Excelsior Cultural Center

Historic City News notes that Excelsior School was built in the heart of Lincolnville in 1925 — across the street from two school buildings dating back to the Flagler Era of the late 1800’s.

Excelsior was the first public high school serving black students in St. Augustine; before that, a public high school education had only been available to whites.

Many Excelsior alumni made important contributions to the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, including Henry Thomas (one of the original Freedom Riders), members of the Eubanks family, Henry and Katherine Twine, and College Football Hall of Famer Willie Galimore.

True to the meaning of its name, “ever higher”, in 2005, the Excelsior building opened as the city’s first museum of African American history.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News staff photographer