The Lightner Museum is a museum of antiques, mostly American Gilded Age pieces, housed within the historic Hotel Alcazar building in downtown St. Augustine. This 1887 Spanish Renaissance Revival style building is listed on the

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History

Hotel Alcazar

The hotel was commissioned by

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

, to appeal to wealthy tourists who traveled south for the winter on his railroad, the Florida East Coast Railway. It was designed by New York City architects Carrère and Hastings, in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style. The firm also designed the Ponce de León Hotel across the street, now part of the campus of

Flagler College Flagler College is a private university, private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. The school was founded in 1968 and offers 37 undergraduate majors and two master's programs. It also had a Flagler College – Tallahassee Campus, ...

. Both structures are notable for being among the earliest examples of poured concrete buildings in the world. These architects later designed the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

in New York City and the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The hotel had a steam room, massage parlor, sulfur baths, gymnasium, a three-story ballroom, and the world's largest indoor swimming pool; however, after years as an elegant winter resort for wealthy patrons, the hotel closed in 1932. On August 20, 1947 Chicago publisher Otto C. Lightner purchased the building to convert the old hotel into a hobbies museum. He used the space to house several collections, including his own extensive collection of Victorian era art. He then turned it over to the city of St. Augustine and the museum opened to the public in 1948. The building is an attraction in itself, centering on an open

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

with palm trees and a stone arch bridge over a koi pond.

Museum

The museum occupies three floors of the former Hotel Alcazar and is housed in the former health facilities of the hotel, including the spa and the Victorian Turkish bath, in addition to its three-story ballroom. The first floor of the museum houses a Victorian Science and Industry Room displays shells, rocks, minerals, and Native American artifacts in beautiful Gilded Age cases, as well as stuffed birds, a small Egyptian mummy, a model

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

, elaborate examples of Victorian glassblowing, a golden elephant bearing the world on its back, and a shrunken head. Moreover, the first floor contains a music room, filled with mechanized musical instruments—including player pianos, reproducing pianos, orchestrions, and others—dating from the 1870s through the 1920s. It formerly featured a Victorian village, with shop fronts representing emporia selling period wares; this area is now the gift shop. The second floor contains examples of cut glass, Victorian art glass and stained-glass work from

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is associated with the art nouveauLander, David"The Buyable ...

's studio. The third floor, in the ballroom's upper balcony, exhibits paintings, sculptures, and furniture, including a '' grande escritoire'' created for

Louis Bonaparte Louis Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French c ...

, Napoleon's brother and King of Holland between 1806 and 1810. The Ballroom Gallery has oil paintings by Paul Trouillebert (''Cleopatra & the Dying Messenger''), Léon Comerre (''Maid of Honor''), and Albert Bierstadt (''In the Yosemite''). It also has sculptures by

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (; 11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpe ...

and Randolph Rogers. On view from the ballroom's upper balcony is the now drained swimming pool. The pool now hosts the Cafe Alcazar. The Lightner Museum partners with local tourism initiatives such as Visit Florida and Florida Attractions Association. In 2021, the museum developed a local artists initiative called Lightner Local, with support from the Benjamin and Jean Troemel Arts Foundation, awarding exhibition space for artists who lived in Northeast and Central Florida. The Lightner is a member of Culture Builds Florida, the Division of Arts and Culture for the state of Florida, as well as the St Johns Cultural Council. In 2021, the museum completed improvements to its storage facilities using a $162,000 grant award from the

Institute of Museum and Library Services The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government established in 1996. It is the main source of federal support for librar ...

Gallery

File:Lightner Museum - Tower Detail.JPG, Tower detail of the Lightner Museum File:Taxidermic Bird - Lightner Museum.JPG, Taxidermic bird (detail) at the Lightner Museum File:Shrunken Head - Lightner Museum.jpg, Shrunken head exhibited at the Lightner Museum File:Tiffany Window of St Augustine - Lightner Museum.jpg,

stained-glass window of St. Augustine, exhibited at the Lightner Museum File:Alcazar Hotel, St. Augustine, FL, US (14).jpg, Historical marker File:Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Statue.jpg, alt=, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Statue - May 2019 File:Alcazar Hotel Historic Marker.jpg, alt=, Alcazar Hotel Historic Marker File:Alcazar Hotel Courtyard 1.jpg, alt=, Courtyard - May 2019 File:Alcazar Hotel Courtyard 2.jpg, alt=, Courtyard Koi Pond - May 2019 File:Lightner Courtyard.jpg, Lightner Courtyard

References

* Ossman, Laurie; Ewing, Heather (2011). ''Carrère and Hastings, The Masterworks''. Rizzoli USA. .

External links