St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Address | 1340 A1A S # C St Augustine, Florida United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 29°52′32″N 81°16′58″W / 29.8755°N 81.2829°W |
Owner | St. Johns County Parks & Recreation department[1] |
Capacity | 4,092[2] |
Construction | |
Opened | 1965[2][3][4] |
Rebuilt | 2001 - 2007, Fred Halback and Les Thomas[5][6] |
Years active | 1965 - present |
Website | |
https://www.staugamphitheatre.com/ |
The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is a venue for outdoor concerts and other large gatherings on A1A in St Augustine, Florida, United States. The Amphitheatre seats 4,092 persons, and is managed by the St. Johns County Parks & Recreation department.
History
The Amphitheatre was built in 1965 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, originally with 2,000 seats.[2][3][4] The land was originally part of Anastasia State Park.[1] The amphitheatre itself was constructed in one of the old coquina quarries used to supply building materials for St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos.[7][8][9]
The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paul Green was commissioned to write a play to be performed at the Amphitheatre. The result was Cross and Sword: A Symphonic Drama of the Spanish Settlement of Florida,[10] a musical reenactment of the first years of St. Augustine's existence. Cross and Sword was designated the official state play in 1973 by the Florida Legislature.[11] The play ran until 1996, when budget constraints ended its more than 30-year run.[3][4][12]
The amphitheatre was used infrequently during the following years, though it did host a free summer Shakespeare Festival from 1997 to 2003.[13][14] In 2002, St. Johns County acquired the property and the following year began an $8.7 million renovation.[3][4] The upgraded facility reopened in August 2007, which includes a fiberglass tensile canopy over the main stage.[15] It now has 4,092 seats.[16]
Photos
References
- ^ a b Bosworth, Jon (2007-08-30). "everything old is new again - the new history of the st. augustine amphitheatre". EU Jacksonville. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
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- ^ a b c d de Yampert, Rick (2008-08-21). "Amped at the amphitheatre". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2008-09-07.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d Reinink, Amy (2008-08-22). "St. Augustine gets amped". Ocala Star Banner. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ St. Augustine Amphitheatre - Halback Design Group, Inc.
- ^ "Editorial: St. Augustine Amphitheatre plans reflect labor of love". The St. Augustine Record. 2001-10-21. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ Rapoza, Brian (2007). Birding Florida. Globe Pequot. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-7627-3914-1.
- ^ McCarthy, Kevin (1992). The Book Lover's Guide to Florida. Pineapple Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-56164-021-8.
- ^ "Quarry Historical Site". Anastasia State Park. Florida Online Park Guide. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ Paul Green Bibliography
- ^ Florida State Symbols - The State Play: Cross and Sword Archived 2008-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rajtar, Steve; Kelly Goodman (2008). A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida. The History Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-1-59629-336-6.
- ^ "Art thou ready for 'Much Ado About Nothing'?". The St. Augustine Record. 2002-08-16. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ "Atlantic Shakespeare Company to present musical fund-raiser". The St. Augustine Record. 2002-11-15. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ St. Augustine Amphitheatre - St. Johns County Government Gateway
- ^ https://www.staugamphitheatre.com/p17-venue-specifications.aspx