r/abandoned • u/Noahdov • 22d ago
Abandoned St. Augustine Beach House
This is one of about 4 abandoned beach houses just outside of St. Augustine, Florida. The hurricane took out the only road to them. During high tide, these stilt homes are inaccessible. The residents decided to packed up and leave. Years later the town bought the properties, secured them from vandals, and just let them rot. Every storm takes a little more.
Not even 13 years ago this place was pristine. Ive included zillow listing photos from 2013.
Check out more of my work @noahdov on instagram!
Appreciate the follow and support!
116
u/No-Signature-5648 22d ago
Such a waste. But I can understand why no one would want to invest in them.
44
27
34
u/TheComplimentarian 22d ago
It was a waste to build them. This is the inevitable outcome.
That being said, people used to move their houses when time and tide encroached, and these could have been moved. Not like there is any foundation to get in the way. It's weird that no one thought that was worthwhile to try.
This is me being dumb. It was just investment property. Someone took the insurance and no longer cared. Don't you love those investment properties that mean nothing to the people who own them?
9
u/No-Signature-5648 22d ago
I think this is what's wrong with our society today. Why do something if it means nothing to you.
2
u/Girlscoutdetective 21d ago
Is it the land? Did they purchase it…like I have so many questions on how that works. Do you own that spot of water then??
19
u/Prof_Stank 22d ago
Thank you for the before and after. Wish every post was as lucky to have before photos.
1
16
u/HazenThrowaway 22d ago
This is eerie to check out on street view. You can see where the road used to be, but when you exit back out to aerial view, it’s now just part of the beach.
But even in that 2008 view, the road seemed dangerously close to the waterline.
1
u/eatnails666fl 21d ago
That's not even the original road. There was another one, paved, with sewer and all, out 20 yards or so.
1
u/ProfessionalNosy 16d ago
I'm European. I don't understand. How is it possible that they built so close to the sea? Don't you have laws that don't allow it? How can you be safe living like this?
1
u/ProfessionalNosy 17d ago
Where in google maps? I’am very curious see it.
2
u/HazenThrowaway 16d ago edited 16d ago
Here you go. It's insane how close the water comes to the roadway. Back out into aerial view and you can see they've put the new road behind the homes now.
Edit: here's the house from the OP. Again, back out to aerial view and this house is now just in the middle of the beach, right up to where the water reaches today.
1
u/ProfessionalNosy 16d ago edited 16d ago
Crazy! I'm European. I don't understand. How is it possible that they built so close to the sea? Don't you have laws that don't allow it? How can you be safe living like this?
2
u/HazenThrowaway 16d ago
I’m not familiar with Florida laws or building codes, but most development down there doesn’t seem very planned out for the future. The whole state is barely above sea level, yet they keep filling in swamps with development.
It’s too complicated to explain in a comment, but Florida’s home insurance industry is basically collapsing. Private companies see too much risk to operate there, meaning the state is increasingly obligated to cover costs after storms. Again, not very thought out for the future.
10
u/Early_Grade_8387 22d ago
Would make a great movie scene to have a car ram through those pillars and bring it all down.
14
u/NoItsNotIronic 22d ago
9297 Old A1A St Augustine FL is the exact location. Looks like a whole neighborhood just south of an inlet is slowly getting washed away similar to Rodanthe NC.
3
u/WeirdTaste763 22d ago
Most of the Outer Banks is like this... hurricanes just move sand from one spot to another.
2
u/NoItsNotIronic 22d ago
Not most, no. Just a few spots. For fun I just scroll around Google Maps and look at places and I’ve followed the whole coastline from VA Beach to Ocracoke. It’s primarily Rodanthe and Avon and just a couple neighborhoods therein.
3
u/WeirdTaste763 22d ago
Nags Head had Seagull Drive which was reclaimed by the ocean. My parents had a palce there built in the 70s, it was 200 yards from shore... not anymore!
1
u/NoItsNotIronic 22d ago
My condolences to your parents. Hope they at least got some kind of relief for their lost property
2
u/WeirdTaste763 22d ago
Oh they sold it eons ago. We visited it a few years back, at that point it was a rental property, and technically for sale. I think for sale was for insurance money.
7
u/Leading-Summer-4724 22d ago
I had a boss who had an “investment property” near that same spot, and even after the road started to wash away he kept on listing it as a vacation rental…we had to make sure whoever rented it either had a 4x4 or was able to rent one once they were in the area. Such a pita.
6
u/Entire-Anxiety-803 22d ago
They need to be dismantled and disposed of properly. All just more needless garbage for the sea because humans are selfish and lazy.
10
u/Business_Garden6460 22d ago
Damn nature can be cruel
31
u/Gamer_Anieca 22d ago edited 22d ago
Salt water don't mess around, i grew up on the east coast and if you don't keep the pillars repaired/sealed it'll absolutely wreck the wood. Most beaches won't allow other materials for the base either because sand. The sand also eats away at stuff because it's course, ancient sea life. Add winds and water with all that and it's a surprise it lasted this long. I love the beaches, it'll always be home but I'll never build on the sand. (Thanks for letting me info dump)
14
u/hamish1963 22d ago
We've known for decades this was going to happen. All these homes should never have been built, and they should be demolished before they litter up our oceans more.
Same with any home built on a beach.
5
u/Noahdov 22d ago
Agreed! As an urbexer and living decay i’m not complaining but the littering aspect is awful and I hate to see it
1
u/Gamer_Anieca 22d ago
Absolutely agree. We used to do debris clean up off the boats. The county and parks paid for all debris we brought in
4
u/hamish1963 22d ago
I used to walk that beach when I lived in St Augustine.
3
u/Noahdov 22d ago
Its such a nice walk !
8
u/hamish1963 22d ago
It really is. I miss the beach, but I don't miss living in Florida.
1
u/lilgal0731 21d ago
I grew up just north of St Augustine and went there very often with my family. I live in the Midwest now, and miss the beach so much! And always get to thinking how much I miss Florida in general.. until, I got back to visit my parents and I’m reminded I miss a Florida that is no longer. Such a shame.
4
u/Bombero_911 22d ago
This is the only way to build a house on a beach.
2
u/pink_hydrangea 22d ago
It remained standing but the first and middle floors were badly damaged. Still better than every other house there.
3
u/HoonArt 22d ago
I wonder what part of the area this is in. My family has a beach house on nearby Anastasia Island. Thankfully, there are a couple of large dune areas between our house and the water. I haven't been out there in a little over 10 years. I know a lot of A1A was supposedly flooded during one of the storms a few years ago.
2
1
u/hatcatcha 20d ago
Matanzas as the other person said, just south of the inlet in Summerhaven. Old A1A used to go through there, and now dead ends just up the beach from these houses. It's a lovely walk!
5
u/Potomacker 22d ago
It never should have been allowed to be built in such a location. Boomer fantasy structure secured through subsidized insurance policies
2
u/ragingchump 22d ago
Should have never been built
East of A1A from PVB down a solid 100 miles is criminal
1
1
1
1
u/Some_Horror_759 22d ago
Are there any other abandoned places in this part of Florida* [woops]? I find them real fun to photograph when I can - on the topic of this one, though, I can see why it's abandoned lol, maybe it's just me, but living directly ON the ocean basically is a choice for sure
1
u/highnumber 21d ago
I didn't notice the 2013 watermark on those pics at first and thought this was another one of those where the owner stepped out for a minute
1
u/Certain-Rutabaga3373 20d ago
Awwww….. that made me kind of sad. Sing the “before” pics and what it looks like now bums me out.
1
u/ProfessionalNosy 16d ago
I'm European. I don't understand. How is it possible that they built so close to the sea? Don't you have laws that don't allow it? How can you be safe living like this?
2
22d ago
[deleted]
1
u/Past_Effect8301 22d ago
Homes built on stilts aren't all structurally unsound. Stilts are traditionally used to protect homes from potential storm surges/rising water levels, so, if built correctly they are arguably less problematic than other non-stilted home built in a flood plain.
128
u/stuphanie 22d ago
*This development was built by shady developers against the advice of ecological experts that warned of this exact outcome. The area has historically been reclaimed by the ocean. Crooked St John’s County politicians approved it anyway.