# Lightner Museum

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Historic museum in Florida, US

"Hotel Alcazar" redirects here. For the building in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, see [Alcazar Hotel (Cleveland Heights, Ohio)](/source/Alcazar_Hotel_(Cleveland_Heights%2C_Ohio)).

United States historic place

Alcazar Hotel U.S. National Register of Historic Places The Lightner Museum, originally the Alcazar Hotel, with a statue of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés on the ground. Show map of Florida Show map of the United States Location 75 King Street St. Augustine, Florida Coordinates 29°53′30″N 81°18′51″W / 29.89167°N 81.31417°W / 29.89167; -81.31417 Built 1887 (museum opened 1948) Architect Carrère and Hastings Architectural style Spanish Renaissance Revival[2] Website www.lightnermuseum.org NRHP reference No. 71001013[1] Added to NRHP February 24, 1971

The **Lightner Museum** is a museum of antiques, mostly American [Gilded Age](/source/Gilded_Age) pieces, housed within the historic **Hotel Alcazar** building in downtown [St. Augustine](/source/St._Augustine%2C_Florida). This 1887 [Spanish Renaissance Revival style](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Spanish_Revival_architecture_in_the_United_States) building is listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places).

## History

### Hotel Alcazar

The hotel was commissioned by [Henry Flagler](/source/Henry_Flagler), to appeal to wealthy tourists who traveled south for the winter on his railroad, the [Florida East Coast Railway](/source/Florida_East_Coast_Railway). It was designed by New York City architects [Carrère and Hastings](/source/Carr%C3%A8re_and_Hastings), in the [Spanish Renaissance Revival style](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Spanish_Revival_architecture_in_Florida). The firm also designed the [Ponce de León Hotel](/source/Ponce_de_Le%C3%B3n_Hotel) across the street, now part of the campus of [Flagler College](/source/Flagler_College). Both structures are notable for being among the earliest examples of poured concrete buildings in the world. These architects later designed the [New York Public Library](/source/New_York_Public_Library) in New York City and the [Russell Senate Office Building](/source/Russell_Senate_Office_Building) in Washington, D.C.

The hotel had a steam room, massage parlor, sulfur baths, gymnasium, a three-story ballroom, and the world's largest indoor swimming pool; however, after years as an elegant winter resort for wealthy patrons, the hotel closed in 1932.

On August 20, 1947 Chicago publisher Otto C. Lightner purchased the building to convert the old hotel into a hobbies museum. He used the space to house several collections, including his own extensive collection of Victorian era art.[3][4] He then turned it over to the city of St. Augustine and the museum opened to the public in 1948.[5]

The building is an attraction in itself, centering on an open [courtyard](/source/Courtyard) with [palm trees](/source/Palm_tree) and a [stone arch bridge](/source/Stone_arch_bridge) over a koi pond.

## Museum

The museum occupies three floors of the former Hotel Alcazar and is housed in the former health facilities of the hotel, including the spa and the [Victorian Turkish bath](/source/Victorian_Turkish_baths), in addition to its three-story ballroom.

The first floor of the museum houses a Victorian Science and Industry Room displays shells, rocks, minerals, and Native American artifacts in beautiful [Gilded Age](/source/Gilded_Age) cases, as well as stuffed birds, a small [Egyptian mummy](/source/Mummy#Egyptian_mummies), a model [steam engine](/source/Steam_engine), elaborate examples of Victorian [glassblowing](/source/Glassblowing), a golden elephant bearing the world on its back, and a [shrunken head](/source/Shrunken_head). Moreover, the first floor contains a music room, filled with mechanized musical instruments—including [player pianos](/source/Player_piano), [reproducing pianos](/source/Reproducing_piano), [orchestrions](/source/Orchestrions), and others—dating from the 1870s through the 1920s. It formerly featured a Victorian village, with shop fronts representing emporia selling period wares; this area is now the gift shop.

The second floor contains examples of [cut glass](/source/Cut_glass), Victorian [art glass](/source/Art_glass) and [stained-glass](/source/Stained_glass) work from [Louis Comfort Tiffany](/source/Louis_Comfort_Tiffany)'s studio. The third floor, in the ballroom's upper balcony, exhibits paintings, sculptures, and furniture, including a *[grande escritoire](/source/Desk)* created for [Louis Bonaparte](/source/Louis_Bonaparte), [Napoleon's](/source/Napoleon_Bonaparte) brother and [King of Holland](/source/Kingdom_of_Holland) between 1806 and 1810. The Ballroom Gallery has oil paintings by [Paul Trouillebert](/source/Paul_Trouillebert) (*Cleopatra & the Dying Messenger*), [Léon Comerre](/source/L%C3%A9on_Comerre) (*Maid of Honor*), and [Albert Bierstadt](/source/Albert_Bierstadt) (*In the Yosemite*). It also has sculptures by [Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux](/source/Jean-Baptiste_Carpeaux) and [Randolph Rogers](/source/Randolph_Rogers).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

On view from the ballroom's upper balcony is the now drained swimming pool. The pool now hosts the Cafe Alcazar.[6][7]

The Lightner Museum partners with local tourism initiatives such as Visit Florida and Florida Attractions Association. In 2021, the museum developed a local artists initiative called Lightner Local, with support from the Benjamin and Jean Troemel Arts Foundation, awarding exhibition space for artists who lived in Northeast and Central Florida.[8] The Lightner is a member of Culture Builds Florida, the Division of Arts and Culture for the state of Florida, as well as the St Johns Cultural Council. In 2021, the museum completed improvements to its storage facilities using a $162,000 grant award from the [Institute of Museum and Library Services](/source/Institute_of_Museum_and_Library_Services).[9]

## Gallery

		- Tower detail of the Lightner Museum

		- Taxidermic bird (detail) at the Lightner Museum

		- Shrunken head exhibited at the Lightner Museum

		- [Louis Comfort Tiffany](/source/Louis_Comfort_Tiffany) stained-glass window of [St. Augustine](/source/Augustine_of_Hippo), exhibited at the Lightner Museum

		- Historical marker

		- Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Statue - May 2019

		- Alcazar Hotel Historic Marker

		- Courtyard - May 2019

		- Courtyard Koi Pond - May 2019

		- Lightner Courtyard

## See also

- [National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Johns County, Florida](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_St._Johns_County%2C_Florida)

## References

- Ossman, Laurie; Ewing, Heather (2011). *Carrère and Hastings, The Masterworks*. Rizzoli USA. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780847835645](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780847835645).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nris_1-0)** ["National Register Information System"](https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP). *[National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places)*. [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service). July 9, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-brochure_2-0)** Lightner Museum. "Lightner Museum" brochure, circa 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["LIGHTNER, OTTO CURTIS - NumismaticMall.Com"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190326180531/http://www.numismaticmall.com/numismaticmall-com/lightner-otto-curtis). Archived from [the original](http://www.numismaticmall.com/numismaticmall-com/lightner-otto-curtis) on March 26, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Lightner Museum St. Augustine Information Guide"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190819133531/https://www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine/lightner-museum). Archived from [the original](https://www.trolleytours.com/st-augustine/lightner-museum) on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Lightner Museum"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120105104644/http://staugustine.com/history/lightner-museum). *staugustine.com*. St. Augustine Record. 2012. Archived from [the original](http://staugustine.com/history/lightner-museum) on January 5, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Cafe Alcazar - Lightner Museum"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190819133628/https://lightnermuseum.org/cafe/). Archived from [the original](https://lightnermuseum.org/cafe/) on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Cafe Alcazar in St. Augustine, FL"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190819133628/https://thealcazarcafe.com/cafe-alcazar/). Archived from [the original](https://thealcazarcafe.com/cafe-alcazar/) on August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Local painters invited to apply for solo exhibitions in Lightner Museum's East Room Gallery"](https://pontevedrarecorder.com/stories/local-painters-invited-to-apply-for-solo-exhibitions-in-lightner-museums-east-room-gallery,11851). *The Ponte Vedra Recorder*. January 14, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Lightner Museum Announces Successful Completion of IMLS-funded Improvements to its Collection Storage"](https://lightnermuseum.org/2022/02/13/imls/). *Lightner Museum*. February 14, 2022.

## External links

- Media related to [Lightner Museum](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lightner_Museum) at Wikimedia Commons

- [Official website](http://www.lightnermuseum.org/)

- ["Florida's Smithsonian"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050318042715/http://www.gainesvilletoday.com/2003/12/visit_saint_augustine.html)

- [Historic American Buildings Survey](/source/Heritage_Documentation_Programs#Historic_American_Buildings_Survey) (HABS) No. FL-168, "[Alcazar Hotel, 75 King Street, Saint Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida](https://loc.gov/pictures/item/fl0197/)", 8 photos, 6 data pages, 1 photo caption page

v t e St. Augustine, Florida History Saint Augustine Fire of 1914 Education St. Johns County School District St. Augustine HS (not in the city limits) Florida School for the Deaf and Blind Flagler College Ponce de Leon Hotel University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences St Johns County Public Library System St. Joseph Academy (not in the city limits) St. Johns River State College (not in the city limits) Landmarks Castillo de San Marcos Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine González–Álvarez House González-Jones House Lightner Museum Llambias House Old St. Johns County Jail St. Augustine Amphitheatre (not in city limits) St. Augustine Light St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park St. George Street Tolomato Cemetery Culture St. Augustine Historical Society Transportation Northeast Florida Regional Airport (not in the city limits) Healthcare Flagler Hospital (not in the city limits) This list is incomplete.

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Florida Lists by county Alachua Baker Bay Bradford Brevard Broward Calhoun Charlotte Citrus Clay Collier Columbia DeSoto Dixie Duval Escambia Flagler Franklin Gadsden Gilchrist Glades Gulf Hamilton Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Hillsborough Holmes Indian River Jackson Jefferson Lake Lee Leon Levy Liberty Madison Manatee Marion Martin Miami-Dade Monroe Nassau Okaloosa Okeechobee Orange Osceola Palm Beach Pasco Pinellas Polk Putnam Santa Rosa Sarasota Seminole St. Johns St. Lucie Sumter Suwannee Taylor Union Volusia Wakulla Walton Washington Lists by city Miami Tampa Other lists Black Public Schools Bridges Multiple Property Submissions National Historic Landmarks Woman's clubhouses Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

v t e Carrère and Hastings Apartments, houses, and hotels Arden Blairsden Cairnwood Henry Clay Frick House Glenmere Mansion Jefferson Hotel Nemours Estate Col. Oliver Hazard Payne Estate Ponce de Leon Hotel Vernon Court W. B. Thompson Mansion Whitehall William Starr Miller House Commercial structures 5 Columbus Circle 26 Broadway Blair Building Cannon House Office Building Cunard Building Traders Bank Building Churches Central Congregational Church First Church of Christ, Scientist First Presbyterian Church of Rumson Kumler Chapel Clubhouses The Commonwealth Club Cosmos Club Educational structures Administration Building, Carnegie Institution of Washington New York Public Library Main Branch Woolsey Hall Governmental structures Paterson City Hall Portland City Hall Richmond County Courthouse Russell Senate Office Building Staten Island Borough Hall Memorials and monuments Civic Virtue McKinley Monument Parks Grand Army Plaza Hamilton Fish Park Patriots Park Theaters and venues Arlington Memorial Amphitheater Century Theatre Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Memorial Auditorium Metropolitan Opera House Woolsey Hall Transportation Boise Union Pacific Depot Market Street Bridge Others Great Fire of 1911 Historic District Lightner Museum Tower of Jewels Founders John Merven Carrère Thomas Hastings

Authority control databases International VIAF National United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lightner Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightner_Museum) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightner_Museum?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.