On Friday, February 13 at 11:00am, the City of St. Augustine will mark the 507th birthday of Don Pedro Menendez de Avilés with a brief wreath-laying ceremony at the base of his statue in front of City Hall, located at 75 King Street.
The public is invited to attend the ceremony which will include a processional by a group of reenactors from Historic Florida Militia and a reading of the City’s proclamation by Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline.
Menendez, who founded the city on September 8, 1565, was born in Avilés, a port city in the Asturias region of Spain, on February 15, 1519. Following a career in the Spanish Navy during the reign of Spanish King Phillip II, his voyage to Florida in 1565 was in response to the French having founded Fort Caroline. The French were defeated soon after the arrival of Menendez and the establishment of St. Augustine.
The area in front of city hall was named Parque de Menendez in a ceremony on February 15, 1978, by the City Commission which was attended by the Ambassador of Spain to the United States. The statute itself is a replica of one in Avilés, given by “the People of Avilés, Spain to the People of St. Augustine, Florida” on September 8, 1972.
For media inquiries, contact Melissa Wissel, Communications Director, at 904.293.3307 or via email at mwissel@citystaug.com.