Flagler College: A Spanish Renaissance-Style Masterpiece

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we visit a palatial luxury college in the oldest U.S. city.

A bronze statue of Henry Flagler, for whom the building is named, stands prominently at an entryway dominated by brick arches and columns. Romanesque, bas-relief lion heads embellish flanking columns, and a cornice over the main arch is elaborately bedecked with motifs of urns, shells, cherubs, and flora. Under the terra-cotta roofline is egg-and-dart molding, an ornamental pattern first found in ancient Greek architecture. The marriage of Spanish style with classical Greek and Roman design conveys the Spanish Renaissance-style architecture of what was originally the Hotel Ponce de Leon, before it became the main building of Flagler College. Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock

Once a premier hotel in America’s oldest city, the late 19th-century Hotel Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine, Florida, became the centerpiece of Flagler College in 1968. Since Florida was originally settled by the Spanish, after explorer Juan Ponce de León claimed the land in 1513, the region’s architectural style primarily included stucco siding, arches, and low-pitched, terracotta tiled roofs. In fact, Spanish architecture still dominates the state’s historic city.

When Henry Flagler (1830–1913), co-founder of Standard Oil and one of the wealthiest U.S. industrialists, decided to build a Spanish Renaissance-style hotel in St. Augustine, he employed the New York City architectural partnership firm of John Carrère and Thomas Hastings. The architectural style is defined not only by traditional Spanish design but also by the incorporation of classical Greek and Roman elements.