Water Plant one step closer to National Register

Historic City News learned that a delegation from St Augustine traveled to Tallahassee yesterday to defend the National Register for Historic Places nomination of the historic North City water plant building; located at 184 San Marco Avenue.

According to St Johns County Property Appraiser Sharon Outland’s office, the 3,347 square-foot building, described as an “organizational club house”, was constructed in 1890.

“The Florida National Register Review Board unanimously approved the building for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,” St Augustine Vice-Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline told local news reporters. “We received compliments on the professional presentation by Paul Weaver and the merit of the project — now it is sent to Washington, DC for final approval.”

Paul Weaver has served as historic preservation consultant on the project. Jenny Wolfe, who accompanied Sikes-Kline and Weaver to Tallahassee, is the City’s Historic Preservation Planner and is also involved in the nomination process.

For 40-years, from 1965-2005, the building was the home to The Garden Club of St Augustine Inc., until the city cancelled the lease. A decision was made by the building official that the structure was no longer safe to occupy. The city decided at that time not to invest in the repairs needed to keep the building open. It has been closed and the perimeter fenced for eight years.

It is one of two buildings owned by the City of St Augustine on a tract of land that includes the adjacent Mark Lance Armory, all of Davenport Park and the parking lot along San Carlos; on the south side of the St Johns County Library.