The Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (HSAPB) was a state agency in Florida that participated in the restoration and preservation of historic buildings in St. Augustine, Florida from 1959 to 1997. Created in 1959 by Governor LeRoy Collins, the agency acquired, restored, and preserved historic structures in St. Augustine until its abolishment by the

State of Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...

in June 1997.

History

In March 1958 a group from St. Augustine asked Florida Governor

LeRoy Collins Thomas LeRoy Collins (March 10, 1909 – March 12, 1991) was an American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Florida. Collins began his governorship after winning a special election in 1954, was elected to a four-year term in 1956 ...

for the creation of a

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

program for the city's historic downtown. On June 11, 1959, House Bill 774 was signed into law, establishing the St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission and giving it $150,000 of state funds to begin its work. Original members of the Commission were Herbert E. Wolfe, Leonard Usina, William F. Rolleston, William L. Sims II, and Henrietta Poynter. Wolfe, a resident of St. Augustine, was the Commission's first chairman, serving from 1959 until 1969. The Commission hired consultant Earle Newton to help it develop a strategic plan for the restoration and preservation of St. Augustine buildings. At its founding, the agency's primary objective was to restore the colonial architecture of St. Augustine in time for the city's Quadricentennial Celebration in 1965. Buildings the agency planned to restore dated to the First Spanish Period (1565-1763), British Period (1763-83), Second Spanish Period (1783-1821), and the early American Period (after 1821). Senator Verle Pope and Representatives Charlie Usina and Gus Craig strongly supported the restoration program and fought for another $300,000 to further its work. The Commission's first restoration project was the Arrivas House on St. George Street, which was dedicated by then-Vice President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

on March 11, 1963. The Commission used the second floor of the Arrivas House as their administrative offices until 1970, when they moved operations to the

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

. On May 5, 1970 the St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission was renamed to the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board. In June 1997 the agency was abolished by the State of Florida in accordance with the Sundown Act. Management of the agency's properties was first tasked to the City of St. Augustine and subsequently to UF Historic St. Augustine, Inc. (UFHSA), a direct support organization of 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 ...

San Agustín Antiguo

In 1963 the HSAPB opened San Agustín Antiguo, a living history museum village in which costumed guides gave tours of restored buildings and demonstrated a variety of arts and crafts typical of the First and Second Spanish Periods, as well as of the British Period. These included blacksmithing,

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

, candle dipping,

silversmithing A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

, baking, and leather making. After the dissolution of the HSAPB, a smaller version of San Agustín Antiguo was kept in operation by UF Historic St. Augustine, Inc.

Structure

The HSAPB was managed by a seven-member board of directors, the head of which was the Chairman. Chairmen of the board included Lawrence Lewis, Jr. (1969-1972), John D. Bailey (1972-1975), Michael V. Gannon (1975-1980, 1985-1987), Henry W. McMillan (1980-1985), Bill Daniell (1987-1989), John Sundeman (1989-1990), and Bill Rose (1991-1997).Mortham, Sandra B. Board Chairman Terms. Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, Florida Department of State. 5 May 1997. Retrieved from Governor's House Library Archives.

List of restoration and reconstruction projects

The following properties in St. Augustine were at one point restored or reconstructed by the HSAPB:

References

{{reflist Historic preservation organizations in the United States History of Florida St. Augustine, Florida

History

San Agustín Antiguo

Structure

List of restoration and reconstruction projects

See also

References