St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District - St. Augustine, FL
N 29° 53.557 W 081° 18.762
17R E 469808 N 3306927
The St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The posted coords are for the Plaza de la Constitucion, the centerpiece of the historic district.
Waymark Code: WM9X38
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 10/08/2010
Views: 22
From
Wikipedia:
"The St Augustine Town Plan Historic District is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District (designated as such on April 15, 1970) located in St. Augustine, Florida. The district is bounded by Grove Ave, the Matanzas River, and South and Washington Streets. It contains 220 historic buildings, 1 structure and 1 object."
National Register of Historic Places Plaque in Plaza de la Constitucion:
From the National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary: "The St. Augustine Town Plan Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, encompasses the site of the oldest continuously occupied European and African American settlements in the United States. Part of Ponce de León's 1513 claim to La Florida, St. Augustine was the site of Spanish military base established in 1565 by Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. The town of St. Augustine soon grew around the fort and became the seat of Spanish power in Florida. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, free blacks and slaves found Florida a haven--the Spanish Crown granted refuge to blacks if they embraced Catholicism. Today the district retains the distinctive plan typical of a 16th century Spanish Colonial walled town. The colonial buildings in the district date from 1703 to 1821 period. Among the most noted buildings in the district are the Plaza de la Constitución, the colonial community's focal point (King Street), the Oldest House, a traditional Spanish Colonial residence built circa 1706 and the oldest surviving residence in St. Augustine (14 St. Francis Street), the Basilica Cathedral of St. Augustine, which incorporates the 1797 parish church and is one of the oldest Catholic religious buildings in the U.S. (36 Cathedral Place), the 1883 Villa Zorayda, an exotic Moorish Revival residence with courtyards and towers (King Street), and the Gothic Revival style Stanbury Cottage (St. George Street)."
An historical marker titled "Plaza de la Constitucion" is located in the town plaza and provides the following information:
"The oldest public space in America, the plaza was laid out by Spanish Royal Ordinances in 1573. Its Constitution Monument may be the only remaining monument in the Western Hemisphere celebrating
the Spanish constitution of 1812.
The Ordinances specified that the plaza was to be laid to the compass points, and in "good proportion" -- a prolonged square, the length equal to 1½ times the width. Lengths and widths based on proportional ratios were believed to be imbued with harmony and spiritual meaning.
The first system of weights and measures was established with a market here in 1598. Pictured is the Plaza from the early 1900s. Here are markers about Florida's 67 counties, memorials to Felix Varela, prisoners of the American Revolution, the Confederacy, and soldiers killed in WWII and the Korean and Vietnam wars. A pre-18th century well has been designated an American Water Landmark. The Town Plan and plaza were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970."