Flagler College

You're on King Street now, in front of the building everyone in town still calls the Ponce. Today it's Flagler College, but it was built as a hotel. Look up at the two towers rising above the red tile roofs. They look like bell towers. They were actually water tanks, each holding about 8,000 gallons, so the guests could have running water.

The man behind all this was Henry Flagler. He was a co-founder of Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller's partner, and one of the richest men in America. In the winter of 1882, Flagler came to St. Augustine and saw something the town hadn't yet seen in itself: a winter playground for wealthy northerners. He'd admired Franklin Smith's concrete villa down the street, the one you'll hear about shortly. When Smith wouldn't sell it, Flagler decided to build something far bigger.

You're on King Street, and the great Spanish-style palace in front of you, all towers and red tile, is Flagler College. It began life as the Hotel Ponce de Leon. Look up at the twin towers. They look like bell towers, but each one was built to hold 8,000 gallons of water, so the guests below could have running water.

Ghost tours tell plenty of stories about this building. Here's one that's documented. When the Ponce de Leon opened, the thing its guests were afraid of wasn't a spirit. It was the light switch.

The man behind it was Henry Flagler, a co-founder of Standard Oil and one of the richest men in America. He spent the winter of 1882 into 1883 in St. Augustine and saw a future: a winter playground for wealthy northerners.