Villa Zorayda

Villa Zorayda
Location St. Augustine, Florida
Coordinates 29°53′30″N 81°18′54.5″W / 29.89167°N 81.315139°W / 29.89167; -81.315139Coordinates: 29°53′30″N 81°18′54.5″W / 29.89167°N 81.315139°W / 29.89167; -81.315139
Architect Franklin W. Smith
Architectural style Moorish Revival
NRHP Reference # 93001002[1]
Added to NRHP September 23, 1993
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Villa Zorayda.

Villa Zorayda (also known as the Zorayda Castle) is a house at 83 King Street in St. Augustine, Florida.[2] It was inspired by the 12th-century Moorish Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. It was built by the eccentric Boston millionaire Franklin W. Smith in 1883 as his private home in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. The building and part of Franklin Smith's art and antique collection were sold to Mr. Abraham Mussallem in 1913. On September 23, 1993, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Villa Zorayda Museum is still currently owned by the Mussallem family and contains a 98% original art and antique collection of Franklin Smith and Abraham Mussallem.

History

The Villa Zorayda in the early 1900s

Franklin W. Smith was an amateur architect[3] and pioneer experimenter in poured concrete construction. His winter home, Villa Zorayda, was the first residence built in the Moorish Revival style in Florida.[4] His concrete and crushed coquina stone building material and method was adopted by Henry Morrison Flagler, a Standard Oil partner and Florida developer, for his nearby hotels and churches on an even grander scale.[5] Villa Zorayda could also be considered the first example of fantasy architecture in Florida, and in some ways the progenitor of Disney World. He was an early member of the Republican Party, and danced with his wife at Abraham Lincoln's inaugural ball in 1861. He was also a founder of the Boston YMCA, and was involved in many reform efforts and schemes for public improvement in the course of his long life. He is buried in the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Just one block east of Villa Zorayda is the largest building Smith constructed in St. Augustine, the Casa Monica Hotel (later purchased by Henry Flagler and renamed the Cordova Hotel).

The Villa Zorayda Museum located at 83 King Street in St. Augustine, FL
The Villa Zorayda Museum's "Court of Lions"

1883-Franklin Smith builds his winter home, Villa Zorayda, the first poured concrete and crushed coquina building in St. Augustine

Over the years, this unique building has been used as a home, Club with dining, dancing, and gambling, a speakeasy, movie set, and a museum.[6]

The building underwent renovations beginning in 2003 and reopened to the public in 2008.[7] Audio tours are available in English, Spanish, and French.[8] Audio tours provide an extensive overview of the history of the building, the importance of the building to St. Augustine, FL, and the entire antique and art collection inside. The Museum is open daily[9]

The Collection

Interior of the Villa Zorayda Museum

The Villa Zorayda Museum contains luxurious interior details, including most notably cast plaster with ground alabaster work matching that of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. This alabaster and plaster relief is referred to as traceries or arabesque and are exact replicas of the walls of the Alhambra Palace. The architecture of the building is accompanied by fine detail including hand painted wood panels and tiles, intricately designed fire places and doorways, and geometric shaped windows and stained glass. The collection also includes hand-pierced brass lamps from Damascus and other parts of the Middle East, Oriental rugs, sculptures, carved furniture, decorative tiles, and Egyptian artifacts [10][11]

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  5. ↑ wilson, Gil. "Villa Zorayda, 83 King St., St. Augustine Florida". www.drbronsontours.com. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  6. ↑ http://www.villazorayda.com/overview.html
  7. ↑ http://www.villazorayda.com/overview.html
  8. ↑ http://www.villazorayda.com/admission.html
  9. ↑ "Hours and admission information". www.villazorayda.com. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  10. ↑ http://www.villazorayda.com/overview.html
  11. ↑ http://www.villazorayda.com/pics.html
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