González-Alvarez House (The Oldest House)

The land at 14 St. Francis Street has been occupied since the 17th century. The house standing there today dates to around 1723, when Tomás González y Hernández — an artilleryman at the Castillo de San Marcos — and his family built the coquina first floor. English owners later added a wood-frame second story; a third family enlarged it further with a coquina wing. The St. Augustine Historical Society has owned the building since 1918. It is believed to be the oldest surviving house in St. Augustine, and possibly the oldest standing Spanish-built residence in the United States.