Governor's House Library

More artist's renderings of the Downtown Historic District of St. Augustine, Florida! These were created by various artists on behalf of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board for the purpose of visualizing St. Augustine as it may have appeared during various historical eras. A colorful example of art bringing the past to life!

Click individual images for more information and resource links!

Even in the summer heat, colonial St. Augustinians were reliant on their gardens to survive -- and they worked hard to maintain them! Formal gardens weren’t forgotten, either. This blog post from 2018 discusses how the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board researched and recreated St. Augustine's historic gardens.

St. Augustine’s Historic Gardens The first day of spring may be four weeks away, but it definitely is already feeling like spring here in St. Augustine. The temperatures are increasing every day, the flowers are blooming again, an…

As we celebrate the ABCs of architecture series on our social media channels, we'd love to give focus to St. Augustine’s historic Peña-Peck House. Rescued by women in 1932, this gorgeous building touts many of St. Augustine's iconic architectural features.

Rescued by Women: Peña-Peck House As the headlines state, women saved St. Augustine’s historic Peña-Peck House. Located on St. George Street, the coquina and wood frame structure is one of the few remaining buildings from the…

🧱 Collections Close-Up🧱 Now occupied by restaurants, Block 5 of the St. Augustine Block and Lot map overlooks Avenida Menendez and the Matanzas Bay. In 1963, Block 5 Lot #1 in St. Augustine was known as the "Snow Property", named after the most recent owner. This post shows three images from a December 1963 excavation of the Snow Property, in which many colonial coquina foundations are exposed.



These images are from the Photograph Collection at UFHSA Governor's House Library. Check the comments for more information about the Block and Lot map!

Hundreds of years after the death of William Sims, William Sims signed a check for $27,000 ...

A Story of Two Sims The St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission’s historian noticed in a 1784 census the name of a British silversmith, William Sims: William Sims, native of Scotland, hi…

As we continue with our "ABCs of St. Augustine Architecture" series on our social media channels, let's delve into the UFHSA Governor's House Library collections! These three artist's renderings were created for the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board to represent the colonial city “as it was”, and envision potential results of their restoration & reconstruction efforts.

1 - "Artist's rendering focused on Block 28. showing Wakeman House, Watson House, and Spanish Military Hospital" (attributed to Craig Thorn)
2 - "Artist's Rendering of a possible reconstruction project on Block 6, showing City Gate and the Cubo Line extended to a Redoubt on Cordova Street" (attributed to Denise Gennoy)
3 - "Artist's rendering of possible restoration project for Block 18, Lot 5 and 6" (attributed to Craig Thorn)