Oldest House Museum Complex

Oldest House Museum Complex

February 17th, 2022

The oldest house in the state of Florida is located right here in St. Augustine, and has been occupied in some way, or another since the 1700s. Also located in this historical complex is the first building to be created with the intention to be a museum. The variety of historical buildings come together to showcase the five different eras that St. Augustine has gone through. 

Source link: Website  

Interior Images:

This image, though bare, has a deeper meaning the more you look at it. When the first level of the house was created, there was no money for expensive furniture or wall decorations, the settlers were trying to survive with the bare minimum. Because of this, the walls are dirty, and the only decor is a cross, a symbol for how much religion impacted their day-to-day lives. 

This plan of the Town and Harbour of "St. Augustin" showcases the original plans for the town, including the fort and harbor that still exist today, proving that although much development has taken place here, some things have remained the same in the oldest city. 

Exterior Images:

I chose this image, due to the shadows and light bouncing off the tile walk way, as well as the clouds peaking behind the trees past the gate. 

This next exterior image was chosen due the the beauty of the statue. It stands in a walk way along with other female statues, and separates the different parts of the building. 

In conversation:

Website 

The statues located in the garden of the Oldest House Complex, remind me of this famous statue of Aphrodite, that was discovered by archeologists in 1820. The thing that caught my eye, and made me make the connection was the draping of the cloth, as well as the pulled back hair. 

Website

Although this map was made several hundred years after the maps of St. Augustine, It was the first thing that came to my mind when walking around the museum. A major economic player in Rochester NY during the beginning of the industrial revolution was the Erie Canal, which allowed goods to be transported throughout the northern states. 

Literary In Conversation:

Craig Santos Perez - [Lukao]

"When she came out, she looked supposed. she looked at me and seemed to say " Oh, that's what you look like, Mommy." Craig put her on me, and she was crying, but then she immediately settled down when I held her."

I chose this excerpt because as I was walking through the oldest house, everything was connected to family, and the history that a family builds upon. This is the same in Perez's book, in which 2 stories are told together, the one of his parents and the one of him and his wife. 

                                                                     Creative Component:

 

                                                  (from the perspective of the early settlers)

we came from far

to see a world so bazar 

the air is warm 

and the bugs often swarm 

we are the first to settle in new place

and there is so much that we will face