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Lightner Museum 2.0

The Lightner Museum is undergoing some changes to revamp to modernity.

By Heather WilkinsPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Image courtesy of Flickr

Saint Augustine is the oldest city in the history of colonialism within the United States. But that doesn't mean it has to become antiquity of the past. Director Bob Harper and Curator Barry Myers are working on bringing some new light into a museum established within an old health spa and hotel built by Henry Flagler.

Some of the changes to the museum don't just include a new paint job or carpeting, there are some more creative licenses in the works. Here are just a few of the more talented renovations coming to the museum.

Cut Glass Wing

The Lighter Museum contains a lot of cut and brilliant glass on display. There are several types of cut and brilliant glass that are shone for the public to see. But right now, there is something in the works to create a room for all the glass to be displayed. It's not just your mother's crystal anymore, it is a glinting work of art.

The new room will house glass cabinetry and electronic images with a description of each type of cut glass shown to the public image. A deep cerulean blue paint and carpet will bring out the wonders of each cut glass artifact. There will be a middle portion within the cut glass room that will host other figurines and electronic reading information for everyone to enjoy.

As for now, the cut glass sits on a tiered pedestal in the middle of the old lounge space from the hotel, but once it is moved into the old massage room, it will be a glistening jewel in the heart of the museum.

Transition & Stained Glass Gallery

Everyone is crazy about Tiffany, and while our Tiffany windows are being restored and resting for full health before being back on display, there is a space in the museum that will be dedicated to any transitional gallery works or exhibits.

The new room for our transitional gallery includes lighted displays of Tiffany and other stained glass windows with a description of each and a center display featuring some of our Tiffany lights we have in storage.

In the future, this small gallery space would be useful for smaller exhibits and future art displays the museum will have on loan. But right now it is storage for museum pieces or holding space for larger pieces of Lightner's collection for current galleries open to the public.

American Furniture Wing

In our previous galleries, we had some American furniture and painting on display. Now we have a Degas attraction that is using the space until June 2019 of this year. But once that is done, there will be a restyling of the American Wing. The American Wing will host to a variety of American furniture and fashions, including staghorn furniture that President Teddy Roosevelt himself was quite the fan. This will coincide with the Transitional Gallery for a showcase of some of our Tiffany Windows and lighting.

We also have some American and European types of furniture on display at the Lighter Museum ballroom level. We are hosting an American Castles exhibit and some of the pieces were used in the Dressing Downtown for the scenery. But guests can overlook the ledge and down into the pool to see the cafe setting up shop and making delicious aromas of soups and sandwiches.

Current Exhibitions & Displays

We have the Degas exhibit from April to June of this year. For admission into Degas, it is $5 extra to regular admission prices for the museum. We have a miniature model exhibit on loan from Flagler College and they are free for the public to see on the mezzanine level. There are some wonderful changes in store for the gift shop and the display in the lower portions of the museum, such as the ground floor level entrance and parts of the displays at the museum.

Mezzanine hours and gift shop hours are from 11 to 5 Sunday and Saturday and for the weekdays from 9 to 5. Museum hours are 9 to 5 and closed on Christmas.

The museum will host a Lightner After Hours every last Thursday of the month. They are also hosting private tours of the museum after Lightner business hours to take a look at was once the infamous Hotel Alcazar, erected by Flagler as a health and wellness hotel that people used the local sulfur water to cure all aliments as well as various baths to cure any problems, including the famous hysteria conflict of women during the decade.

There are some changes coming, and hopefully, these changes are useful for the museum to have more people to enjoy the wonders of past traditions and cultures like our own.

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About the Creator

Heather Wilkins

Born in South Carolina, raised in Florida. I enjoy writing for therapy or stress release. Enjoy my ramblings or any updates on cities where I live.

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