St. Augustine Government House
by Laurie Perry
Title
St. Augustine Government House
Artist
Laurie Perry
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Government House in St. Augustine, Florida.
Government House dominates the west end of the Town Plaza, a unique Spanish land use component lying within a National Historic Landmark District. [i] Spain's 1573 Law of the Indies, Leyes de los Indies, specified that colonial town plans set aside such a plaza for government, church and public use. Along coasts, plazas were to begin at the waterfront - to see and to be seen. Since 1598, a government building has stood on this site with a view of the harbor landing, accommodating administrative headquarters and residences of colonial governors appointed by the Crowns of Spain, then Britain, then Spain again.[ii] After Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821, this current Government House served as a courthouse and briefly as a Capitol of the new Territory of Florida. In 1836, the building's crenellated five-story tower and "a Grand portico decorated with dorick Pillars and Entablature" were removed by Robert Mills, famed architect of the Washington Monument.
Uploaded
August 9th, 2014
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