Experience the breathtaking architectural grandeur of Flagler College, housed in the magnificent former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a National Historic Landmark that represents the pinnacle of America's Gilded Age opulence. Built in 1888 by railroad magnate and Florida developer Henry Morrison Flagler, this stunning Spanish Renaissance Revival masterpiece was designed to be America's premier winter resort, attracting presidents, royalty, industrialists, and high society's elite to sunny St. Augustine. Today, as a thriving liberal arts college, the building's first floor and select spaces are open for public tours that showcase some of the finest examples of 19th-century architecture, art, and craftsmanship in the United States. Henry Flagler's vision for the Hotel Ponce de Leon was nothing short of revolutionary. Determined to create an American Riviera that would rival Europe's finest resorts, Flagler spared no expense in designing and constructing this architectural wonder. He hired the prestigious New York architectural firm Carrère and Hastings, whose principals had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, to create a building that would capture the romance of old Spain while incorporating the most modern conveniences available in the late 1800s. The result was a structure that seamlessly blended Spanish Renaissance, Moorish, and Mediterranean influences into a cohesive masterpiece that still takes visitors' breath away more than 135 years after its completion. The Hi