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
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View more184 San Marco Avenue, St. Augustine, FL 32084
ALBUQUERQUE LITTLE THEATRE
Access the building through the Main Branch Library parking lot, then follow the brick path for additional parking in the back.
Fort Mose Historic State Park is the site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered the settlement of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose, or Fort Mose for short, as a settlement for those fleeing slavery from the English colonies in the Carolinas. Over the next 25 years, Fort Mose and Spanish Saint Augustine became a sanctuary for Africans seeking liberation from the tyranny of English slavery.
St. Augustine Visitor Information Center (VIC)
For half a century, visitors to St. Augustine have made the St. Augustine/St. Johns County Visitor Information Center their first stop upon arriving in the Nation’s Oldest City. Commonly known as the “VIC,” the center offers information on special and cultural events, brochures and guidebooks for the area's attractions, clean restrooms, a gift shop. The VIC is staffed with friendly fully licensed tour guide hosts who gladly share information on attractions, museums, tours, accommodations, restaurants and unique shopping opportunities. The VIC is where a St. Augustine vacation begins, whether you plan to stay a day, a weekend or longer.