St. Augustine, Florida
March 10, 2022
Housed inside the former Alcazar Hotel which was commissioned by Henry Flagler The Lightner Museum was founded in 1948 by Otto C. Lightner. Mr. Lightner was the owner and publisher of the Hobbies magazine and his collections are still on display inside this one-of-a-kind museum space. Lightner Museum has its origins in the craze for collecting that swept America in the years surrounding the Great Depression, so a wide array of different items can be found in this space.
https://lightnermuseum.org/
Exterior Photo 1:
Exterior Photo 2:
Artifact Photo 1:
"This desk is believed to have belonged to Louis Bonaparte who was appointed King of Holland in 1806 by his brother, Napoleon Bonaparte. The cabinet is in the form of a classical pipe organ. 200 drawers with mother-of-pearl drawer pulls resemble organ stops and the clock is in the form of a miniature pipe organ."
Information from a plaque inside the Lightner Museum.
Artifact Photo 2:
The swimming pool found inside the Alcazar hotel was the largest indoor pool in the world at the time of its construction in 1888. It was 120 feet long and 50 feet wide, this space is now home to the Café Alcazar. In its prime, the Alcazar hosted many events including the national women's swimming championship (1925). Men's changing rooms were on the east end of the pool while women's were on the west. The ladies end of the pool was closed off so that they could swim in privacy if they desired.
In Conversation Photo 1:
As a kid a loved arts and crafts and I still do in my free time. One of my favorite summer camp crafts was the sand art bottles like the ones above. Depending on your skill level You can make these as simple or complex as you would like. As I was walking through the bottom floor of the Lightner museum I noticed a shadow box with jars inside mounted on the wall. I thought They looked cool but had to do a double-take when I realized it was sand inside the jars making the beautiful designs. The pieces in the Lightner are the work of Andrew Clemens' (1857-1894) Sand Art Paintings. Some of Clemens' best pieces are said to go for around $100,000 each! It is truly amazing to see what humans are capable are creating.
In Conversation Photo 2:
Overlooking the old Alcazar pool in the upper level of the Lightner many antique pieces of furniture are displayed. One of these items is a mahogany cradle. To me this cradle looked extremely fancy and nothing like anything I have seen babies in recently. Most families today do not even own a cradle; instead, they opt for a crib that does not rock and most families also buy a separate swing for their babies to rock in.
https://assets.pkimgs.com/pkimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/202147/0056/lennox-convertible-crib-c.jpg
Literature in Conversation:
Creative Component:
Inside the painting gallery in the Lightner Museum was a painting by Felix F. de Cranodepicting King Street around 1906. To show how much has changed in 116 years I put two photos back to back. On the Left is the Painting and on the right is a screenshot from Google Earth street view.
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