First Congregation Sons of Israel Synagogue

 St. Augustine, FL
April 7th, 2022

The First Congregation Sons of Israel is the oldest synagogue in St. Augustine, FL. It is located down Cordova street and is still a place of active worship today. Their website notes, "Under the leadership of Rabbi Jacob Tarlinsky and his wife, Dora, the Synagogue was dedicated in 1923 with the completion and first service on March 30, 1924." The synagogue has been destroyed by storms and rebuilt, but it still maintains most of its original glory through the restoration of the historic stained glass windows and preservation of historic furniture. 

Learn more at: First Congregation

Exterior Photo 1

Exterior Photo 2

Artifact 1

The artifact above was constructed after Hurricane Matthew knocked down the ceiling of the synagogue. The chandilier pictured is not from the original structure, but does date back to around the same time period and was placed after the damage from the hurricane. The current Star of David surrounding this chandilier was designed and implemented by a Flagler College student after the ceiling was repaired. 

Artifact 2

The stained glass window shown is one of the windows on the top floor of the synagogue. These windows were brought from Georgia from a synagogue that was being demolished. They were installed in 1958 and were restored in 2013 by the great-grandson of the original designer when he found the original sketches. The extra glass from the broken windows before the restoration was saved and used to create the moasic depicted in exterior photo 1. 

Image In Conversation 1 

Disney is the most well-known producer of animated movies in our generation. Despite its success, Disney has done many problematic things in its career. Harmful Jewish stereotypes are very often used to create villains in Disney movies, and the corporation has been shamed for it for years. Anti-Semistism in Disney animated films is incredibly common and has been used to code some of our favorite characters, like Mother Gothel. These stereotypes are incredibly harmful, as it spreads negative misconceptions about Jewish culture. Keeping historic, cultural places like the First Congregation Sons of Israel Synagogue in operation are incredibly important for the preservation of Jewish culture and pride, as it gives the group places to worship and advocate for themselves against these awful misconceptions. 

Image in Conversation 2

While it is well-known that the Star of David is a Jewish symbol, I have come across many people as a practicing Pagan who do not know the difference between a pentagram and a Star of David. Stars of David are six-pointed stars that Jewish people have adopted as a symbol of their faith. Pentagrams are a five-pointed star that Pagans wear as a symbol of protection, and it signifies the five elements: earth, fire, air, water, and spirit. If surrounded by a circle, this is referred to as a pentacle and signifies infinite connections rather than protection. Many people incorrectly associate this symbol with satanic religion, but it does not belong to them. Religious symbols can be incredibly sacred, and I believe it is important to be educated on them and their meanings in order to best support different religious groups. 

Literature in Conversation

We Aren't the Only Species by Craig Santos Perez

"who age who change who language who pain who play who pray who save who mate who native who take who break who invade who claim who taste who want who talk who crawl who walk who yawn who trauma who laugh who care who hear who fear who steal who heal who friend who remember who sex who nest who settle who smell who help who eat who feed who greed who sleep who see who need who belong who bleed who speak who breathe who breathe who breathe who think who drink who sing who thirst who birth who kill who smile who lick who listen who kiss who give who sick who p*ss who sh*t who swim who migrate who die who fight who cry who hide who sign who mourn who mourn who mourn who work who school who tool who colonize who bond who protect who hope who lose who love who lonely who touch who moan who drown who hurt who hunt who run who hunger who nurse who suffer who build who trust who bury who future who house who house who house on this our only"

    I chose this Craig Santos Perez poem in its entirety to relate to the First Congregation Sons of Israel Synagogue because I believe it highlights that all humans are the same and are connected. Judaism has faced many, many hardships throughout its history. It is only of the most persecuted Abrahamic religions and there are many harmful ideas about Judaism that are prevalent in modern media. It would greatly benefit everyone to realize that every human is just a human, and no differences are worth persecuting and harming others for. Craig Perez's poem is sending the same message, that all humans should support all humans. 

Creative Component

Description: A digital drawing replicating a small stained glass Star of David.

Since stained glass is such an important art form within the synagogue and its history, I decided to attempt to recreate a stained glass Star of David in honor of the Jewish religion. It is not the fanciest piece of glass, but I think it's cute. The Star of David is an important symbolic image for Jewish culture. It is used to mark their heritage and culture and has been adopted as a symbol for them similar to that of the cross in Christianity.

The Castillo de San Marcos

 St. Augustine, FL
March 31st, 2022

The Castillo de San Marcos is a massive fortification built by the Spanish to defend St. Augustine and the Atlantic Trade route. It is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States and is built out of a rare natural form of concrete called Coquina. It is over 450 years old and represents centuries of cultural intersectionalities. 

Learn more at: Castillo de San Marcos

Exterior Photo 1

Exterior Photo 2

Artifact 1

The first artifact depicted above is a recreation of what the soldiers' room would have looked like when there were active soldiers inside the Castillo. The rooms were very small and many men shared one slab of wood with multiple bed placements. There is almost no free room to move around without being on a bed or in a small standing space, which may have been filled with storage trunks. These incredibly small rooms were breeding grounds for infection and disease, and the Florida heat and rain made living conditions miserable for the soldiers. 

Artifact 2

The cannon above is one of the cannons that would have been used to defend the Castillo. While there was no signage for this cannon clarifying if it was a real one or recreation, the Castillo is home to several of both. There is a slab with several real historic cannons on display, and multiple recreations set up around the park. They even do reenactments of cannon firings to honor the history of the Castillo de San Marcos. 

Image In Conversation 1 

Fort Caroline, depicted above, is a fort that was built in modern-day Jacksonville by the french as they attempted to land a foothold in Florida. "During the sixteenth century, France was determined to expand its empire. Spain, the world’s leading power, already had a foothold in the Americas, and France wanted a share of the riches the Spanish were gaining through trade and plunder. France’s first attempt to stake a permanent claim in North America was at La Caroline, a settlement near the mouth of the St. Johns River in Florida" (nps.gov). This fort housed French soldiers beginning in 1564 and was used to fight with the Spanish for St. Augustine.

Image in Conversation 2

Pictured above is a slab of coquina stone, the sedimentary rock that has allowed the Castillo to remain standing for as long as it has. This stone is a form of naturally occurring concrete that forms from shells and sand being compressed together over millions of years to eventually form a solid rock. It is very porous, which allowed it to evenly absorb cannonball shocks without cracking the structure of the fort. A lot of structures in St. Augustine are built of this rock, including the city walls and gates, because it was abundant here when the Spanish arrived and began to settle.

Literature in Conversation

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

"God, I hate this place. I mean, I love it. It's home. But I hate it. It's like an island surrounded by sharks. Except our land sharks are on their way in. It's just a matter of how long it takes them to get hungry enough" (Duffy and Jennings, 40).

    In this excerpt from Parable of the Sower, Lauren is discussing how she feels the walls of her "safe" community are being circled by robbers and criminals like they were sharks circling an island. I think this relates to how the Spanish felt within the Castillo when the British were beginning a siege against them in the early 1700s. The British tried to attack and outlast the Spanish, but the Castillo prevented the British from winning as it was able to house everyone and livestock inside for safety. For Lauren, her walls were not as safe and she, unfortunately, lost her village to fires and pillaging. 

Creative Component

Description: Digital Recreation of Soldiers Barracks in the Castillo de San Marcos

In response to my first artifact, I decided to do a top-down view using a digital app called Notability of a potential floor plan of the soldier's barracks. There is some infographic-style writing depicting the purpose of certain things in the room, like the beds and fireplaces, along with some red writing exaggerating the major issues of these small spaces. Some of the red writing reads, "Cramped!", "Disease!", and so on. Many soldiers needed places to sleep, so functionality was unfortunately not the main goal of the small, overcrowded barracks. 

The Lincolnville Museum

St. Augustine, FL
March 24th, 2022

The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center is the only museum in St. Augustine that is dedicated solely to black history and culture. It recounts around 450 years of black history in Florida and America. They host many events at the museum, including jazz events to honor its involvement in black culture. It is housed in the historic Excelsior building, which was the first public black high school in St. Johns County. Their mission statement is as follows: "The LMCC’s mission is to preserve, promote and perpetuate over 450 years of the African American story through the arts, educational programs, lectures, live performances, and exhibits."

Learn more at: The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center

Exterior Photo 1

Exterior Photo 2

Artifact 1

The above image is at first glance a jar of dirt. However, this jar of dirt was gathered from different lynching sites across the country in order to raise awareness about racial terror and generational trauma. The Equal Justice Initiative is collecting this first and working to raise historical and commemorative markers in the areas where lynchings used to occur.

Artifact 2

This image was taken on May 20th, 1964 by Associated Press Photograph. 1964 was the height of civil rights movements and protests in St. Augustine. The image above occurred after Dr. Martin Luther King encouraged picketers to march downtown in St. Augustine in protest of segregation and KKK violence.

Image In Conversation 1 

The above image is Lizzie Robinson Jenkins from Archer, Florida. She is the descendant of a survivor of the Rosewood massacre that occurred on January 1st, 1923. This massacre was one of the worst racially motivated killings in Florida's history and went unreported for decades. Lizzie visited my hometown of Citrus County, FL a few years ago to do a discussion of who she is and what she plans on doing with her foundation, The Rosewood Foundation. This discussion inspired me to write a 14-page research paper for my IB extended essay and has stuck with me ever since. In her discussion, she talked about how she aims to open a museum in Archer, Florida to remember Rosewood. She has participated in many soil gathering ceremonies, including one in Newberry. In order to raise money for the Rosewood Foundation, she has sold jars of dirt from these sites with the intention that they will be returned to the museum once it opens. She has dedicated her life to remembering Rosewood, and I have included a few links for more information to support her cause.

Rosewood Through Her Eyes

Rosewood Massacre

Image in Conversation 2

Zora Neale Hurston was an author and anthropologist. Her books focused on black heritage and culture and she is my favorite Harlem Rennaisance author. Her career in anthropology also focused on black culture and folklore and she dedicated her life to helping her community. The artifacts in the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center reminded me of Hurston and her contributions to black history, as she also focused on the preservation of her culture.

Literature in Conversation

[Lukao] by Craig Santos Perez

"Despite the nurse-midwives creditable record of services, their role in assisting with home births in Guam has disappeared, owing to a combination of factors such as development of the U.S. medical care

model, the end of midwifery training, new licensure requirements, increased numbers of physicians, and the opening of new hospital facilities. The focus on the birthing process shifted away from families and home to an institutionalized medical setting." Karen A. Cruz from the Pattern of Gram: Their Story and legacy.

    I highlighted this portion of [Lukao] because it begins to speak about Perez's culture being robbed from his native land. The US robbed Hawaii of its birthing practices and began to regulate them to their own standards, and eventually that part of his family's culture was lost. This is very similar to how the US exploited and erased black culture, which prompted people like Lizzie Jenkins and Zora Neale Hurston to take a stand and preserve what they can of their black heritage. 

                                                  Creative Component 

Description: journal entry written on digital lined paper 

I wrote a short journal entry from the point of view of a young girl excited to finally be able to attend high school in her town. This was in response to the Lincolnville Museum, as it used to be Excelsior High School which was the first black high school in St. Augustine. She is excited to be able to attend "school 2", as it was previously known, without having to commute far to get an education anymore. I imagine this was a relief for many families, as commutes can be long and expensive, and were often dangerous for black people at the time as segregation was still an active expectation. Desegregation of schools occurred about 30 years later.

The Lightner Museum

St. Augustine, FL
March 10, 2022

The Lightner Museum is located in downtown historic St. Augustine. The museum was founded in 1948 by Otto C. Lightner inside his former Alcazar Hotel, which was built in 1888 by Henry Flagler. It offers a comprehensive look at art, architecture, history, and design. It offers new and changing exhibits, collections, and educational events. Their mission statement is as follows: "To inspire curiosity, excite minds, and enrich lives through our unique collection, historic building, and dynamic exhibitions and programs."

Learn more at: The Lightner Museum

Exterior Photo 1

Exterior Photo 2

Artifact 1

The above artifact is a frame with real preserved butterflies. These butterflies can be found in North America. I have always loved butterflies so this was one of my favorite artifacts in the museum, and it can be found in the downstairs section primarily dedicated to rocks, fossils, and nature.

Artifact 2

The above artifact is an unnamed oriental incense burner. It was carved around 1890 and is made of rosewood and bronze. This was part of Lightner's collection of ornate furniture and is now on display on the top floor of the Lightner museum, surrounded by other pieces of his collection.

Image In Conversation 1 

The image above is the Oldest Wooden School House in St. Augustine, Florida. This is a small complex that shows a demonstration of what early schools looked like. It is a small room with examples of lessons that would be taught, outfits that were worn, and even has a model outhouse from the time period. This little museum was the first museum in St. Augustine I ever visited and has stuck with me as one of my favorites. I wanted to include it to show the different atmospheres museums can take on; grand and unique like the Lightner, or small and charming like the Oldest Wooden School House.

Image in Conversation 2

The image above is a front view of the Dali Museum in St. Pete, Florida. I have visited this art museum many times throughout my childhood. It houses a lot of Dali's work and has temporary pop-up exhibits for other artists as well. I have seen an exhibit for Frida Kahlo and Lee Miller at the particular museum. The Dali Museum is my favorite place in St. Pete and its uniqueness reminds me of the charm of St. Augustine's Lightner Museum. 

 

Literature in Conversation

[Lukao] by Craig Santos Perez

"Humans and animals/ are kin. Humans and animals and glaciers/ are kin." (Stanza X).

    I liked this piece of literature in conversation with the Lightner Museum because it highlights that humans and animals are connected and that we should preserve this connection. The Lightner Museum has a section dedicated to nature and its preservation, and this poem by Craig Santos Perez is also focused on the preservation of nature and humanity's connection to it. I like how the Lightner museum highlights this on the first floor, because it's one of the first things a visitor sees and connect with.

Creative Component

Description: Photograph of the old hotel pool, photo of Lightner Museum Cafe blended over it 

I love the old Lightner Hotel swimming pool and wanted to commemorate it somehow with my creative piece. In order to accomplish this, I took an image of the old pool and an image of the current cafe, and I blended them together using photoshop to show a "then vs now" comparison of the pool area. I think the preservation of historic spaces is incredibly important, but I find it equally as fascinating when we are able to remix historic spaces for modern use, such as turning the hotel into a museum or the pool into a cafe. 

Oldest House Museum Complex

St. Augustine, FL
February 17th, 2022

The Oldest House Museum Complex is one of the oldest still-standing structures in  America. It gives a look into different periods of St. Augustine's occupation, including Spanish and British occupation. It has examples of architecture from both periods and includes information on how St. Augustine changed hands and evolved. It regularly updates its exhibits and is currently featuring a new exhibit on the history of surf culture in St. Augustine, and an art exhibit by Dr. Laura Mongiovi detailing the history of the slave trade. Its mission statement is as follows: "The mission of the Saint Augustine Historical Society is to acquire, preserve, and interpret the historical resources of St. Augustine and its sphere of influence for the benefit of the public through its stewardship of historic buildings and collections, research, publications, and educational programming."

Learn more at: Oldest House Museum Complex

Exterior Photo 1

               

Exterior Photo 2

            

Artifact 1

             

The artifact above is a quilt on display in the Oldest House Museum Complex surf culture exhibit. This quilt is set up to honor Hugh Shaw, a student of Flagler College who tragically passed away in 1983. He was a surfer, and his family chose to create the Hugh Shaw Memorial Longboard Classic, which is an annual event that takes place during Flagler College Alumni Weekend.  

Artifact 2

                

The statue shown above is one of four statues situated around a small courtyard in the Oldest House Museum complex. These statues represent the four seasons. The one depicted represents springtime. They are carved out of marble and are very similar, aside from what they carry in their hands. The one above carries a plate of freshly grown fruit.

Image In Conversation 1 

               

The Surf culture part of the museum reminds me of Soul Surfer, a movie that came out in 2011 when I was a child. This movie tells the true story of a talented surfer, Bethany Hamilton, who sadly loses her arm in a shark attack. The movie follows her as she tries to make a swift recovery and return to surfing with the support of her friends and family.

Image in Conversation 2

                   

The above is a photograph that was taken during a temporary exhibit called Magic, Mirth, and Morality. This photo was taken from the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, however, this exhibit also had a pop-up section inside the Oldest House Museum Complex. This shows how versatile the Oldest House complex is, and how having a dedicated space for changing exhibits can diversify the experience of visiting a museum.

Literature in Conversation

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

"As wind, as water, as fire, as life, God is both creative and destructive, demanding and yielding, sculptor and clay. God is Infinite Potential: God is Change" (Duffy and Jennings, 224).

    This section of Parable of the Sower stuck out to me in relation to the Oldest House Museum because it highlights change. Every time I have visited the Oldest House, it has been changed. Rotating ideas and exhibits is a really good way to keep different histories flowing and to allow people to learn about what they're interested in. In the novel, Lauren emphasized how Change is a very personal concept. The definition could be vastly different for everyone. I believe this concept expands beyond religion and applies to history and preservation, as everyone has their own experiences with the same parts of history. Change is a good thing for the progression of society, and for development as a person, but this change means something different to everyone. Changing and rotating of museums helps facilitate this idea.

Creative Component

Description: A digital image of a surfboard decorated with butterflies and different shades of blue

I really enjoyed the section of the museum that depicted surf culture in St. Augustine, so in response, I decided to design my own surfboard. I cannot surf, but I love the beach and have grown up in Florida, so a lot of my friends growing up were surfers and I would love watching them practice. I was inspired by the butterflies I saw in the Lightner museum and decided to make a digital surfboard design centered around butterflies and shades of blue.
 

Tolomato Cemetery

 St. Augustine, FL
February 24th, 2022

Tolomato Cemetery is located off of Cordova St. in downtown St. Augustine. It houses over 1000 bodies in about 1 acre of space and contains the oldest marked grave in Florida. Its last operating year was 1884. Its gravestones follow St. Augustine's history from Spanish ownership to British, and even through early statehood.

Learn more at Tolomato Cemetery  

Exterior Photo 1

Exterior Photo 2

Artifact 1

The artifact depicted above is the massive gate that surrounds the cemetery. It was built after grave robbers broke in and stole clothes from a wealthy woman's grave. The woman was Elizabeth Forester, whose grave marker is artifact 2 for this site. The robbers were soldiers working at the Castillo de San Marcos at the time. The wrought iron surrounds the front of the cemetery. 

Artifact 2

This grave marker is that of Elizabeth Forester, a young daughter from a wealthy northern family. It is the oldest marked burial in the entire state of Florida. It is made from Georgia Marble, a tell-tale sign of family wealth, and is an above-ground crypt. 

Image In Conversation 1

The image above is of the Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. This cemetery is controlled by the Department of the Army. It is 639 acres and serves as a reminder of all our soldiers have fought for in American history. This cemetery is still in use and conducts hundreds of funerals weekly. It is 638 acres larger than the Tolomato cemetery but has the same feeling of nobility and respect lingering on its grounds. I visited this cemetery when I was in fifth grade, and the impact of being in such a noble space is equally as long-lasting as the impact of the Tolomato cemetery and all the history lost in its grounds. 

Image in Conversation 2

This site is the Spanish Military Hospital in St. Augustine, FL. It is a short walk away from the Tolomato Cemetery. When I toured this museum a few years back, I was told there was a point in time when diseases ransacked the soldiers and too many died too fast to have proper burials. They were allegedly buried under the roads as they were being built right next to this building. There is no record of how many bodies were buried in this way. This reminds me of the Tolomato Cemetery because, similarly, many bodies were crammed into such a small space without record of their burial.

Literature in Conversation

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler 

"We had a funeral for Bankole's family. And for all the friends and family we've all lost. Then we planted live oak trees for our dead. Afterward, we sat together and talked and ate a meal and decided to call this place Acorn" (Duffy and Jennings, 261).

    I decided to highlight the ending portion of Parable of the Sower, because they establish a small graveyard in the novel to commemorate all of the loved ones Lauren and her friends have lost on their journeys. It also seemed fitting to use the closing section of the book in conversation with a cemetery, as both mark the end of a long story. For Lauren, her small graveyard marked the ending of her journey to gain followers, but also the beginning of her journey to found a small colony based on her beliefs. St. Augustine, where Tolomato Cemetery is located, also started as a small colony looking to spread its beliefs, making it a good conversation piece with this section of the novel.

Creative Component 

Description: Photograph, Image of Tolomato Cemetery with digital drawings of headstones

For my creative component, I decided to take a photo I took of the Tolomato Cemetery and draw in extra headstones to honor the hundreds of bodies buried there that were not marked. I did this in order to demonstrate how crowded the cemetery easily could be. I only added a few more than 10 headstones and it already looks cramped. Imagine how crowded this cemetery would be if it actually accounted for all of the people buried there. 

St. Photios Greek Orthodox Shrine

St. Augustine, FL
February 10th, 2022

Right amid historic downtown St. Augustine lies the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine. This institution is a religious shrine dedicated to the very first colony of Greeks who came to America in 1768. It has multiple exhibits that showcase the development of Greek Orthodox in America. The shrine houses a small, traditional worship room with traditional Greek art and a multitude of Greek Orthodox artifacts relevant to St. Augustine and the history of the religion.

Learn more at St. Photios Shrine 

Exterior Photo 1 

Exterior Photo 2 

Artifact 1 

This artifact above is a sandpit for lighting prayer candles. It is common in many faiths, especially Christian ones, to light a candle of prayer and let it burn all the way through. This is a physical way to express the desire to seek help from a higher power. You would light your candle, say your prayer, and set it in the sand to burn. The sand helps eliminate fire hazards. 

Artifact 2

The artifact above is an example of Greek Orthodox religious garments. According to their info card, they were gifted to the St. Photios shrine by Archbishop Iakovos in 1982. Each piece of clothing has a symbolic attachment to the old testament. It depicts the bishop as an icon of Christ.

 

Image In Conversation 1 

The image above is of the Cathedral Basilica located in St. Augustine, FL. The Cathedral is a catholic establishment. Catholic art, in many ways, mimics the art style I saw in the St. Photios Shrine. It is very warm and vibrant. A major difference I noticed in the art and architecture of the two places of worship were the shapes. The Greek Orthodox Shrine had large domes that made you feel enclosed in the art as you walked in, while traditionally Catholic buildings are large and sloped upwards to make your eyes travel upwards, to their God.

Image in Conversation 2

 The image above depicts a form of candle prayer common in the Pagan religion. Candles are lit with intention based on their color. Black symbolizes protection, white symbolizes clarity, red can symbolize ambition, and so on. While Catholics and other Christian religions light candles with the intention of sending a prayer to their God, this tradition comes initially from Paganism. Pagans typically let their candles burn while practicing another type of ritual, or will use candle wax to seal jars and enforce their intentions. 

                                                Literature in Conversation

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

"A lot of people seem to believe in a big-daddy-cop-king-God. A super-person. Others think God is a spirit, a force. Or another word for nature. [...] But what if all that is wrong? What if God is something else all together?" (Duffy & Jennings, 13). 

    I chose to highlight this section of Parable of the Sower because it shows how the main character, Lauren, is struggling with her idea of religion. She mentions the Christian concept of an omnipresent force that is almost super-human and mentions the Pagan belief that nature is the force of the universe. This relates to both the site visit to the shrine and my creative and conversation pieces by discussing how religion is different for everyone. It is important for public worships spaces like St. Photios to exist in order for people to form communities, and to have somewhere to turn when they need to explore their personal definition of religion.

Creative Component 

Description: Photograph of altar space, color 

For my creative piece, I decided to include something incredibly important to me. As a practitioner of the Pagan faith, I have a dedicated altar that is a workspace for my practice. It includes plants, crystals, candles, incense, tarot and oracle decks, and more. This is a creative outlet for me as the placement of each individual item is done with purpose. It reminds me of the prayer candle altar I included as Artifact 1 for this site visit and relates to my second In Conversation piece. I believe understanding and talking about different faiths from your own is incredibly important, and by including my altar I am trying to highlight the similarities between the two religious practices, despite how they are normally pinned against each other.