Preview
Creation Date
10-27-2012
Building Name
FEC Railway Office Buildings
Description
FEC (Florida East Coast) Railway General Office Buildings Marker, St Augustine FL.
Henry Flagler's railroad legacy is still highly visible on the Flagler College campus. These three buildings located three blocks west of Ponce de Leon Hall were used by the Florida East Coast Railway into the 21st century. Today the three buildings are home to a men's residence hall, a women's residence hall and the college's Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations.
The historical marker in front of the buildings reads:
"Florida East Coast Railway - General Office Buildings. Henry M. Flagler built the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) to link his resort empire and establish the east coast of Florida as 'The American Riviera.' Flagler, partner with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, developed the Atlantic shoreline with a chain of luxury hotels from Jacksonville to Key West. Perhaps Flagler's greatest achievement was the construction of the Key West Extension finished shortly before his death in 1913. By 1916, the FEC Railway included 23 railroads, terminals, and bridge companies along 739 miles of track. Steamships linked the railroad at Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, and at Key West to Havana, Cuba. The Florida East Coast Hotel Company owned 14 resorts joined by the rail lines. In St. Augustine, Flagler's 1888 railway station west of downtown was replaced by three office towers built starting from south to north in 1922, 1923 and 1926. They served as the Railway's headquarters until 2006, when the FEC provided a $7.2 million gift-in-equity, making possible the transfer of the property to Flagler College. The College is committed to preservation of the buildings and adapting them for College uses."
A Florida Heritage landmark, sponsored by Flagler College and the Florida Department of State. 2008
Latitude, Longitude
29.89209722, -81.32097778
Recommended Citation
Taylor, George Lansing Jr., "FEC (FL East Coast) Railway General Office Buildings Marker, St. Augustine, FL" (2012). George Lansing Taylor Collection Main Gallery. 3102.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/historical_architecture_main/3102
