Hispanic Garden

In 1965, Elizabeth Towers, the only female member of the St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission at the time, spearheaded a project to develop this corner lot. She formed the all-female Hispanic Garden Committee to bring the Spanish-style garden to life.

The "plazoleta" is modeled after Spanish gardens which took cues from Roman patios. Flowers fill the ceramic vases and the beds around the perimeter contain marigolds, palm trees, jasmine, cabbage palms, holly, and kumquats. The garden features Spanish influences such as an octagonal mosaic and a nod to water features common in Spain during the Moorish occupation.

A sculpture of Queen Isabella of Castile at the center was made and donated by notable artist Anna Hyatt Huntington, who is the first woman to have a public sculpture on display in New York outside of Central Park.