When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, St. Augustine was already half a century old. Founded in 1565, the city has been continuously inhabited ever since, and its architectural styles tell stories of boom and bust, fad and tradition, war and peace, modernization and historic preservation.

This affectionate portrait of our oldest city offers a comprehensive survey of the many architectural features that have expressed the needs and preferences of St. Augustine s inhabitants over more than four centuries of Spanish, British, and American government. From the coquina stone structures of...