Avero House

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Avero House
St Aug Avero House02.jpg
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Location41 St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida
Coordinates 29°53′47″N81°18′47″W / 29.896341°N 81.313044°W / 29.896341; -81.313044
Built1749
NRHP reference No. 72001459 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 13, 1972

The Avero House is a historic house located at 41 St. George Street in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. The building is locally significant as one of 30 remaining houses within the historic district that pre-date 1821. It was once the site of a Minorcan Chapel. Today, the building is home to the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine.

Contents

The house was owned by the Avero family, Minorcan Spaniards, during the First Spanish Period (1565–1763). The family occupied the property from as early as 1712, though the current coquina structure dates to circa 1740s. After the Spanish evacuation in 1763, it was used during the British Period. In 1777, it served as a chapel for Catholic refugees from the failed New Smyrna colony, primarily Minorcans, Italians, and Greeks, led by Father Pedro Camps. Restored in the late 1970s, it now houses the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, honoring the Greek indentured settlers of 1768. [2] [3] [4]

Description

The two-story structure features coquina walls in horizontal courses with lime mortar, plastered interior and exterior. It includes an open loggia on the southeast and a flat roof with copper scuppers. A 1763 map shows a U-shaped plan. The house was restored in 1979 to its 18th-century appearance after purchase by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in the 1960s. [5] [4]

History

Although the house was apparently built around 1749, the first detailed information on its layout does not appear until a map from 1763. [4]

First Spanish period

The property was associated with the Avero family, Minorcan residents in colonial St. Augustine, from at least 1712 until 1804 (excluding the British Period 1763–1784). The family, including daughters who inherited multiple nearby properties on St. George Street, was an example of Creole property transmission through women in Spanish Florida. The current structure, built of coquina stone, dates to the mid-18th century (circa 1740s), replacing earlier buildings on the site. [4] [5] [2]

British and Second Spanish periods

During the British Period (1763–1784), the evacuated house was occupied by others (e.g., shown as owned by 'Mr. Kipp' on 1765 maps). In 1777, following the collapse of the indigo plantation at New Smyrna, survivors (primarily Minorcans with Greeks and Italians) fled to St. Augustine. Spanish Governor Vicente Manuel de Zéspedes granted the abandoned Avero House to Father Pedro Camps for use as a chapel and oratory by these Catholic refugees for about seven years. This earned it the local name 'Minorcan Chapel'. [2] [3] [5] [6] [7]

Modern use and restoration

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America purchased the building in 1966 and restored the house to its 1730s appearance. Today the house is open to the public as the St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, dedicated to the first colony of Greek people who came to America in 1768. The Shrine includes the St. Photios Chapel which features Byzantine iconography, the relics of 18 saints of the Early Church, and a museum with a permanent exhibit about the life of early Greek settlers as well as temporary exhibits that are changed out annually. [3] [8]

The Avero House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on June 13, 1972. [9] [10]

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "Avero House Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Story of the Founders - Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine". September 22, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Arnade, Charles W. "The Avero Story: An Early Saint Augustine Family with Many Daughters and Many Houses." Florida Historical Quarterly , vol. 40, no. 1, 1961, pp. 1–34.
  5. 1 2 3 De Avero House, 39 Saint George Street, Saint Augustine, St. Johns County, FL , retrieved December 29, 2025
  6. ↑ "St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine". Clio. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  7. ↑ "St. Augustine Collections". Historical Archaeology. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  8. ↑ Gordon, Elsbeth (2015). Walking St. Augustine : An Illustrated Guide and Pocket History to America's Oldest City. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. ISBN   9780813060835. OCLC   889164908.
  9. ↑ "Avero House (St. Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine) in St. Augustine, USA". GPSmyCity. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  10. ↑ City of St. Augustine. "List of Nationally Designated Properties." Historic Preservation Master Plan 2018, 2018, https://www.citystaug.com/DocumentCenter/View/6844/List-of-nationally-designated-properties_HistoricPreservationMasterPlan2018.
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