (the city is rich with it), old buildings (the city has plenty of them) and good food, there are few places I can think of which surpass St. Augustine…