On a recent trip to St Augustine, I walked up to St George Street to see what I could see of the new Colonial Quarter.
This is pretty much what I could see clearly.
But I also saw sunshine, trucks, vans, extension cords everywhere, materials waiting to be used, workers everywhere. I saw the skeleton of the planned 17th century watchtower.
I heard the buzzing of power tools, snippets of conversation, questions and answers called out, and laughter. I remember the laughter and the sunshine most of all.
Seeing the Taberna and the Museum Store closed and empty made me sad. But as much as I didn’t want the Spanish Quarter to close, it may have outlived its usefulness in that incarnation. If the city of St Augustine no longer had any interest in returning it to the active attraction it once was, then it was right for someone with new vision to take a shot at it. God bless Pat Croce.
Read more about it here: St. Augustine history museum gets major makeover Pat Croce’s enthusiasm and excitement for the project bubbles throughout this First Coast News piece by Jessica Clark. Made me happy.
Follow The Colonial Quarter on Twitter to keep up with renovations and plans f0r reopening.
You’ve seen more than I have. I was on St George street a couple times at the Spanish Bakery for a performance of La Commedia and the Bilge Rats and it was just too sad to see La Taberna closed. It will never be the same for me, especially with my favorite tavern keepers gone. I hope that its new incarnation will be vibrant and welcoming for others though.
It’s definitely a bittersweet change, Skye. But I have seen a lot of things change in St Augustine over the years and while I haven’t liked all of it, I understand why it had to happen. This is a little harder for those of us who were a part of the old Spanish Quarter to swallow, but it’ll be okay. St Augustine has been changing for 400+ years, and it’ll still be changing 400 years from now.