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Villa Zorayda Castle in St.
Augustine FL
Step inside a real St Augustine Castle
and visit the Villa Zorayda! The Villa
Zorayda St Augustine Castle or Zorayda
Castle as it is sometimes referred to is
a beautiful, historic mansion located in
the old district of St Augustine FL.
Built by Boston millionaire Franklin
Smith in 1883 the Zorayda St Augustine
Castle was designed to resemble a
smaller version of a larger 12th century
Moor palace, Alhambra Palace, located in
Granada Spain. Smith had made his
fortune selling hardwares and had moved
to Florida upon hearing from a doctor
that the warmer weather and leisure
lifestyle might be a cure to his liver
ailments. He had long been a dreamer
and a follower of architectural design.
Smith used his creatively
and designed Villa Zorayda; he named the St
Augustine Castle after characters from
Washington Irving's Tales of the
Alhambra and this is how the Zorayda
Castle began. Today the Villa Zorayda St
Augustine Castle is open for tours and
is filled with unique antiquities from
around the world.
 In 1904 the Villa Zorayda became the
Zorayda Club and, much like other clubs
in the area at the time, it catered to
the rich upper class that visited the
city during that time. Today, visitors
can see the original bone china that
patrons to the club used during this
time. In 1913 it was purchased by
prominent St Augustine Fla citizen A.S.
Mussallem and in the 1920s it became a
popular resort for casino gambling. A
decade later however, it had been
transformed into the museum that it is
today, and since then the St Augustine
Castle has served as a resting spot for
the collections of both Franklin Smith
and A.S. Mussallem, and it has undergone
extensive renovations. In addition to
housing priceless items including
Oriental rugs, fine art, Egyptian
artifacts including a 2,400 year old
"Sacred Cat Rug" that is made from
ancient cat hair from Egypt the castle
also offers
guided tours of this interesting St Augustine Castle.
The Villa Zorayda St Augustine Castle is
just one of many great
St Augustine
Attractions located in the historic
district. Places like the
St Augustine
Old Jail,
Old Towne Village St
Augustine, and the
Lightner Museum are
fascinating
St Augustine Florida Attractions
that everyone should visit. All of the
wonderful Attractions in St Augustine FL
are nearby to the
Saint Augustine
Bayfront Hotels and Inns that are a part
of our organization. Plan a fantastic
St
Augustine Florida Vacation and browse
the information on our site.
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