The St. Augustine Beach Hotel, facing the Atlantic Ocean. A coquina brick building, two stories, with a series of coquina pillars north.

Waves of Change Exhibit

Outdoor exhibit commemorating Civil Rights.

Waves of Change Exhibit

Established by the St. Johns County Cultural Council, this outdoor exhibit consists of five plaques. Each plaque is posted on a coquina pillar alongside the north-facing wall of the St. Augustine Beach Hotel.

History of the St. Augustine Beach Hotel

Built in 1940, the St. Augustine Beach Hotel was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a part of their initiative called the “St. Augustine Auxiliary Pier Project.”

At this time, St. Augustine Beach and the St. Augustine Beach Hotel were segregated for “Whites Only.” African Americans were not allowed to enjoy the ocean or amenities here, having to travel to Butler Beach, American Beach, or Daytona Beach instead.

Civil Rights & St. Augustine Beach Wade-Ins

Along with segregated lunch counters and hotels, activists also utilized the segregated St. Augustine Beach as a space to protest against segregation.

In the early 1960s, national media coverage and the presence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. catapulted St. Augustine into notoriety — indeed, Dr. King called it “a little Birmingham.” The movement here was integral to the passing of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act.

On June 25th, 1964, local and visiting activists staged several “Wade-Ins” here, wherein they integrated the beach in large groups.

A standoff between segregationists and integrationists took place and blows were exchanged. Eventually the authorities violently intervened and jailed people from both groups.

A multi-racial group of people in swimwear, standing in the water at a beach in the 1960s
Footage of June 25 1964 shows the confrontation between protestors and segregationists. Image courtesy of Library of Congress.

St. Augustine’s First Ballet Studio

The exhibit also touches on the arts & culture of St. Augustine. The ground floor of the St. Augustine Beach Hotel was the home of Leonard’s Ballet Theater, opened in 1958.

St. Johns Cultural Council (SJCC)

The St. Johns Cultural Council is a county organization that supports local arts organizations through grants and programming.

In 2001, the SJCC began leasing the St. Augustine Beach Hotel from the City of St. Augustine Beach in hopes of restoring the hotel and commemorating its history. More than $1.25 million has been invested into restoring this structure.

In 2022, the St. Augustine Beach Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. As of the Waves of Change Exhibit’s opening in 2024, the St. Augustine Beach Hotel is the only National Register listing in St. Johns County that earned its accreditation based on its Civil Rights history.

Learn more about the Waves of Change Exhibit on the Cultural Council’s website.