The Lightner Museum gives visitors the unusual opportunity to explore a museum and one of St. Augustine’s great Gilded Age landmarks at the same time. The museum occupies the former Hotel Alcazar, commissioned by Henry Flagler and completed in 1888. Designed by Carrère and Hastings in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style, the building was once an elaborate winter resort created for the wealthy travelers Flagler was drawing to Florida.
Today, its galleries contain the eclectic collection assembled by Chicago publisher Otto C. Lightner, who founded the museum in 1948. The holdings range from Gilded Age furniture and American art glass to paintings, sculpture, ceramics, vintage typewriters and unusual curiosities. The ongoing Gilded Age: Treasures from the Lightner Museum exhibition is fittingly displayed in the former hotel’s grand ballroom.
Part of the pleasure here is allowing yourself to wander. The architecture, courtyard, former hotel spaces and decorative details continually remind you that you’re exploring a building that was itself part of Henry Flagler’s transformation of St. Augustine into a destination for America’s Gilded Age elite. The museum describes the experience as a combination of art, architecture, history and design—and that’s a much better description than simply calling it an art museum.
Located at 75 King Street, directly across from Flagler College, the Lightner fits naturally into a day exploring Historic Downtown. It’s also one of my stronger recommendations for a hot or rainy afternoon because much of the experience is indoors, while the courtyard gives you a beautiful outdoor pause between galleries.
