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.