VILLA ZORAYDA

Villa Zorayda is a Florida historical marker in St. Johns County, dedicated 1997.

St. Johns County · dedicated 1997 · 83 King St. LOCATED ON KING STREET (BUS, U.S. 1) BET, St. Augustine

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The Villa Zorayda was constructed in 1883 as the winter home of Franklin Smith, a Boston millionaire who was so impressed by the magnificence of the Alhambra Palace which he saw during a visit to Granada, Spain, that he decided to build his house as an exact replica of one wing of the palace at one-tenth of the original size. The 12th century palace had been built by the Moors who ruled Spain for six centuries before being expelled in 1492. Smith, a gifted amateur architect, designed the house himself, using the innovative technique of constructing the building with poured concrete reinforced with crushed coquina stone. Many other materials used in finishing the residence were imported from Spain. In 1913, the building was bought by Abraham S. Mussallem. In 1922, it became a nightclub and gambling casino which closed in 1925 when Florida outlawed gambling. In 1936, it was opened as a tourist attraction called the Zorayda Castle, exhibiting items fitting the architectural theme of the building. The property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

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Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

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under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

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Marker data: Florida Historical Marker Program, Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State

More markers nearby

PONCE de LEON HOTELunder 1 mi
MODEL LAND COMPANY NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICTunder 1 mi
FLAGLER MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHunder 1 mi
SPANISH DRAGOON BARRACKSunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Lopez, Xavier, House230 ft
Villa Zorayda290 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.