Henry Flagler February 13, 2017

There is a college here in St Augustine called Flagler College. I've never heard of it before. It is housed in the former posh Ponce de Leon hotel built by Standard Oil co-founder Henry Flagler in 1865. The building is stunning. Inlaid mosaics, carved wood, Tiffany glass, solid gold ornamentation, fine paintings; the list goes on and on. The hotel was built as one of the first luxury hotels in Florida in 1880. It had electricity 5 years before the White House! Flagler was a businessman and built a railroad stretching the length of Florida to help bring clients to his luxurious hotel. Soon after, he built another luxury hotel across the street from the first one. It is now the St Augustine City Offices. These buildings are truly breathtaking. After his death, his wife left the first hotel to the college. The hotel building today houses the women's residence hall and the student dining hall. The college was originally a women only teachers college. Today it is co-ed but requires a 3:1 female to male ratio!