Constitution Obelisk - St. Augustine, FL
N 29° 53.547 W 081° 18.745
17R E 469835 N 3306909
The Constitution Obelisk is located along the OST in the Plaza de la Constitucion in St. Augustine, Florida. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 2012.
Waymark Code: WMRPMN
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 07/19/2016
Views: 11
"This thirty-foot-tall obelisk was dedicated on February 14, 1814, following the adoption of the liberal Spanish constitution. A royal order required the provincial towns to erect monuments to commemorate the event. Not long afterward, the constitution was revoked and the monuments were ordered taken down, but St. Augustine refused.
The monument bears small tablets designating this area as "Plaza de la Constitucion." When the government ordered that the monument be taken down, St. Augustine only removed the tablets from it. They were reattached to the monument in 1818."
--A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida by Steve Rajtar and Kelly Goodman
"The Constitution Obelisk is located in the Plaza de la Constitution in downtown St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida. The Constitution Obelisk, constructed in 1813, is twenty-five feet in height. The obelisk was built from local coquina recycled from other building projects. It was surfaced with a lime mortar for weatherproofing and featured classical detailing consisting of a molded cornice and aperilla, a pear shaped ornament at the top of obelisk. Its tapered features and proportions were the work of a skilled designer and builder, familiar with classical architecture. The original tablet announcing the Constitution was removed in 1815 by order of the restored Spanish king Ferdinand VI, but it was replaced in 1820 when the king swore allegiance to the 1812 Constitution. The integrity of the obelisk is excellent."
--NRHP Registration Form
Beneath one of the four tablets is a larger inscription in Spanish:
