Magazine tagged as 'Architecture'

The Kenan name has become synonymous with Flagler College, gracing some of the most recognized buildings on campus and stretching back to the very earliest years of the college.

On the verge of its 50th anniversary in 2018, Flagler College is embarking on one of its largest construction projects with a $23 million residence hall, student commons and parking facility designed to meet one of the college’s goals of increasing the number of students living on campus.

Flagler College is a bustling campus with its public spaces filled by students, faculty and visitors. But some of Flagler’s most appealing and picturesque spots are those off-the-beaten path.

For visitors of the Hotel Ponce de Leon during Henry Flagler’s heyday, the courtyard was a summer oasis of exotic flora — of date palms, African irises and birds of paradise. Over time, the courtyard evolved from having a wild to a more manicured aesthetic, but landscaping improvements this summer have brought back the past.

Flagler College was once again a big winner at the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s statewide Preservation Awards, including Dr. Leslee Keys, director of historic preservation, who won the inaugural “Roy E. Graham Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation Education.”

Scraping crusty mortar and stripping years of flaking paint off of dilapidated windows may not be the most glamorous job, but to the artisans working on the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, traveling back in time with a National Historic Landmark makes it worth it.

Flagler College is home to the world’s largest collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany stained-glass windows. So it was no surprise that popular PBS series “Antiques Roadshow” wanted to feature them during a stopover in nearby Jacksonville. That segment, filmed in 2013, aired this past October and garnered Flagler and the former Hotel Ponce de Leon a national spotlight.

In December, we began a major undertaking to restore the exterior of Ponce de Leon Hall — a National Historic Landmark and the centerpiece of the Flagler College campus. Thanks in part to a $2 million grant from the state of Florida, we have launched one of the college’s largest historic preservation projects, which coincides with this year’s 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine.

Flagler College’s newest building is actually a structure designed to look like it’s been around for hundreds of years. The 18,600 square-foot Pollard Hall on Cordova Street replaces the college’s former Communication Building that once sat on the site. Actually three inter-connected buildings, the complex is designed to fit in with St. Augustine’s historic Spanish architecture.

A multimillion-dollar project to restore the former Hotel Ponce de Leon’s Solarium has been recognized as one of the state’s top historic preservation projects. 

Flagler and St. Augustine make Travel+Leisure’s list of America’s best college towns

Palm Coast residents Peter and Sue Freytag are no strangers to investing. Peter is a retired vice president of Common Stocks for State Farm, having served the company for 39 years.

Bequest builds on Thorn legacy at Flagler College Craig and Audrey Thorn passed away exactly two years apart: he on Dec. 17, 2010, and she on Dec. 17, 2012. Friends say that’s just how they did things — high school sweethearts and married for 59 years, where one went, the other would soon follow.

The Ringhaver family’s influence is felt throughout Flagler College – from the Ringhaver Student Center to service on the Board of Trustees. Recently, Randal Ringhaver, an executive committee member of the Board of Trustees, strengthened this bond further by establishing the Elaine Ringhaver Riggle Women’s Golf Scholarship in memory of his late mother.

The last unrestored room in the historic former Hotel Ponce de Leon has re-opened for the first time in four decades after a $2.5 million restoration effort. The Solarium is on the fourth floor of the Ponce above the rotunda, and affords panoramic views of St. Augustine.

Kenan Trust Awards $1.5 Million Challenge Grant for Pollard Hall

We asked photographer and 2000 alumnus Zach Thomas to find a way to “marry the Ponce’s past with the present.” He scratched his head and then went to work blending images from the college’s photo archives with scenes of the campus today.

Ty Pennington, best known as the Emmy-award winning host of “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” and the co-Host of ABC Daytime’s “The Revolution,” visited Flagler College in March to meet with Flagler’s Enactus team about partnering on a project.

The stunning new 12,000-square-foot Hanke Hall — home to Flagler College’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid and the first point of contact for many new students — was dedicated this fall. Flagler is proud to recognize the following generous donors by naming Hanke Hall spaces in their honor:

As part of the former Hotel Ponce de Leon’s 125th anniversary, Flagler College has begun a $2.3 million renovation of the fourth-floor Solarium. Construction began in the fall and is expected to be completed this summer.