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August 2023 by Saturn View
Stopped in, after seeing it on some TV show. It's a rather interesting place to wander around and learn a bit of history about the area. The old desks and bicycles were the coolest part, for me, but I'm also not going to proclaim to be any sort of history buff. Fun way to get out of the heat and simulate your mind.
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August 2023 by Anne M
Highly recommend!! Absolutely beautiful collection. Very unusual antiques. Tiffini glass collection in a room that was stunning. Art work, gorgeous, antique furniture, the building itself is fascinating. Feel free to ask volunteers that are there to assist you. They are so helpful and so kind. They are very informative. We also ate in their café, excellent food. We were looking around for over three hours. Some people take 1 to 2 hours. It just depends on your interest. You do have to pay to park. We used the metered parking $2.50/hr. They have a very nice gift shop as well.
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July 2023 by K Diddle
This was my second time here and I swear I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. Was a random assortment of stuff, but the history documented here is absolutely fascinating. From the detailed pictures of old St Augustine, to the stories of how this place was enjoyed back in the 1890s by the knowledgeable volunteers, it's one of my favorite museums in St Augustine. Highly recommended!
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July 2023 by Tim Leffel
Wonderful and very educational. Entertaining. Note: the art pieces and sculptures have several in the nude and a couple more inappropriate for some children. Use discretion for the 3rd level - 3R on elevator.Highly recommend! Did not try the food at the bottom where the converted largest indoor pool at the time period. Looked fun although a small area to eat.
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July 2023 by Jack Carello
The Lightner Museum is awesome! It was great to go there and see all the awesome works of art. Learning all the history was cool. Without doubt going to The Lightner Museum is great idea! Have a great day!
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May 2023 by David Johnson
We loved everything about this museum. It's amazing that it was once an indoor pool, which is where the restaurant shown in one of my photos is now located. The exhibits were very interesting and well-spaced so you can actually see them. We also really liked that we could have lunch inside the museum to avoid having to plan our day around finding someplace else to eat. The food was quite good and the service was excellent.
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April 2023 by Hazel N.
Very interesting & large collection. Staff was very helpful & provided additional information at several points along our visit.
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April 2023 by Ryan K.
Interesting collection of pieces in a historic building. Consistent with many museums, the Lightner museum features a revolving collection. Most of the pieces have placards describing the origin, name, and done facts about the piece. The collection is eclectic featuring a bicycle exhibit, a few paintings, photographs of St. Augustine, middle eastern art, taxidermy, musical instruments, and glass drinkware. It was pleasant to wander around the collection, and I would recommend the Lightner museum.
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April 2023 by Robin Delaney Real Estate
What an amazing museum and great piece of history! The staff was very insightful about the history and the artifacts at the museum and they appeared to truly enjoy sharing their knowledge. There is so much to see there you really need to take some time so that you can enjoy everything and explore. I loved the bicycles! The crystal room was stunning and the photo of what the room looked like back in the day to give you a glimpse back in time was wonderful. There are too many items to list plus it would spoil your adventure if I put them all here! You just need to go and see for yourself :-)
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March 2023 by Emily R.
Loved this place so much. Lots of neat things to see. My only regret is not getting there earlier in the day to enjoy the cafe at the bottom of the indoor swimming pool. There was a man playing piano beautifully while we browsed through the exhibit. It would have been absolutely sublime to enjoy a slice of pie with a coffee while being serenaded. Absolutely stunning and well worth the money.
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February 2023 by Paula G.
We visited the Lightner Museum in downtown St. Augustine today. The Museum was a former resort from the Gilded Age called Hotel Alcazar. It was originally commissioned by railroad magnate Henry Flagler. Mr. Lightner, a magazine publisher of Hobbies Magazine, purchased the hotel to share his massive collections of furniture, art and memorabilia from that era. What we saw really took us back to the 1880's where industrial magnates lived in their "castles." Throughout the exhibits, the descriptions provided a sense of how the objects fit into the cultural and artistic movements of the time.Currently, there is a special exhibit of bicycles from that era which was really fun to see.For lunch we made a reservation at Cafe Alcazar, attached to the museum. The restaurant is situated in the former swimming pool of the hotel. It was one of the largest indoor pools in the country in its heyday. We highly recommend that you make a reservation before you go. The food was delicious.
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January 2023 by Mario N.
When Henry Flagler developed his famous railroad that connected the East to the then-populous Key West, he needed his luxury travelers to have rest points along their journey. Therefore, he decided to develop two luxury hotels in one of the few developed cities in Florida at that time: the centuries-old Saint Augustine. The fist one, the Ponce de León Hotel(now Flagler College, across the street from The Lightner Museum and City Hall); the second was the Hotel Alcázar also now known as the Lightner Museum and the current site of the Saint Augustine City Hall. These hotels were jewels of the Gilded Age dedicated to the Spanish heritage of the town, and of their famous Conquistadores and settlers.Completed in 1888, the Alcazar was the second grand hotel in St. Augustine built by railroad magnate Henry Flagler. Three years earlier, Flagler had purchased his first parcel of land for development, setting in motion a plan to remake the Ancient City as a luxury winter resort for wealthy East Coast tourists.The Alcazar Hotel is a monolithic structure of poured concrete. Flagler's St. Augustine hotels were the first large multistory concrete buildings in the United States. The hotel's Spanish name is derived from an Arabic term meaning "castle," and the imposing gray exterior looms fortress-like over a formal landscaped plaza separating the Alcazar from the Ponce de Leon Hotel.Purchased in 1947 by Otto Lightner, the Alcazar was transformed into a museum to house Lightner's substantial collection of fine and decorative art, ephemera, and Americana. Today, as the Lightner Museum, the former Alcazar Hotel is a vibrant cultural destination welcoming visitors from all over the world.The statue of Don Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, founder of Saint Augustine, located at the entrance, was donated by the city of Avilés in Spain in 1972.
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December 2022 by Bailey Gressett
I have attended this museum twice, I'm a fan. So cute, and I love the Christmas decorations! They played smooth Christmas jazz the entire time my boyfriend and I attended, and it was such a pleasant addition. Displays are great, clean, informative, and there weren't any people with rude mannerisms within the establishment which allowed for a calming atmosphere. Volunteers around the facility were helpful in giving a deeper explanation and background to the history of both the hotel and the artifacts that now line it in its current position as a museum, if you want it. Friendly staff, as well. Cute gift store. I really don't have any negative comments to give!
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November 2022 by Eric K.
Pretty cool place with some great history. Family enjoyed it and it was just something else to do in this cool town.
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October 2022 by Cary R.
Beautiful location. The building's architecture is gorgeous. Lots of different collections inside. Really neat place to visit once. Great for people who like to collect things.
