Ecclectic, Old St. Augustine... (St. Augustine Beach, St. George: real estate, condo, houses)

[PokerPlayer1]

In browsing ebay for St. Augustine stuff, I ran across an old postcard depicting the Temucula Skeletons that used to be on display at the Fountain of Youth... I hadn't thought of those in years.

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/tcor/022710248.JPG (broken link)

If you think the general idea of 'human remains of Native Americans on display in an unearthed, open air burial chamber' is bad enough, consider the fact that the bones were hastily coated in varnish to prevent deterioration, causing them to take on an unnatural, yellowish hue. The first (and last) time I saw them (late 80's), most of the skeletons were covered in pennies and nickles from persons throwing them down from the viewing gallery above- making a wish, I guess?

Thankfully, they were reburied in 1991, but it's kind of shocking that this sort of thing actually lasted to NINETEEN NINETY ONE. I distinctly recall how grotesque a scene it was and thinking how someone should've really put a stop to it. Thankfully, someone did.

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Emmett Fritz, painting downtown...



... sure wish I had bought every damn painting the guy ever did.

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Skinners Dairy

The 'concept buildings' couldn't possibly be more distinct: we've all seen the few that remain and whatever 'creative' uses they're seeing today.



It actually was a great, great idea and I'm kinda surprised the concept didn't last. I guess drive-through stuff kinda died off when the 'motoring age' finally lost it's glamor... and on that note....

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Drive Through Booze



First, you could get a mixed drink brought right to your car by a buxom young barmaid (or, at least that's how I remember them. Whenever I reminisce about the past, all women look like they came straight out of central casting from a Fellini movie)... Then, you had to order the booze seperately, but they'd happily provide you with a cup of ice. Now, I don't think there are any such 'convenient' options, however, I'd guess Broudys on the corner of US1 and King probably uses their drive-up...

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Bonfires, Camping and Late Night Parties on St. Augustine Beach



The fact that this was generally kibosh-ed by the city is enough to raise the Libertarian in anyone. What sort of stodgy, stick-up-the-ass killjoy is against THIS? Who seriously thinks we're better off as a city by NOT letting people have a little fun- to be themselves, to cut loose and dig life a bit?

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The Vilano Bridge going Up and Down



... and just Old Vilano in general. Back when Porpoise Point was a bird sanctuary, back when there was a trailer park occupying a chunk of real estate that made every condo developer drool... The place was all sandy and salty and brine'y and coastal'y and just good. Stilt houses; ftw.

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Woods- everywhere

http://www.travelthewholeworld.com/sitebuilder/images/USAEastCoastFloridaWoodsNight-350x258.jpg (broken link)

Before they bulldozed it all under and made it into ****ty tract developments and "The World Golf Village". The good news- they usually name it after whatever it is they destroy, so the next time you're in the "Turtle Cove" subdivision, just know that it used to actually be a turtle cove and there's a pissed off turtle out there somewhere who isn't happy to see you living there.

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Woolworths Downtown



Yeah, yeah, OK, so in it's later years, it declined a bit- but who cares. The place just oozed with history and was sort of a sentimental anchor to the past. There was nothing like going in there on a blistering summer day, getting blasted with the wave of AC and sitting down at the ancient Formica counter to enjoy a crappy Patty Melt and Coke, just to hear the 65 year old woman in the mauve apron talk about her grandkids.

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The Cannonballs: Before They were Affixed

http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/21621/wm/pd1356413.jpg (broken link)

Not many people know this, but WAY back in the day (way before my time), the cannonballs used to just be stacked up in a pile. Anyone with a strong enough back could hoist them up and make off with them... Rumour has it that a certain Former-Sheriff-Who-Shall-Remain-Nameless actually rolled one down the Bridge of Lions when he was a teenager, damn near totaling a parked car.

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Before St. Augustine was "discovered" by people from New York



For christs sake, it just seemed to damn peaceful and sane before they came. Everything had a balance to it- people knew each other- the town had a certain, natural kilter that just kept everything ticking alone in a peaceful and easy kind of way. Now, it just doesn't seem that way and the presence of squawking North-easterners is largely to blame. The Soul of St. Augustine was no match for an onslaught of idiots who eventually retired to "Flaaaaaaaaaaaaah-ree-dah" and ruined everything in the process

(Now you've seen Florida. Go Home.)

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Buddy H's Tragedy Museum



Sure, most of the stuff in there was faker than a fat girls smile at a weight-joke, but the mere existence of the place was one of the more direct lines St. Aug had to the Old-School Tourist-Trappy side of it's existence. Places like this just cannot survive in the digital age and when the internet came and the Tragedy Museum died, well, it was a tragedy in itself, even if the place wasn't ever really worth the price of admission...

I can think of about 100 others, but I'll stop typing now.

[spose]

REP! Great post!

[John'sGirl]

Awesome thanks! Tell us more!

[mcleanl]

This is fantastic...even if I am from the North!!!!

[AliciaMaria]

I love St Augustine!! I need to spend some more time down there.. awesome post.

[PokerPlayer1]

McCrory's on St. George Street





I guess there's just something about Florida, old Five and Dime stores, summer- but that 'air conditioned drug store' smell will always make me think of Ice Cream, being a kid and being happy. In regards to a McCrorys on St. George Street....


When St. George Street Had Actual Shops That Didn't Involve T-Shirts, Post Cards, Replica Maritime Objects, Limited Edition Zippo Lighters and/or Star Trek Commemorative Romulen Battle Swords





As mind-blowing a concept as this is, believe it or not, St. George Street used to actually have real businesses. Matter of fact, it used to actually be a street that you could drive on... I was pretty little when they capped it off and made it into a pedmall, but I do distinctly recall the remnants of 'real businesses' on St. George Street. Auto parts stores, grocery stores- shops that weren't catering solely to the American consumers insatiable urge to impulse-spend on crap whilst vacationing.. Ask a lot of long-time locals about the 'tourist-trapping' of St. George Street and they will point to it's closure to auto traffic as the very instant when the old soul of the town died and a corner was irrevocably turned. Of course, it wasn't all bad; the making of St. George Street into the 'thing' it went on to become brought us some colorful characters. Does anyone else remember....


Good street entertainers on St. George Street?

I'm talking the good ones... Jeff the One Man Band. Eric the Juggler. These guys were the real deal; itinerant, vagabonding free-spirits who traveled the entire globe doing this stuff because they were actually talented performers... It was far, far from the 'bums with guitars' scene that's so common today...






The Gazebo in the Plaza: Before There Were Planters


http://www.augustine.com/images/walkingtour/intro/WTintroPlaza.jpg (broken link)


It wasn't necessarily a 'bad' thing that they put them there; to be sure, at any given point in time, you could drive by and see some questionable types plopped around on the side-walls, but when we were younger, it was a cool place to hang out, sit around and BS... and to be honest, a few times, we were the 'questionable types' ourselves.

Got caught smoking pot there one night when I was about 16; the cop crushed the joint under his bootheel, gave us a pretty wicked scolding, then drove each one of us back over the bridge, home to our parents without bothering to 'book us'... Now THAT'S something you don't encounter much anymore. Speaking of "smoking" and "pot";



Smoking Cigarettes in Pot Bellys Theater






Ahhhh yes, much to the horror of every non-smoker, it wasn't *that* long ago when you could go into Pot Bellys and light up. Man, was that ever fantastic. Really, smoking in Pot Bellys lasted for a freakishly long time; I believe they still had 'smoking shows' into the very early 00's, if I recall correctly.


When you could fish anywhere and no one cared


http://www.west-point.org/society/wps-north-florida/images/SeaWall01.jpg (broken link)

Used to be that if there was water, you could pretty much always see people fishing there. Of course, St. Augustine isn't exactly lacking in places to fish, but a lot of the places that are now 'off limits' used to be standard. Right along the seawall, downtown, is now off limits. People used to fish there all the time. Some places by the D&B are now off limits. A cancer of "No Fishing" signs have started metastasizing all over the town; whereas in years past, the entire notion of telling people that they couldn't fish in these places would've brought chuckles.

St. Augustine: 'The Quaint Drinking Village with a Fishing Problem' isn't that place anymore.

[wb3690]

love st. augustine!

when we first lived here in 2000 we would go alot.....so when we moved back in 2009 I was excited. it's changed a bit in that small amount of time......but I still love it.

[JimRom]

Great thread, PokerPlayer.

I lived in Jax until I was 5 (early 1970s), then visited periodically until I hit my teens and the appeal of spending time with family was outweighed by chasing girls.

I can remember going down to St. Augustine with my grandparents when I was a kid. It was a long car ride in a Buick Roadmaster with no a/c, and those were some of the best times of my life. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

P.S. The skeletons scared the crap out of me when I was little.

[midnite rider]

From one of those New Yorkers.....we visited St.Augustine about two months ago,I know about "soul"being driven out.
I remember South Street Seaport when it was just a museum,not a shopping mall.My father grew up two blocks from there,when it was a seaport.
It was/is a great museum,but turning the area into a tourist trap,and that is exactly what it is now,is a little sad for those who remember it as a quainter reminder of the way NYC,on that part of the island,was.
Thanks,PokerPlayer1 for showing this side of St.Augustine.