Oldest House reopening

SAINT AUGUSTINE – Officials of the Oldest House Museum Complex have issued the following statement:

“We have made the decision to re-open the Oldest House Museum Complex.
“We have carefully constructed a reopening plan that prioritizes the safety of our community and staff.
“As COVID-19 remains to be a dynamic situation, we are adjusting our operating hours and procedures. In order to ensure safety for all parties, staff will have their temperatures taken at the beginning of every shift and will wear masks. We will be open on weekends (Friday-Sunday) from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We will provide guided, socially distanced tours at a 50% capacity. Guests will be required to wear masks while in our museum spaces.
“At this time, we plan to open the St. Augustine Historical Society Research Library during the week of June 23rd. Appointments will be required. There will only be a limited number of patrons allowed in the building. Patrons will be required to wear masks in the library. More information regarding the reopening of the library will be released at a later time. 
 “We were fortunate enough to apply and receive aid from the Paycheck Protection Program which enabled us to retain all staff members and docents. During this time, we also applied and received a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. Funding has been provided to the St. Augustine Historical Society from the National Endowment for the Humanities through a grant from the Florida Humanities as a part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. These aid packages allowed us to carry out our mission to preserve and interpret St. Augustine and its sphere of influence during our public closure.
 “We understand this is a challenging time for many members in our community and we remain committed to documenting and archiving your experiences through our COVID19 collection effort. We greatly appreciate your emails, social media comments, and continued support.”