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Monson Motor Lodge
The Monson Motor Lodge was a hotel located at 32 Avenida Menendez, Saint Augustine, Florida. The site was originally the site of a boarding house as early as the 1880s, and was later the site of the Monson Hotel before the final Monson Motor Lodge was constructed in 1961. It was the site of the 1964 Monson Motor Lodge Protests, a series of landmark Civil Rights protests. The Monson Motor Lodge was demolished in 2003 and a Hilton Hotel was built on the site. Today, historical markers at the hotel commemorate the protests and the motel's front steps and original sign have been preserved.
The original hotel was established by Captain Anthony Vincent "Bossy" Monson and his wife Florence Young in the 1880s, not long before the opening of the Flagler hotels made the city a luxury tourist destination.
The first Monson House was on the water's edge at 24 Bay Street (now Avenida Menendez), between the Plaza de la Constitución and Fort Marion. According to historical descriptions, there were rooms for ten boarders at $9-$10/week. In addition to rented rooms, the Monson offered tourists a chance to sail on one of four yachts anchored near the club house. In 1895, the structured was destroyed by a fire.
Later, Monson House was reopened in a new location at 26 Bay Street next to Brava Lane.[citation needed] Open all year, the rates were $1.50 to $2.00 per day with $7.00 to $12.00 per week.[citation needed] Residents could enjoy hot and cold baths.[citation needed] The hotel was again enlarged in 1901 and in 1912, when the capacity was advertised at 75.[citation needed] The second Monson House burned down in the April 1914 fire that started at the Florida House and destroyed everything from Saint George Street to the Bay. The fire claimed four hotels, the opera house, the courthouse, and countless homes and businesses.
The Monson was rebuilt as masonry structure and reopened on January 5, 1915, as the Monson Hotel. Anthony Monson died later that year, and his brother-in-law, Charles E Young Sr., became manager of the new hotel. After reopening, the Hotel embraced its fiery history, adopting phoenix imagery on it's letterhead and facade. The Hotel became so successful that it was enlarged in 1917 with an addition to the south side.
For a brief period from 1942-1945, the hotel was taken over by the U.S. Coast Guard before being reopened to the public. In 1947, the Monson came under new ownership when it was purchased by William W. Faw. Faw was the first owner of the Hotel not related to the Monson family. The Monson Hotel remained a fixture on Saint Augustine's bay front until 1960, when changing tastes were leading to the rise in popularity of motels. It was demolished in 1960 and the Monson Motor Lodge was built in its place in 1961.
The new Monson Motor Lodge was a segregated motel with an attached restaurant and a waterfront pool. The Motel remained under Faw's ownership, but was managed by James Brock, then President of the Florida Hotel-Motel Association. Brock's association with the Florida Hotel-Motel Association and the fact that the motel's restaurant was popular with local reporters, are likely reasons that the Monson was targeted during the 1964 Civil Rights protests in St. Augustine.
In the spring of 1964, Robert Hayling, a prominent St. Augustine Civil Rights Activist working with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, invited Martin Luther King Jr. to visit St. Augustine. On June 11, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. attempted to dine at the Monson Motor Lodge's restaurant. He was refused service and later arrested on the Monson's front steps when he refused to leave. King was taken to St. Augustine Jail, where he wrote a "Letter from the Saint Augustine Jail" to his friend, Rabbi Israel S. Dresner, encouraging rabbis to come to Saint Augustine and take part in the movement.[citation needed]
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Monson Motor Lodge
The Monson Motor Lodge was a hotel located at 32 Avenida Menendez, Saint Augustine, Florida. The site was originally the site of a boarding house as early as the 1880s, and was later the site of the Monson Hotel before the final Monson Motor Lodge was constructed in 1961. It was the site of the 1964 Monson Motor Lodge Protests, a series of landmark Civil Rights protests. The Monson Motor Lodge was demolished in 2003 and a Hilton Hotel was built on the site. Today, historical markers at the hotel commemorate the protests and the motel's front steps and original sign have been preserved.
The original hotel was established by Captain Anthony Vincent "Bossy" Monson and his wife Florence Young in the 1880s, not long before the opening of the Flagler hotels made the city a luxury tourist destination.
The first Monson House was on the water's edge at 24 Bay Street (now Avenida Menendez), between the Plaza de la Constitución and Fort Marion. According to historical descriptions, there were rooms for ten boarders at $9-$10/week. In addition to rented rooms, the Monson offered tourists a chance to sail on one of four yachts anchored near the club house. In 1895, the structured was destroyed by a fire.
Later, Monson House was reopened in a new location at 26 Bay Street next to Brava Lane.[citation needed] Open all year, the rates were $1.50 to $2.00 per day with $7.00 to $12.00 per week.[citation needed] Residents could enjoy hot and cold baths.[citation needed] The hotel was again enlarged in 1901 and in 1912, when the capacity was advertised at 75.[citation needed] The second Monson House burned down in the April 1914 fire that started at the Florida House and destroyed everything from Saint George Street to the Bay. The fire claimed four hotels, the opera house, the courthouse, and countless homes and businesses.
The Monson was rebuilt as masonry structure and reopened on January 5, 1915, as the Monson Hotel. Anthony Monson died later that year, and his brother-in-law, Charles E Young Sr., became manager of the new hotel. After reopening, the Hotel embraced its fiery history, adopting phoenix imagery on it's letterhead and facade. The Hotel became so successful that it was enlarged in 1917 with an addition to the south side.
For a brief period from 1942-1945, the hotel was taken over by the U.S. Coast Guard before being reopened to the public. In 1947, the Monson came under new ownership when it was purchased by William W. Faw. Faw was the first owner of the Hotel not related to the Monson family. The Monson Hotel remained a fixture on Saint Augustine's bay front until 1960, when changing tastes were leading to the rise in popularity of motels. It was demolished in 1960 and the Monson Motor Lodge was built in its place in 1961.
The new Monson Motor Lodge was a segregated motel with an attached restaurant and a waterfront pool. The Motel remained under Faw's ownership, but was managed by James Brock, then President of the Florida Hotel-Motel Association. Brock's association with the Florida Hotel-Motel Association and the fact that the motel's restaurant was popular with local reporters, are likely reasons that the Monson was targeted during the 1964 Civil Rights protests in St. Augustine.
In the spring of 1964, Robert Hayling, a prominent St. Augustine Civil Rights Activist working with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, invited Martin Luther King Jr. to visit St. Augustine. On June 11, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. attempted to dine at the Monson Motor Lodge's restaurant. He was refused service and later arrested on the Monson's front steps when he refused to leave. King was taken to St. Augustine Jail, where he wrote a "Letter from the Saint Augustine Jail" to his friend, Rabbi Israel S. Dresner, encouraging rabbis to come to Saint Augustine and take part in the movement.[citation needed]