Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine

For Sunday, why not a view of a church? This one being the magnificent Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine next to the town square.

ABC Wednesday: "A" is for Arch

For the first ABC Wednesday of round 3 I choose "A" for Arch.

An arch is a structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight (e.g. a doorway in a stone wall). True arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and in Persian ziggurats (see Chogha Zanbil). True arches were also built by the Babylonians in the 6th century BC (see Ishtar Gate ). The arch then spread to Europe and was adopted by the Ancient Greeks, Etruscans, and Ancient Romans. The arch became an important technique in medieval European cathedral building as well as Islamic architecture. Across the ocean in Mexico and Central America, Mesoamerican civilizations created various types of corbelled arches, such as with the interior tunnels in the Great Pyramid of Cholula and the many styles of corbelled arches built by the Mayan civilization. In Peru, the Inca civilization used a trapezoidal arch in their architecture. The arch is still used today in some modern structures such as bridges.

This particular arch comes from the doorway to the cathedral in downtown St. Augustine, Florida - the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. The current building was begun in 1793, but there has been a Catholic congregation in the city since the Spanish first landed in the year 1565, making it the oldest parish in the United States, as well as the oldest continuously occupied city in the United States (sorry Jamestown, you are #2 no matter what you say...)

Don't forget - new location for ABC Wednesdays at http://wednesdayabc.blogspot.com/

Old Florida Series: Part 2

Our destination on Ft. George island was a history lecture (yes, I'm a nerd - haha) being given at the Ribault Club.

The Ribalut Club (technically pronounced Re-bow, not Ree-balt as we locals call it) was originally opened in 1928 as a resort catering to wealthy locals and vacationing Northerners. At that time Jacksonville was the popular vacation spot in Florida as Miami and other points further South were nothing but malaria infested swamps.

The Ribault Club flourished for a while, adding an additional lodge in 1930 to accomodate the 350 members. Some ammenities included: a library, grand fireplace, numerous rooms, outdoor activities such as lawn bowling, and a 9-hole Scottish style golf course, not to mention easy access to sailing and boating.

The Great Depression put an end to most of the fun, however, and the club was sold numerous times until finally falling into disrepair by the late 1900's. In 1989 the State of Florida purchased the property and is in the process of revitalising the facility. It currently hosts many weddings and receptions, a museum, and will eventually be the main visitor's center for Ft. George island.

One other structure we stopped by briefly to snap a few photos of from the car is the St. George Episcopal Church, originally built in 1882-1883 and still an active parish. I would have liked to have gotten out to get some better photos and perhaps go inside, but some members were getting the facility ready for palm sunday and I did not want to disturb their work.

Next up: Fernandina, FL

Sky Watch Friday

Sunset on the clouds behind the steeple of the church where I lead the music.

It Don't Mean a Thing...

If it ain't got that swing

A church post for a Sunday

This church is an old Episcopal or Methodist (I forget which) church in downtown Jaxsonville and is part of the Jacksonville Historic Society, which also has a museum in a victorian two-story house next door.