Home and property
Villa Zorayda put coquina concrete into St. Augustine's style
Villa Zorayda shows how one 1883 winter home helped push St. Augustine toward poured concrete, coquina shell, and Moorish Revival style.
Villa Zorayda is a house you can read through its walls. Franklin W. Smith built it in 1883 as his St. Augustine winter home. He used Moorish Revival ideas inspired by the Alhambra in Spain. Instead of ordinary masonry, he used poured concrete made with Portland cement, sand, and locally crushed coquina shell.
That mix gave St. Augustine a new building language as the city grew into a Gilded Age resort town. The method showed how old-looking walls, arches, courtyards, and towers could be made with newer materials. It also tied Villa Zorayda to the larger Flagler-era building story, when concrete and Spanish-influenced design changed the city’s look.
If you visit, check the tour hours and parking notes first. King Street is central, and busy St. Augustine days can make a simple house tour feel like a downtown plan. Give yourself time to look at the walls, not just the rooms.
Connected places
These place pages create the local paths back to this note.
Official sources
Last checked against these sources: July 4, 2026.
Related Florida notes
Picked from shared places, counties, topics, or tags.
Cars and driving
A1A's scenic byway label points to real places
The A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway is more than a pretty road name; it ties St. Augustine, beaches, parks, preserves, and coastal history into one drive.
Read this note ->Home and property
Ximenez-Fatio House turns old St. Augustine into a boarding house story
The Ximenez-Fatio House helps make early St. Augustine feel lived-in, from a coquina store and family home to a boarding house for visitors.
Read this note ->History and culture
St. Augustine's datil pepper keeps local heat on the table
The datil pepper gives St. Augustine and St. Johns County a food story with local farms, family recipes, uncertain origins, and serious heat.
Read this note ->Cars and driving
St. Augustine Nights of Lights needs a parking plan
Nights of Lights is a beautiful St. Augustine tradition, but the old downtown works best when visitors plan for shuttles, parking, crowds, and walking.
Read this note ->Rules and licenses
St. Augustine public events start with the public-property permit
In St. Augustine, events on public property can need city coordination for parades, festivals, weddings, film work, and other shared-space plans.
Read this note ->Cars and driving
St. Augustine parking starts with the garage and peak days
Historic St. Augustine is easier to enjoy when downtown parking, the city garage, events, walking distance, and enforcement are checked first.
Read this note ->