National Park Service awards $750,000 to St. Johns Cultural Council

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - April 30, 2024 - PRLog -- The National Park Service today awarded $750,000 to St. Johns Cultural Council for continuing the non-profit's efforts in rehabilitating the Cultural Arts Center at the St. Augustine Beach Hotel. The government grant funding overall totals $23.4 million for 39 projects in 16 states and the District of Columbia as part of the Historic Preservation Fund's African American Civil Rights grant program which focuses on the preservation of sites and stories directly associated with the struggle of African Americans to gain equal rights.

According to Christina Parrish Stone, St. Johns Cultural Council (https://stjohnsculture.com/)'s Executive Director, the local non-profit and its partners have worked for more than 20 years to restore and preserve the historic St. Augustine Beach Hotel, which is recognized by the U.S. National Park Service for the property's national civil rights significance and local historical and architectural importance. The hotel project is the only beneficiary of the recent grant funding in Florida.

Parrish Stone also credits Brenda Swann, the Cultural Council's Director of Grants and Operations, for her efforts in securing this and a previous $500,000 grant to support restoration of the historic hotel property.

The St. Augustine Beach Hotel and Beachfront in the City of St. Augustine Beach is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for importance nationwide as part of the civil rights movement known as the St. Augustine Campaign. The building is located at 370 State Road A1A.

The historical and architectural significance of the building includes its design by prominent local architect Francis A. Hollingsworth as a wood building with coquina block veneer, and additional period materials to support commercial use. The Hotel, which opened on Labor Day in 1940, is the only building remaining from a "St. Augustine Auxiliary Pier Project" by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. The Anastasia Island coquina quarry was reopened for construction of WPA buildings, specifically twin beach hotels.

For more information, visit the National Park Service website for a full list of recent recipients at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservationfund/aacr-funded-projects.htm.

For more information about the cultural assets in St. Johns County, visit www.historiccoastculture.com.  For information about the Cultural Council's work to support local artists and cultural organizations, visit www.stjohnsculture.com.