St. Augustine Amphitheatre

The St. Augustine Amphitheatre (shortened as The Amp) is an outdoor amphitheater located on A1A in St. Augustine, Florida, United States. The venue seats over 4,000 persons, and is managed by the St. Johns County Parks & Recreation department.[2]

St. Augustine Amphitheatre
View of stage from section 302 (c.2019)
Address1340C A1A South
St. Augustine, FL 32080-5422
LocationAnastasia State Park
OwnerSt. Johns County Parks & Recreation
OperatorSt. Johns County Cultural Events Division
Capacity4,092
Construction
OpenedJune 27, 1965
Rebuilt2001-07
Construction cost$200,000
($1.89 million in 2022 dollars[1])
Website
Venue Website

History

The amphitheatre was built in 1965 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, originally with 2,000 seats.[3] land was originally part of Anastasia State Park.[2] The amphitheatre itself was constructed in one of the old coquina quarries used to supply building materials for St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos.[4][5][6]

The Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paul Green was commissioned to write a play to be performed at the amphitheatre. The result was Cross and Sword: A Symphonic Drama of the Spanish Settlement of Florida,[7] a musical reenactment of the first years of St. Augustine's existence. Cross and Sword was designated the official state play in 1973 by the Florida Legislature.[8] The play ran until 1996, when budget constraints ended its more than 30-year run.[3][9][10]

The amphitheatre was used infrequently during the following years, though it did host a free summer Shakespeare Festival from 1997 to 2003.[11][12] In 2002, St. Johns County acquired the property and the following year began an $8.7 million renovation.[3][9] The upgraded facility reopened in August 2007, which includes a fiberglass tensile canopy over the main stage.[13] It now has 4,092 seats.[14][15][16] In 2019, the theater branded itself as "The Amp". Also in 2019, the Amp is ranked #2 amphitheatre in the United States and #3 worldwide according to leading concert-industry publication Pollstar Magazine's 2019 Mid-Year report.

Noted performers

Photos

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Augustine Amphitheatre.
  1. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  2. Bosworth, Jon (August 30, 2007). "everything old is new again". Entertaining U Newspaper. N2U Publishing, Inc. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
  3. de Yampert, Rick (August 21, 2008). "Amped at the amphitheatre". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. News-Journal Corporation. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
  4. Rapoza, Brian (2007). Birding Florida: Over 200 Prime Birding Sites at 54 Locations. Globe Pequot Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780762739141.
  5. Nolan, David (1992). "St. Augustine to Astor". In McCarthy, Kevin M. (ed.). The Book Lover's Guide to Florida. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1561640126.
  6. "Quarry Historical Site". Anastasia State Park. Florida Online Park Guide. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  7. Paul Green Bibliography
  8. Florida State Symbols - The State Play: Cross and Sword Archived June 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Reinink, Amy (August 22, 2008). "St. Augustine gets amped". Ocala Star Banner. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  10. Rajtar, Steve; Kelly Goodman (2008). A Guide to Historic St. Augustine, Florida. The History Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-1-59629-336-6.
  11. "Art thou ready for 'Much Ado About Nothing'?". The St. Augustine Record. 2002-08-16. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  12. "Atlantic Shakespeare Company to present musical fund-raiser". The St. Augustine Record. 2002-11-15. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  13. St. Augustine Amphitheatre - St. Johns County Government Gateway
  14. "Venue Specifications | St. Augustine Amphitheatre". Archived from the original on 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2018-06-06.
  15. "St. Augustine Amphitheatre - Halback Design Group, Inc". Archived from the original on 2008-10-19. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
  16. "Editorial: St. Augustine Amphitheatre plans reflect labor of love". The St. Augustine Record. 2001-10-21. Retrieved 2008-09-07.

29.8755°N 81.2829°W / 29.8755; -81.2829

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