Positively St Augustine

On any given day, several thousand people move up and down St George Street investigating the shops, restaurants, and various sights and sounds that make the town unique. Many are unaware that they are passing within arm’s reach of a distinctive part of St Augustine that offers an experience found nowhere else in the city.

The Colonial Spanish Quarter offers a retreat into a different time, a different place. A time when life was hard, but simple. A life that few ever get the privilege of experiencing first hand.  No electricity, no phones, no cars, no Internet. Just the task of getting through one day at a time making sure needs were filled and everyone stayed safe.

This collection of houses and buildings is a window into St Augustine’s past; an opportunity to experience St Augustine on a deeper level. The community represents St Augustine in 1740; a Spanish town during a time when the rest of the Eastern Seaboard was under English rule. The state of Georgia was still in its infancy and its well-intentioned founder burned with determination to present his king with the “gift” of the small Spanish town. His resolve was futile.

St Augustine has endured pirate sackings, burnings, hurricanes, attacks, and transfers of ownership. Through it all, nothing has crushed its spirit or its fortitude. Since September 8, 1565, every effort to take the tiny town by force has failed.

Why? Because when St Augustine made up its mind it was not going to be taken, it wasn’t taken. If “not getting taken” meant building a massive fort to protect itself, then that’s what the town did. Took thirty years to do it, but it was done. And so the town survived.

The Colonial Spanish Quarter still shines with St Augustine’s sheer determination to survive. However, the threat against the Quarter is much more insidious than the pillaging pirates or fierce storms of yesterday. In the 21^st century, the threat against the Colonial Spanish Quarter is financial.

Admittedly, there have been better times in our country’s economic history to operate museums and tourist attractions. St Augustine, however, is not just a museum or a tourist attraction. It is the place in America where one may walk where the first Europeans walked; touch what they touched, see what they saw that ignited the spark of desire to carve a life out of a brand-new world, at any cost.

The Colonial Spanish Quarter is a living, breathing piece of American heritage.

• It is where you stroll along sandy paths under the cool shade of spreading trees and meet people who live a very different life than yours.
• It is where you experience a simpler time and place, with every one of your senses.
• It is where you understand that a barrel of corn or a length of cloth has far more value than a laptop computer or a portable music player.
• It is where you walk into a simple, two-room home and realize that it is as well equipped (if not better so) than your own home with its comforts and conveniences.
• It is where you see a blacksmith making a nail, and suddenly comprehend what goes into the building of a home.
• It is where a mockingbird chatters at you from the top of an open shutter and you remember what it is like to be “chosen” by a pet.
• It is where The Nation’s Oldest City emphasizes independence and self-reliance.
• It is where, in the midst of a Spanish community that survived everything they were dealt, you will remember what it means to be independent and self-reliant.
• It is where you will understand independence requires sacrifice and “making do.”

The Colonial Spanish Quarter, for all its uniqueness and purpose, is in danger of closing. Without visitors moving in and out of the living history museum, every day, it will close. Without the support of local residents who understand its value, it will close. Without raised voices to say what it cannot say for itself, it will close.

How can you help? Easily, and it will not cost you more than a bit of your time:

• If you are planning to visit St Augustine, please include the Colonial Spanish Quarter in your plans. When you get there, explore it, experience it, and gobble it up. The staff will be more than happy to help you get the most from your visit.
• When you are visiting the Colonial Spanish Quarter, take pictures—lots of pictures. Get pictures of the staff, the scenery, and of yourself enjoying your visit. Post them to your Facebook page or make a digital album of them to share with everyone you know.
• Let the staff know you enjoyed spending time with them. Encouragement matters.
• If you are a resident of St Augustine, invite anyone and everyone you know to visit the Colonial Spanish Quarter.
• If you are a resident of St Augustine, greet visitors to your city and welcome them with a smile. Ask if they have visited the Colonial Spanish Quarter. If they haven’t, encourage them to do so.
• If you use Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or any other social media, please mention the Colonial Spanish Quarter. Do it often. Post your pictures, and encourage vacationers to make a stop there.

The Colonial Spanish Quarter does not have to close permanently. It does not have to be left lonely and forgotten, its houses shuttered, its spirit silenced. The Quarter still has stories to tell and songs to sing and with a little help, those stories and songs will go on. If the Colonial Spanish Quarter closes, the living history of St Augustine will die.

SEE ALSO:
An American In St Augustine
The Colonial Spanish Quarter Museum