Back in Miami, at the monastery

After two and a half days in the Keys we returned to Miami for another day and a half before we departed back to reality in St. Louis.

One of the places we made sure to hit was the Ancient Spanish Monastery. Located in North Miami, the Monastery is the oldest structure in the United States. Tycoon William Randolph Hearst was in Spain and came across the building. He love it so much he purchased it and had it broken down, stone by stone and shipped to the United States in 1925. About that time hoof and mouth disease was running rampant and the boxes were broken open and the hay used to keep the stones packed was removed and burned. The workers did not put the same stones back in each of the marked boxes.

The broken down monastery stayed in pieces and in storage until 1952. Heart's financial trouble forced an estate sale and the monastery was purchased by two gentlemen as a tourist attraction. Assembling the monastery took 19 months and over a million bucks. And when they were done putting it together there were pieces left over (but, really, who hasn't been there before?).

In 1964 the Diocese of South Florida purchased the monastery and it has been in its care ever since.

We enjoyed our visit to the impressive structure. It was absolutely beautiful and, as you'll see, very photogenic.

For pictures click HERE.