Villa Zorayda
Villa Zorayda | |
Moorish Revival | |
NRHP reference No. | 93001002[1] |
---|---|
Added to NRHP | September 23, 1993 |
Villa Zorayda (also known as the Zorayda Castle) is a house at 83 King Street in
History
Franklin W. Smith was an amateur architect
Smith was an early member of the
In addition to its intended purpose as a private residence, the Villa Zorayda has been used as a restaurant, a nightclub and gambling casino, and a hotel. The building underwent renovations beginning in 2003 and reopened to the public in 2008. Audio tours are available in English, Spanish, and French. Audio tours provide an extensive overview of the history of the building, the building's role in St. Augustine's history, and the entire antique and art collection inside. The museum is open daily[8]
The collection
The Villa Zorayda Museum contains intricate interior details, including most notably work in cast plaster with ground alabaster matching that of the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. These alabaster and plaster reliefs are referred to as traceries or arabesques and are replicas of walls in the Alhambra Palace.[9] The saying, "There is no conqueror but God", the same phrase reproduced in the tracery of the Alhambra, is inscribed in Arabic script above the front entrance.[10] The architecture of the building is accompanied by fine detail including hand painted wood panels and tiles, intricately designed fireplaces and doorways, and geometrically shaped windows and stained glass. The collection also includes hand-pierced brass lamps from Damascus and other parts of the Middle East, Oriental rugs, sculptures, carved furniture, decorative tiles, and Egyptian artifacts.[11]
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Villa Zorayda (Zorayda Castle)". Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-56164-012-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56164-069-0.
- ^ Cement World. Cement World Company. 1907. p. 340.
- ISBN 978-1-56164-432-2.
- ISBN 978-0-15-130748-7.
- ^ "Hours and admission information". www.villazorayda.com. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
- ISBN 978-0-486-14121-3.
- ^ Edward Henry Reynolds (1889). The Standard Guide to St. Augustine. E.H. Reynolds. p. 22.
- ^ "Selected pictures of the Villa Zoradya". www.villazorayda.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-23.
External links
- David Nolan, Fifty Feet in Paradise: The Booming of Florida (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984).
- Villa Zorayda Museum - Official Website
- St. Johns County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Villa Zorayda
- Google Street View