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The Waterworks
Built in 1898, the Waterworks was once the pumping station for the first water utility in St. Augustine during the Flagler Era, dating from the arrival of developer Henry Flagler in St. Augustine until he died in 1913. It remained in service until a new water plant opened on West King Street in 1927.
The site developed into Davenport Park in 1928, and the building continued use as the Little Theatre, then a home for the St. Augustine Arts Club, and later as the St. Augustine Garden Club. This conversion of the Waterworks into a community center was one of the earliest adaptive use projects in the history of St. Augustine. Site improvements included converting the aerating basin to a wading pool for children and constructing a low coquina concrete wall along the San Marco side of the property.
The brick building was closed in 2005 out of safety concerns. Since then, the City has secured grant funding to stabilize the building and continue its restoration.
The Waterworks was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 for local-level significance for its association with Jo Conn Guild, a nationally significant engineer, and F.A. Hollingsworth, one of St. Augustine’s most prominent architects.
In 2022, the St. Johns Cultural Council began collaborating with the City of St. Augustine to dramatically increase access to arts, culture, and heritage programming for residents and provide much-needed space for St. Augustine-based organizations to meet and host communit ... view more »
LOCATION
MAKE IT A NIGHT
ALBUQUERQUE LITTLE THEATRE
Cheese Coffee Caf Downtown - Liu Chinese Fast Food
- Vinaigrette
- Garcias Kitchen The Original
- Route 66 Malt Shop
- Bottger Mansion of Old Town
Bottger Mansion of Old Town- Liu Chinese Fast Food
Bottger Mansion of Old Town - Liu Chinese
- Vinaigrette
Accessibility Information
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Wheelchair Access
PARKING INFO
Access the building through the Main Branch Library parking lot, then follow the brick path for additional parking in the back.
Contact information
Featured Venues
With sparkling crystal chandeliers, intricate mosaic tile flooring, majestic arched windows, and carved wooden staircases, Lightner Museum is a show-stopper! The museum opened in 1948, displaying the collections of Otto C. Lightner, which include 19th-century artwork, glassware, sculpture, furniture, stained glass, and antique chandeliers throughout the three floors of exhibits. Originally built as the Hotel Alcazar in 1888 by Standard Oil co-founder Henry Flagler, this beautiful structure was created in the Spanish Renaissance Revival Style. In addition to the Lightner Museum, it also houses St. Augustine City Hall, several antique shops, and Cafe Alcazar, a restaurant that sits in the location of what was once the world’s largest indoor swimming pool.
Beluthahatchee Park is a four-acre park located within the 70-acre tract of land purchased by Stetson Kennedy in 1948 after the 18-acre Beluthahatchee Lake was created by impounding Mill Creek in 1945. This lake meanders through a natural basin and is surrounded by high bluffs, currently owned by the Lake Dwellers Association, a non-profit Florida corporation formed by the lakefront residents. In 1949, the 70-acre tract was subdivided and platted by the owner/developer Stetson Kennedy who recorded the restrictive covenants setting aside land in perpetuity as a wildlife refuge, and stipulating that residential construction be consistent with the developer’s goal of “serving as a working demonstration that human and natural habitat need not be mutually exclusive, but can coexist in harmony.”