The Colonial Quarter (previously known as the Colonial Spanish Quarter) is a site in
St. Augustine, Florida. After an extensive multimillion-dollar renovation completed in three months, the site opened as the Colonial Quarter in March 2013.
History of Colonial Spanish Quarter
In 1963 the Colonial Spanish Quarter was opened as a living museum depicting life in St Augustine in the 1740s. In the 1740s Spain ruled the area and St. Augustine was occupied mostly by persons born in Spain or of Spanish ancestry. This living history museum operated until fall 2011 on a site owned by the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
and managed by the City of St. Augustine.
Colonial Quarter Rebranding Project
In September 2012, Colonial Quarter LLC, owned by
Pat Croce
Pasquale "Pat" Croce (born November 2, 1954) is an American entrepreneur, sports team executive and owner, author, and TV personality. He served as team president of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Philadelphia 76ers from 1996 to 2001 ...
, who also owns the adjacent
St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, and the University of Florida signed an agreement allowing Colonial Quarter LLC to operate the site.
["Colonial Quarter, UF sign contract," September 8, 2012, ''St. Augustine Record'' online, at http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2012-09-07-0 .]
Work began on the site, renamed Colonial Quarter, dropping "Spanish" from the name. By November 2012 a sign outside the site announced the project would open in spring 2013, which it did on March 16, 2013.
Since then, the Colonial Quarter has become one of the city's premier live music venues. Noted for its outdoor stage and open area picnic table seating covered with trees and lit by lanterns, local bands perform here nightly.
References
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External links
Colonial Quarter
Museums in St. Augustine, Florida
Living museums in Florida
Pre-statehood history of Florida