St. Augustine is more than just the nation’s oldest colonized city. It is home to the fabled Fountain of Youth, a college with installations by Thomas Edison and Louis Tiffany, and more ghosts than seagulls at a beachfront picnic. Join us as we explore!
Everyone knows the history of the Fountain of Youth. How famed conquistador, Juan Ponce de Leon searched Florida high and low for the immortality-granting spring. But what if I told told you that NONE of this was true? That de Leon never in his entire career as a sailor and explorer even mentioned The Fountain of Youth, much less longed to find it? The root of this myth dates back to a feud between Ponce and the son of Christopher Columbus, which is touched on in this episode.
So, while St. Augustine may not be home to the real Fountain of Youth, it is the oldest colonized city in the United States and boasts perhaps the richest history to boot. Towering within this historical district is Flaglar College, formerly the Ponce de Leon Hotel. It was the Florida's first luxury resort hotel, build by Henry Morrison Flaglar. What makes this building so special is that Thomas Edison installed the electricity, which is still in use today, and Louis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany Glass Co. is credited for it's interior design. The Tiffany Glass windows are still very much in tact for visitors to admire.
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