PRIDE OF PLACE: Treasures of Smithsonian and Library of Congress Coming to St. Augustine -- Spanish King and Queen to Visit Here

Here in St. Augustine, Florida, our Nation’s Oldest City, I sometimes feel like a ‘possum – every day I wake up in a New World.
At yesterday afternoon’s 450th workshop, St. Augustine City Commissioner William L. Leary reported on his trip to Washington, D.C., where arrangements were made for the Spanish Royal Family to visit here and plans were made to share Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress treasures with St. Augustine, for our 450th birthday (2015), and the 500th anniversary of Spanish Florida (2013), and the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (2014) and the 200th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution (2012).
Commissioner Leary and city history director Dana Ste. Claire met with the Librarian of Congress and the heads of the Smithsonian’s African-American, Latino American, Native American and American History Museums.
Leary was joined by Federal St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission Chair J.I. Kislak, who donated historic treasures worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the Library of Congress; former National Park Service Director Robert Stanton, another member of the Commission; and former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Robert Graham.
Both the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution will partner with St. Augustine for our historic celebrations.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Ambassador to the United States pledged a visit by the Spanish Royal Family, and meaningful participation by Spain in the 450th and 500th.
Museum space will be needed for these wonderful artifacts. Among those that the delegation saw, and Leary wants to bring here, include a 1493 letter from Christopher Columbus; a 1572 letter from Pedro Menendez de Aviles explaining the best shipping routes to avoid pirates; a 1586 Florida history book; a 1589 colored map of Drake’s raid, showing the layout of St. Augusitne; and a 1743 map of St. Augustine.
Leary also announced that there are plans for Native Americans to hold a healing ceremony outside out Castillo de San Marcos for all of the tribes whose tribal members were incarcerated here from 1886 to 1913 when it was called Fort Marion. Among those imprisoned here were Geronimo’s wives and some of his fellow warriors.
We're all about healing here, having recently dedicated two civil rights monuments in the Plaza de la Constitucion, location of the former Slave Market.
“It takes a village” to make St. Augustine a better place, and Commissioner Leary deserves our appreciation for a job well done.
I reckon it might not be long before we hear more from Washington, D.C. about a St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore. www.staugustgreen.com Will Christmas come early this year?