Alcazar Hotel- St. Augustine, FL

In the spirit of full disclosure, the Alcazar has not operated as a hotel since the 1930s. It was one of the grand Gilded Age beauties constructed by an oil tycoon eons ago. Although the hotel may be long gone, it is not lost. The building now houses the Lightner Museum, which has a wonderful collection of antiques and curiosities from the Victorian era. The erstwhile hotel has been wonderfully restored, with hints of its storied past found around every corner. So while you can’t stay here anymore, it is certainly worth a visit to peek into its past.

The Alcazar was built in 1888 by Henry Morrison Flagler, who along with John D. Rockerfeller started the Standard Oil Company in 1870. A true rags to riches story, Flagler left his modest home in 1844, at age 14, to work as a sales clerk; his salary was a paltry $5 a month. A little over two decades later, with a loan from his half-brother’s half brother (I had to draw a diagram to figure out this convoluted relationship), Flagler became a partner in Standard Oil. Which made him obscenely and wildly wealthy.

Flagler first moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1878, due to his wife’s poor health. It was thought the mild winter weather would improve her condition. It did not; she died in 1881, and Flagler married her former caregiver. The newlyweds traveled to St. Augustine, which Flagler found absolutely charming, if not a bit provincial. Shortly after this trip, Flagler resigned from his day to day duties at Standard Oil to focus on Florida real estate development. His first venture was the grand 540 room Spanish Renaissance style Ponce de Leon Hotel. Designed by the renowned New York architecture firm Carrère & Hastings, the hotel opened in early 1888 to great fanfare.

Later that same year, Flagler opened a second hotel in St. Augustine, the Alcazar. While not quite as fancy as the Ponce, it served as the entertainment complex for both hotels. Also designed by Carrère & Hastings, and costing over $1,000,000, the castle like structure with its twin towers and countless spires was inspired by the royal palace in Seville, Spain. In addition to its impressive architecture, the Alcazar Hotel boasted the world’s largest indoor swimming pool, sulfur baths, a steam room, a gymnasium, a bowling alley, a movie theater, and tennis courts. While guests of the Ponce were encouraged to visit the Alcazar, the riff-raff over at the Alcazar were not welcome at the Ponce. I am exaggerating slightly. By no means am I suggesting that the Alcazar was a flop house; rather, the Ponce catered to wildly wealthy industrialists, while the Alcazar housed the mere well-to-do. Which the magnates may well have considered riff-raff.

Open only in the winter, the hotel’s grand swimming pool was filled with filtered sulfur water, which sounds absolutely awful. Fortunately, the pool had skylights that could be opened for ventilation. Dressing rooms lined the mezzanine; for a small sum, guests could rent bathing suits, which also sounds like a bad idea, but was considered quite normal at the time, when few people owned their own. I would assume guests from the Ponce would arrive with their own bespoke swimwear, no doubt made of mink.

Both hotels, as well as St. Augustine itself, flourished during the Gilded Age. The city did indeed become what Flagler envisioned, the American Riviera. Certainly a winter playground for the rich and famous of the time. Alas, like many other grand hotels of the day, the Alcazar would end up a victim of the Great Depression. Shuttered in 1930, and completely abandoned by 1932, the property remained uninhabited until 1947, when it was purchased for $150,000 by Hobby magazine owner, Otto Lightner, to house his extensive collection of Victorian Era ephemera.

Unfortunately, the abandoned hotel suffered significant damage during the 17 years it sat vacant. Fortunately, the new owner had money to restore the building. Once the space had been converted to a museum, Lightner turned the building over to the city of St. Augustine, with the understanding it would forever house his collection. When he died in 1950, he was buried in the museum’s courtyard

Today, the museum houses all sorts of Victorian treasures, from art glass to furniture. Fabulous items displayed in a striking space. The former pool has been converted to a food court of sorts, which does not even require museum admission. It is easy to see traces of the past in this space, which appears to be only missing water.

The courtyard is also particularly dreamy, looking very much like it would have in 1888. Filled with palms and a koi pond, it is the perfect place to admire the exterior of the grand Spanish Renaissance/ Moorish Revival hotel. It is a peaceful space in a busy city, and certainly one you won’t want to miss.

Before leaving the area, make sure to visit Flagler’s other hotel, Casa Monica across the street, which was once connected to the Alcazar by a skybridge. That is if you aren’t staying there. Which you should, because it is amazing, and beyond convenient for exploring St. Augustine. Also, make sure to take a tour of the Ponce de Leon, which today is Flagler College. It is still every bit as grand as it was over a century ago. Although the hotels themselves weren’t around long, the buildings live on as lasting examples of glorious Gilded Age architecture in Florida.

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