Classical Cuba Journal Spring 2012

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INSTITUTE OF

CLASSICAL architecture & art

Classical Cuba Journal

Spring 2012


Classical Cuba Journal

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We are honored to present e Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Classical Cuba Program. e ICAA is committed to hosting relevant programs & events to its members in the US, the Caribbean and abroad. e ICAA Florida is growing a grass roots foundation through education, lectures, tours, & conferences. In addition, the ICAA assists non-profit organizations by using the resources available through chapter alliances such as e American Institute of Architects, e American Society of Interior Designers, and e American Institute of Building Design. ese alliances help support the mission of “Making a positive impact on the Built Environment through the principles of the Classical Tradition in Architecture & Art." We welcome you to participate in this important program to explore the architectural relationships between Cuba and the United States. David Case, ICAA Florida Chapter President Clifford G. Duch, ICAA, AIA Classical Cuba Chairman


Havana, Cuba

Havana's Nolli Map I, Studies of La Habana (1994) Professors Douglas Duany & Rafael Fornes Havana's Nolli Map II, Ecole d'Architecture de Paris, Belleville, Professor David Bigelman Â

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Havana, Cuba

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Havana, Cuba

A view thru a Colonnade on Plaza Vieja along Brazil Street to the Capitalio National by Raul Ortero, Architect

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Upcoming Events

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lectures Form Base Codes Urban Codes for Vedado and Vieja Habana Districts Sonia Chao Saturday, September 15 3:00pm Markland House at Flagler College Professor Chao will discuss the Regulaciones Urbanisticas Ciudad de La Habana for the city of Havana completed in 2009 and the important role these form base codes play in the current and future g rowth of the city. Professor Chao assisted the Office of the Historian for the City of Havana in the creation and implementation of the code.

Colonial Architecture e Colonial Architecture of St. Augustine: Myths & Realities Paul Weaver, M.A. Saturday, September 15 4:00pm Markland House at Flagler College Mr. Weaver, a leading Florida preser vation consultant, will discuss the often misunderstood characteristics of Spanish and English influences on the evolution of architectural style in St Augustine as we see it today and ultimately the unique heritage that exists.

by William Moreno, UM SoA, “Studies of La Habana”. Prof. Rafael Fornes


Recent Events

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lecture Neoclassical Havana American Architectural Heritage in Havana Dr. Madeline Menéndez García Friday, March 23 3:00pm – 4:30pm Markland House at Flagler College Dr. Menéndez, who has been involved as an Architect in conservation efforts in La Habana with both the CENCREM as well as the Office of the Historian of the City of La Habana (OHCH) and is presently a professor at the Colegio Universitario de San Geronimo, will lecture on NeoClassical Architecture in LaHabana in the XIX and XX Centuries. From the end of the 1700’s to the early republic in the first half of the XX Century, NeoClassical architecture was perhaps the predominant architectural style in Cuba and would yield excellent examples in the related fields of Urban Design, Interior Design, Craftsmanship and Landscape Architecture. In the XX Century, Neo Classical Architecture in Cuba parallels the professional practice in the United States as in the work of McKim, Mead and White and Schutze & Weaver, for example, and is a living testimony of a shared cultural patrimony between our two countries.

IONIC ORDER CAPITAL SHADOW STUDY

Elementary Practical Treatise on the Study of the Five Orders of Architecture J. B. Vignola Illustrated in seventy-two plates by J.A. Léveil.


The Classical Cuba Program

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Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Fundación Amistad Oficina del Historiador de La Ciudad del la Habana

Classical Architecture and Traditional Urbanism in Cuba PROGRAM OVERVIEW The

Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America merged in 1991 to form the leading nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to advancing the practice and appreciation of the classical tradition in Architecture, Urbanism and the allied arts. e ICAA is represented by 14 chapters nationwide which pursue the mission of the Institute through education, publication, and advocacy. e Florida Chapter, conscientious of the shared cultural legacy between Florida and Cuba, has established a collaborative relationship with Fundación Amistad, a New York based 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering mutual respect and understanding between the United States and Cuba through humanitarian, cultural and educational initiatives, in order to promote an academic research program in partnership with the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, dedicated to the study of classical and


The Classical Cuba Program

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traditional architecture, urban design and the building arts. A partnership between ICAA, FA and OCHC oers the opportunity for American and Cuban architects to collaborate in the study and promotion of a shared legacy of classical and traditional architecture and urbanism. PROGRAM GOAL To advance knowledge and training of classical and traditional architecture and urbanism and to increase Cuban, American and Cuban American awareness and involvement in national and global initiatives on the preservation and conservation of cultural patrimony by means of pedagogy, scholarship, conferences, symposia and publications.


The Classical Cuba Program

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Program Components e ICAA and FA, in collaboration with the OHCH of Havana, have embarked on a joint research program for a five year period dedicated to the study of classical and traditional architecture and urbanism and the allied arts. e program is centered on a series of drawing courses dedicated to the illustration of classical construction details and to the documentation of historic structures but also promotes and advocates a wide array of initiatives focused on the advancement of the knowledge and understanding of classical and traditional architecture and urbanism in Florida and Cuba. e program as presented to the Office of the Historian of the City (OHCH) during the ICAA-FA committee visit on March 2011 consists of a phased research agenda starting with documentation and ending with the publication of guidelines for the implementation of classical detailing in the rehabilitation of existing buildings and for use in new construction. e following activities are indicative of the types contemplated through this joint program: 1) Compilation of the first fifty titles on Classical Architecture and traditional urbanism for the library of the Colegio Universitario San Gerónimo de La Habana. 2) Provide seminar courses of the ICAA on classical composition, proportion and drawing in Havana for ICAA members as continuing education courses.


The Classical Cuba Program

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3) Systematic and comprehensive field work documentation of classical detailing of existing buildings following the criteria of the Historic American Building Survey and employing annotation procedures developed in Cuba by the OHCH. 4) Symposia, exhibition and publications on classical architecture with the participation of Cuban, American, Latin American, Asian and European speakers to be held in the United States and Cuba. 5) International Symposium on classical architecture to be held in Cuba. 6) Publication of the book with the drawings resulting from the first four courses for use as a pedagogical tool in schools of architecture in the United States, Instituto Politecnico de La Habana and the Colegio San Geronimo. 7) Development of student and faculty academic exchange programs between Cuban and American institutions and pursuit of combined academic degrees in the fields of Architecture, Urbanism and Preservation 8) Implementation of academic degrees in the fields of Architecture, Urbanism and Preservation. 9) Assist and promote Cuban students and faculty participation in the ICAA travel programs such as the Palladio Program and the Rome Program. 10) Editing classic texts by Cuban scholars on the history of classical architecture in Cuba. 11) e publication of a manual of classical detailing in the manner of the “Manuale del Recupero del Comune di Roma” to provide guidelines for general audiences on how to restore, preserve and rehabilitate classical buildings.


Previous Program Events

Previous Program Event Information

St. Augustine, Fl Conference Held November 5 - 7, 2011 Flagler College A multi-discipline conference was held to host several professionals from Havana to discuss their areas of expertise in Cuba and to prepare for the Classical Cuba Program. The various events (described in the pages below) were well attended by architects from around the state, local distinguished guests such as Mayor Joe Boles and Bishop Filipe Estévez, and a wide range of groups interested in the beautiful city of Havana.

Habana Vieja, Cuba Coordination Visits March 7-13, 2011 Havana, Cuba The ICAA Classical Cuba Committee along with Fundacion Amistad met with OHCH & University of San Geronimo to discuss the upcoming Program. The meetings discussed candidate buildings for study and the implementation for the “The Havana Manual for Restoration” along with other educational specific venues to match local professionals with the visiting ICAA participants. The initial trip is scheduled for May 2012.

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Previous Program Events

Walking Tour

San Agustín Vieja A walking tour of colonial St. Augustine set the stage for the March Conference lectures. Colonial historian Dr. Susan R. Parker and architectural historian Dr. Alicia García Santana will introduce you to St. Augustine’s fortress and the colonial buildings that it protected. We meet at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (ticket booth area). After passing through the City Gate we will head south. As we walked the narrow streets of the old, mile-long town, visited the buildings and courtyards where residents from Spain and Cuba (other Spanish lands, too) lived, worked, and prayed in La Florida's capital. We studied how ancient styles and motifs were adapted to locally available building material. Spanish colonists used coquina, a shell stone quarried on the barrier island, for buildings, chimneys, boundary walls, and military defense works. The fortress is both the oldest and largest example of a coquina building.

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Previous Program Events

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lecture Classical to Vernacular American Architectural Heritage in Havana Professor Rafael Fornés e concept for the lecture from Professor Fornés, "From Classical to Vernacular", refers to the regressive process that has occurred in Cuban cities - mainly in Havana after the revolution - and how the process is unique to other parts of the world. e lecture will cover three parts of the architectural heritage of Cuba: Colonial Classicism (1492-1898) A study and discussion of Cuba’s Roman architectural heritage up until the SpanishAmerican War, with reference to Vignola’s Renaissance treatises. American & Republican (1898-1958) Even before the Spanish-American War, important Cuban architects were trained in the Neoclassical and Beaux Arts traditions at American universities (Cornell, Columbia, Tulane, Notre Dame, and Syracuse). In addition to the academic influences, American construction companies such as Purdy and Henderson were responsible for the construction of major public buildings such a s t h e C a p i t o l i o N a c i o n a l , H o t e l Nacional, Universidad de la Habana and the Financial buildings that make up the Wall Street of Havana. Vernacular (1959-) e Revolutionary style initially follows the principles of the modern movement, but after the fall of the Soviet Union, vernacular interventions transformed the dominant neoclassical architecture dramatically.


Previous Program Events

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lecture La Casa Cubana Tradition and Culture Dr. Alicia García Santana

The origins and influences of the Cuban Houset gave rise to a uniquely Cuban style of architecture. Author of important books about Trinidad and Matanzas and another on the seven original Cuban colonial settlements, Dr. García has dedicated years of research to the origins and evolution of the Cuban House in the Spanish Caribbean. Her lecture today covers the transculturation of European cultures with autochthonous groups present in Cuba at the time of first contact and the dynamic process that brought about the essential Cuban house. rough a visual slide presentation of photographs by Julio Larramendi her lecture illustrates the first colonial houses with details ranging from simple wooden structures with palm thatched roofs to the more elaborate patio houses – a reflection of the strong Spanish influence. Highlighted are the more elaborate villas of the colonial settlements of Santiago de Cuba, Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad and Camaguey. e Moorish influence is also evident in the architecture of the times both in the Caribbean and in the colonies such as St. Augustine, a town that plays a similarly important role in the creation of a creole colonial house, adapted to the weather and necessities of the times. Dr. García closes her talk with a discussion of the changes in architectural styles in the early 19th century due to the trend away from trade with Europe and toward the United States, reflecting the profound influence of more modern cultures.


Previous Program Events

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Panel Discussion Why Cuba? e Future of Cultural Patrimony in Cuba and Florida Alicia García Santana Sonia Cháo Rafael Fornés Clifford Duch Teófilo Victoria- translator Joseph Cronk - moderator A panel composed of architects, p r e s e r va t i o n i s t s, a n d s ch o l a r s addressed the question of the experi ence of Cuba in the preservation of the cultural patrimony and the relevance of this experience to historic preservation efforts in Florida; the means by which Cuba and Florida could collaborate in the future in the preservation of a shared architecture and urban heritage; and t h e m e a n i n g t h i s p r o s p e c t ive relationship could have to the economic and social narrative of the region. After the panel discussion there was an open forum with the participation of the general public in a question and answer period.

Reception Following the panel discussion, light refreshments were served in the historic First national Bank Building lobby. The photography of Julio Angel Larramendi Joa was displayed in the Drawing Room.


Panel Discussion / Q&A

Panel Discussion Heritage, Patrimony & the role of Classicism in Cuba

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Alicia García Santana Sonia Cháo Rafael Fornés Clifford Duch

Why Cuba? The panel, with a widely varying perspective on the complex issues of architecture and place in Cuba, will discuss the current relevance of this evolving & living architectural resource to professionals in Florida.

Shared Heritage - St Augustine & Cuba With a long and evolving relationship between St. Augustine and Cuba over the last 450 years, the panel will discuss some of the periods of partnership, exchange and connection between the two places in the areas of architecture, urbanism and cultural patrimony.

Preservation & Patrimony The panel will address the experience of Cuba in the preservation of the Architectural & cultural patrimony and the relevance of this experience to historic preservation efforts in Florida; the means by which Cuba and Florida could collaborate in the future in the preservation of a shared architecture and urban heritage; and the meaning this prospective relationship could have to the economic and social narrative of the region.

Classicism What has been and what will be the role of Classical & Traditional architecture in Cuba. The panel will discuss the historical periods of Classical design influence in the past and the importance of Classical design principles in the future as Cuba continues the monumental undertaking of preserving its architectural heritage.


Previous Program Event

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lecture Spain & Florida

A World Full of Myths & Realities Ambassador Santiago Martínez-Caro Flagler Room at Flagler College Santiago Martínez-Caro comes to us from Vienna, Austria where he is currently posted to the United Nations Office on behalf of the Spanish government. His lifetime career in diplomacy has led him to a profound study of Spain’s role in colonizing the West and the fables that are sometimes substituted for history. Where one begins and the other leaves off is often open to interpretation and Dr. Martínez-Caro has all the credentials for an accurate assessment of his own country. By virtue of his Spanish and U.S. citizenship, he avoids political, cultural, and emotional biases to provide an authentic account, accompanied by interesting visuals. The Ambassador discussed five common myths about the presence of Spain in Florida and the U.S. e first to be dispelled is the Spanish pursuit of Florida’s riches. e second myth is Sp a i n ' s a t t i t u d e t ow a rd s Na t i v e Americans. e third myth the Ambassador addresses is the Black Legend. e fourth - one that runs parallel to this country's foundations concerns the arrival of the white man in North America; most Americans firmly believe that the British were the first! e final myth concerns foreign support for American independence. Sometimes the truth is more unsettling than the myths.


Previous Program Event

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keynote lecture Havana & St. Augustine Settlements in Colonial Cuba & their ties with St. Augustine Dr. Alicia García Santana Flagler Room at Flagler College Relations between San Agustín de la Florida and Cuba were strong, relevant and constant. Dr. García brings to light monumental Cuban figures like José Martí, Felíx Varela, Morell de Santa Cruz, and others whose lives were intricately woven in struggles between the Crown and the colonies – between St. Augustine and Havana. With slides of antique maps and historical illustrations, Dr. García tells stories of the defense of San Agustín and the attempts to protect Havana from invasions by the advancing English. Both cities had forts that were inadequate to protect the communities, so architects and defense strategists were called in to “modernize” and make impenetrable the standing structures. Important to complete the picture of the struggle by the Spanish to retain power in the area is the colonial settlement of Matanzas, the main supply base for Florida and the protectorate of Havana by land. British occupation of San Agustín de la Florida gave rise to the flight of Spaniards, mestizos, and Freemen to Cuba and the subsequent creation of the settlement of San Agustín de la Nueva Florida under the jurisdiction of Matanzas.


About The ICAA

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The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art e Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, founded as two separate nonprofit organizations in 1991 and 1968, respectively, merged in 2002 as a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the classical tradition in architecture, urbanism and their allied arts. It does so though education, publication, and advocacy. e organization is a valued educational resource for students of art, planning and architecture, design professionals, and the general public assisted today by the growing network of regional and local chapters. e ICAA offers a wide array of programs that include continuing education classes, travel programs, lectures, salons, and conferences. It publishes an academic journal called e Classicist as well as the acclaimed book series called the Classical America Series in Art and Architecture. e Grand Central Academy of Art flourishes as the Institute’s division of fine arts pedagogy and now offers a summer session called e Hudson River Landscape Painting Fellowships. e Institute also acts as a curriculum partner with accredited schools such as the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech & the University of Miami. ICAA Florida David Case, ICAA President dcase@rs-architects.com ICAA National 20 W. 44th St. New York, NY 10036 (212) 730-9646 info@classicist.org

Board of Advisors - Florida Troy Beasley Tom Bishop Gerald Buxbaum David Case Tic Childers Joseph Cronk

Cliff Duch Marsha Faulkner Brandt Hay Peter Moor Geoffrey Mouen Stephen A. Mouzon


About The Program Lecturers Alicia García Santana earned her doctoral degree in Art Sciences from the University of Oriente. She has dedicated her life to the study and conservation of Cuban architectural patrimony. As director of research on the Historic Center of Trinidad, she wrote the application to UNESCO which declared Trinidad a World Heritage Site in 1988. She has published numerous articles & books including: Trinidad de Cuba; Contrapunteo cubano del arco y el horcón; La Habana, historia y arquitectura de una ciudad romántica; Trinidad de Cuba, Ciudad, Plazas, Casas y Valle; Las primeras villas de Cuba; Matanzas, la Atenas de Cuba; Urbanismo y arquitectura de la Habana Vieja, siglos XVI al XVIII and Trinidad de Cuba: un don del The Guggenheim Foundation granted her a scholarship to study Spanish colonial architecture in the Caribbean. She is currently expanding the study and working on a book about the Cuban House. Madeline Menéndez García (Havana, 1941), an architect by profession, since 1982, works in the field of historic preservation and the study of historic structures and urban centers for the National Center for Conservation, Restoration and Museology(CENCREM) in Havana and for the Master Plan Office of the Historian of the City of Havana. She has published numerous books and articles on the management of historic structures and cultural patrimony and is a member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS, Cuba) and the Provincial Commission on Monuments. Dr. Menéndez received a Doctorate in Technical Sciences from the ISPJAE in 1990 and is Deputy Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture (ISPJAE), and the Colegio Universitario de San Geronimo, University of Havana, Cuba.

20 Ambassador Santiago Martínez-Caro is a dual national, Spanish and American. He joined the Spanish Foreign Service in 1984 and has been posted to Cameroon, Peru, France, Morocco, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. He has been the Spanish Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, after being the Director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is currently posted to the United Nations Office in Vienna. e Ambassador makes St. Augustine his home in the United States. His son is currently a student in Flagler College. He has been involved in the 450th anniversary celebrations and served on the Board of Directors of the First America Foundation. He has lectured at Flagler College on several occasions.

Julio Angel Larramendi Joa is a world renowned photographer and publisher of important reference books. He began as a science photographer, publishing the definitive book on Cuban orchids. Over the years his photography has covered every possible field. He contributed photographs to Lest We Forget, by Eusebio Leal; 500 Years of Architecture in Cuban Society, and the second edition of Cuban Colonial Architecture by Joachim Weiss, among others. His recent publications include: Baracoa de Cuba, Ciudad Primada; Las Primeras Villas de Cuba; Matanzas, La Atenas de Cuba; Biodiversidad de Cuba; Alejandro de Humboldt National Park; Trinidad de Cuba, un don del ciel; Moluscos Terrestres de Cuba, and Mamíferos en Cuba.


About The Guests & Lecturers Rafael Fornés was born in El Vedado, La Habana in 1956 and received a degree in Architecture from Instituto Superior Politécnico de La Habana in 1981 (IPSJAE). Between 1980 and 1985 he worked at the projects department of Dirección Provincial de Arquitectura y Urbanism (DPAU), which oversees the City of La Habana. His projects include Monuments and Urban Parks as well as the reconstruction of historical buildings and streets of La Habana Vieja, Centro Habana, El Cerro and Guanabacoa. Between 1990 and 1992 he worked in the Town Planning Office of Budapest City Hall (BUVATI), Hungary. He has taught the Studies of La Habana course at University of Miami, School of Architecture, since 1994. Since his exile to the west in 1990, Mr. Fornés has dedicated fully to the study of the urban morphology of La Habana and is perhaps the foremost authority in the architecture of La Habana currently in exile. Amongst the projects he has conducted at the University of Miami within the scope of Studies of La Habana, is an inventory of buildings and urban circumstances which documents the city as it exists today. Sonia R. Cháo is a research assistant professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture. She is the Director of school's Center for Urban & Community Design. She received her Masters of Science in Architecture from Columbia University and her BArch from the University of Miami. Cháo has collaborated on a research project, studying the historic preservation and urban design patterns of Havana, curated related exhibitions and is currently completing a correlated publication. Her ties to institutions in the Caribbean & Latin America have expanded the outreach efforts of the CUCD.

21 Teófilo Victoria graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1979 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and in 1980 with a Bachelor of Architecture. In 1982 Mr. Victoria completed a Masters of Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University and in 1983, became the first Town Architect for the town of Seaside, Florida. Mr. Victoria teaches at the University of Miami, where he has served as the Director of the Undergraduate Program (1995-1998) and the Director of the Graduate Program (1999-2009). He has been a Visiting Professor at Cornell University and Harvard University and lectured in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Susan Parker holds a Ph.D. in colonial history and has taught history at the University of Florida, University of North Florida and the University of South Florida. Currently the executive director of the St. Augustine Historical Society, she was a historian and a historic preservation consultant with the Florida Department of State. e Florida Historical Society honored her as ”Outstanding Woman in Florida History” in 2009 and with its Golden Quill Award in 2010. A native of St. Augustine, Parker grew up surrounded by the vestiges of Spain’s presence in the United States. Her research focus is colonial social history with emphasis on Spanish Florida.


Title Sponsor

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University of Miami School of Architecture 1223 Dickinson Drive Coral Gables, FL 33146 305.284.3731

www.arc.miami.edu


Title Sponsor

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Beasley & Henley Interior Design Winter Park Naples Atlanta

www.BeasleyandHenley.com


Title Sponsor

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Morales Construction Company, Inc. 6950 Phillips Highway Jacksonville, Florida 32216 904.296.9559

www.MoralesGroup.com


Title Sponsor

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Foster Reeve & Associates, Inc. Architectural & Ornamental Plaster

Historically Elegant Plaster Now In Florida

New York Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn, ny 11222 718.609.0090

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Title Sponsor

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C.F. Knight, Inc. Builder

4202 Ortega Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32210 718.609.0090

www.cfknight.com


The

ABACO RE VIEW

Coming Winter 2012

Sea Salt Sun Architecture Art Photography Poetry Fiction Essays Tories Bahamians Rebels A journal of great writing, great art, and great ideas from the heart of the Caribbean South G.D. Hope Town Abaco, Bahamas

AR

24 Cathedral Place St Augustine, Fl


sponsor information

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î “is event is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors:

Havana Stock Exchan

The

ABACO R EVIE W

Construction Printing & Information Services


Program Sponsors Beasley & Henley Interior Design Casa Monica Hotel C.F. Knight, Builder Cronk Duch Architecture Dr. Ron Dixon, D.M.D. de la Guardia Victoria Architects& Urbanists, Inc. DW Meyers Construction Foster Reeve & Associates Flagler College Book Store Fundaci贸n Amistad Len Weeks Construction & Design LDI Construction Printing Maggi Domini Manning Lumber Morales Construction Company, Inc. Moor & Associates, Architects, P.A. MQ Windows & Doors Panache Salon & Spa St. Johns Cultural Council St. Augustine-Baracoa Friendship Assn. St Augustine Historical Society Tourist Development Council The Abaco Review The American Institute of Architects University of Miami school of architecture


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