St. Augustine’s Old Jail

It’s a whole new kind of put-prisoners-to-work program… The Old Jail in St. Augustine has prisoners from the 1890′s keeping the grounds, guiding tours and even entertaining the kids!

Our family headed to The Old Jail last weekend to check out this local attraction.  At first, Georgia Anne (4) was afraid to go to jail… by the time we left, she was begging to go back!!  Hopefully she outgrows that…

When you arrive to the Old Jail part of the Old Town Trolley complex, a clock shows what time the next tour will start.  You’ll likely have plenty of time to walk through the giftshop & visit the restroom.  On rainy days you can go into the History Museum {free} for a crash course in St. Augustine’s history.

We were with our littles, so we stayed outside.  While we waited, a “prisoner” handed out honorary badges to all the little cops & robbers.

Protip: While you wait for your Old Jail Tour or for the next Trolley to roll up, walk around the right side of the jail and find hopscotch, horse saddle and fun photo ops to keep the kids busy!  My kids liked the “birdcage” jail cell- there are also stocks and a sherriff/prisoner painting you can stick your face through for funny pictures.

Your guide will share the “arresting” history of Henry Flagler’s involvement in the Old Jail’s location and architecture.  Constructed in 1891, it was pink long before Arizona Sherriff Joe made prisoners wear pink!

Inside, we walked through female cells first and then maximum security cells.  Georgia Anne didn’t think it was so bad until she learned inmates had to pee in these small buckets.

“And poop!?!” she asked.  “In front of everyone?”

Yes, Georgia.  That, too.  Being a bad guy is a bad idea!

Our tour took us through the kitchen, where women prisoners would prepare whatever the men wanted for breakfast… as long as that was grits.  The guide’s dry humor was lost on the kids when she said that- that’s how we do meals at home, too!  I offer two options at every meal- eat or don’t!

The Sherriff’s quarters, by contrast, were quite plush for 1891!  We breezed in and out- I’d love to go back and look at the room with the kids when we can compare & contrast life then to now.  Lighting was provided by the kerosene lamp on the table & gas fixtures from the ceiling.  Time was passed with a basket of yarn & knitting needles, not a Wii or computer.  Meals were served on fine china and mail all came through the Sherriff’s office!

Upstairs, there was plenty of time to casually explore the cells…

…and see real implements used here at the jail.  Ben was especially interested in all these weapons confiscated from inmates over the years- from ice picks to pistols to forks & knives and monkey knots made of rope.

After we read articles, explored artifacts and felt what it was like to share a teeny cell with 3 other inmates, we accepted our pardon and headed outside past the gallows to take silly pictures.  A trip to St. Augustine isn’t complete for our family without a silly “let’s play tourist” moment!

When you visit, share your silly pictures with me on the Simply St.Augustine Facebook page!

The Old Jail
167 San Marco Ave
Adults $9 ish, children 6-12 years $5 ish

Our family entered the Old Jail free as part of a “hometown pass” month they offered St. John’s County residents.  To hear about specials for locals, subscribe to my email list & I’ll keep you in the loop!!

Lightner Museum

We were tourists for the weekend and it was July {read: HOT}.  We checked out of The Casa Monica at 11:00 and had dinner reservations at 5:00… what to do?  What to do?

The answer was right in front of us… literally!  We headed in to the Lightner Museum- next door to The Casa Monica- for an afternoon of priceless antiques, quirky memorabilia and air conditioning. {I’m not gonna lie, that was our #1 reason.}

The Lightner Museum is a collection of Otto Lightner’s collections- from grand (Tiffany glass) to silly (walking sticks)!  Housed in the opulent building that was The Alcazar Hotel, Lightner’s collections give a glimpse into the grandeur of 18th Century St. Augustine – then a destination for the elite.

I enjoyed the architecture of the building as much as the collections.  We strolled through the steam baths, admired tile work in the foyer and gazed at the huge space that was the world’s largest indoor swimming pool in the early 1900s!

Cafe Alcazar is in the deep end of the pool.  Can you imagine all of that space filled with water?  Gym rings and bars hung from the rafters for the guys to show off on.  One shopkeeper remembers stories of her Dad swimming in the pool!!

Some nights, a band would float around the pool in a boat and people would dance in the ballrooms surrounding the pool.  Move over Vegas!!  I bet it seemed magical…  We still have special events at The Lightner.  I hope to go to the gala next year.

When you visit most days, though, you see things like this:

We perked up in the stained glass room.  Isn’t this Tiffany lamp gorgeous?  Now I’m excited to do the Flagler College Tour and see the stained glass there again.

Combined with lunch at Cafe Alcazar and some time browsing the antique shops {I scored a magenta enamel and sterling bracelet for $5 in one shop!}, you could spend hours at The Lightner Museum.  We easily passed the hottest part of the day there and had a lot to talk about as we walked to dinner at Harry’s.

Protip: Stop by the koi pond on your way out of the Lightner and feed the koi!  Kids will enjoy tossing the food to the “giant goldfish” and you can take in one last glimpse of the courtyard, architecture and memory of the grand Florida escape of the 1800′s.

Oh, and for finding everything on my scavenger hunt, I got a smiley sticker. 

Lightner Museum
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., daily (last entrance at 4:00)
Adults: $10.00, children 12-18: $5