The Avero House is a historic house located at 41 St. George Street 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 United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The building is locally significant as one of 30 remaining houses within the historic district that pre-date 1821. It was once the site of a Minorcan Chapel. Today, the building is home to the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine.

Description and history

The Avero House is a two-story rectangular block with an open loggia on the southeastern portion of the lot. The walls are made of coquina stone laid in roughly horizontal courses with lime mortar, which are plastered both inside and outside. At the flat roof, there are several copper scuppers. Although the house was apparently built around 1749, the first detailed information on its layout does not appear until a map from 1763, which depicts it as having a U-shaped floor plan. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America purchased the building in 1966 and restored the house to its 1730s appearance. Today the house is open to the public as the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, dedicated to the first colony of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

people who came to America in 1768. The Shrine includes the St. Photios Chapel which features

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

iconography, the relics of 18 saints of the Early Church, and a museum with a permanent exhibit about the life of early Greek settlers as well as temporary exhibits that are changed out annually. The Avero House was added to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on June 13, 1972.

Gallery

File:St Aug Avero House plaque01.jpg, Historic marker on exterior File:St Aug Avero House sign01.jpg, Entrance to St. Photios Shrine

References

External links

Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine
- official site

a
National Register of Historic Places

Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
*
St. Johns County listings
a
Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
*
St. Photios Greek Shrine
Greek-American culture in Florida Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida National Register of Historic Places in St. Johns County, Florida Museums in St. Augustine, Florida History museums in Florida Religious museums in Florida Houses in St. Johns County, Florida 1749 establishments in the Spanish Empire Houses completed in 1749 Christian shrines {{Florida-museum-stub