Florida State Building
Architect: W. Mead Nalter, Chicago, Illinois
Area: 9,394
Cost: $20,000
Picturesque World’s Fair, An Elaborate Collection of Colored Views—Published with the Endorsement and Approval of George R. Davis, 1894
THE FLORIDA BUILDING.—Scarcely in the modern style of architecture was the building erected at the World’s Fair by the state of Florida. Instead of being modern, it was very much in the extreme the other way, being a reproduction of old Fort Marion, erected by the Spanish at Saint Augustine, in Florida. It is claimed by some authorities to be the oldest building in the United States and is certainly the oldest specimen of military work. The original fort was built by Aviles Menendez, in 1665, and occupied four acres of ground. The reproduction at the Exposition was one hundred and fifty-five feet square and was made after the plan of the original fortress, down to the minutest details, as far as possible. It was a structure with sold walls, heavy bastions, overhanging barbicans and generally medieval and military appearance. It produced an odd effect among the many beautiful state edifices about it and one interesting in the extreme. It was a clever conceit of the Florida people to erect their state building in this form. The interior of the structure was not what might have been expected from the exterior. Inside all was changed. Charming parlors and reception rooms offered a striking contrast to the grim walls outside. The rooms were paneled with woods of Florida growth, beautifully polished and finished to show the natural grains, and all features were delightful to the visitors. The rooms opened upon an inner courtyard, where orange trees, bamboos and parterres of flowers gave a beautiful variety to the unexpected scene.
Florida State Building
The Florida building is a reproduction in miniature of old Fort Marion, in St. Augustine. The fort covers an area of four acres. It is in the form of a four-bastioued fortress. Including the moat, the site is 155 feet square. The building proper is 137 feet square. The frame is of pine, covered with plaster and
coquina shells, in imitation of the original. The interior is divided into parlors and is furnished in Florida’s native woods. The interior court is planted in bamboo, orange, lemon and other tropical trees. The ramparts furnish space for promenades and hanging gardens. In the moat is a sunken garden, where were produced miniature fields of cotton, sugar, rise, tobacco, etc. , showing the natural resources of the State. W. Mead Nalter, of Chicago, is the architect of the building, which is erected under the direction of the Florida Board of Commissioners. It cost $20,000. Fort Marion is the oldest structure in North America, the most interesting specimen of Spanish supremacy in this country, and the only example of medieval fortification on the continent.
Its erection was begun in 1620 and continued for 100 years. To equip it as a garrison required 1,000 men. It was never taken by a besieging force.
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