The St. Augustine Amphitheatre (shortened as The Amp) is an outdoor amphitheater located on

A1A State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island. It is the main road throug ...

in St. Augustine,

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 ...

, United States. The venue seats over 4,000 persons, and is managed by the St. Johns County Parks & Recreation department.

History

The amphitheatre was built in 1965 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, originally with 2,000 seats. land was originally part of

Anastasia State Park Anastasia State Park is a state park in Florida, United States. Its location is on a peninsula on Anastasia Island across Matanzas Bay from downtown St. Augustine along the Atlantic coastal plain. This park has a variety of wildlife, birds and pl ...

. The amphitheatre itself was constructed in one of the old coquina quarries used to supply building materials for St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos. The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paul Green was commissioned to write a play to be performed at the amphitheatre. The result was ''Cross and Sword: A Symphonic Drama of the Spanish Settlement of Florida'',Paul Green Bibliography
/ref> a musical reenactment of the first years of St. Augustine's existence. '' Cross and Sword'' was designated the official state play in 1973 by the Florida Legislature.Florida State Symbols - The State Play: Cross and Sword
The play ran until 1996, when budget constraints ended its more than 30-year run. The amphitheatre was used infrequently during the following years, though it did host a free summer

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Festival from 1997 to 2003. In 2002, St. Johns County acquired the property and the following year began an $8.7 million renovation. The upgraded facility reopened in August 2007, which includes a fiberglass tensile canopy over the main stage.St. Augustine Amphitheatre - St. Johns County Government Gateway
/ref> It now has 4,092 seats. In 2019, the theater branded itself as "The Amp". Also in 2019, the Amp is ranked #2 amphitheatre in the United States and #3 worldwide according to leading concert-industry publication Pollstar Magazine's 2019 Mid-Year report.

Noted performers

* Duran Duran *

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* Awolnation * Barenaked Ladies *

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* Chris Stapleton *

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* Foreigner *

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* Jack Johnson * Slayer *

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* Styx * Robert Plant *

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* "Weird Al" Yankovic * Paramore *

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* John Fogerty *

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Photos

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File:St. Augustine Amphitheatre with sign, St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.jpg, Amphitheatre with sign File:St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.jpg, Amphitheatre

References

Amphitheaters in the United States Theatres completed in 1965 Music venues in Florida Buildings and structures in St. Augustine, Florida Theatres in Florida Tourist attractions in St. Augustine, Florida 1965 establishments in Florida {{coord, 29.8755, -81.2829, type:landmark, display=title