Aaaargh! St. Augustine to get new Pirate Museum/Attraction

[blizz01]

- by November - Break out the cheese!  Exciting, but I'm still gonna miss those Indians that I posed with in countless pictures in front of Teepee Town  ..............Man, I am a sucker for tourist traps!

Pirate Soul Museum relocating to St. Augustine
http://www.piratesoul.com/
The pirates are coming. 
The Pirate Soul Museum, which has been in Key West since 2004, is moving to St. Augustine. Work has already begun on the building that used to house Teepee Town and the Christmas Shop, right across Florida A1A from Castillo de San Marcos.
Pat Croce, museum owner and former owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, said he’s aiming to be open by Nov. 1. (“With a ribbon slashing,” he said.)
“Families and kids love the museum,” Croce said, “but there’s just not enough of them in Key West. It’s a long drive down there.
“If I’m going to be someplace else,” he said, “I’d want it to be a place that honors its history and heritage. On top of that, it’s been attacked by pirates.”
Croce said he’s been collecting pirate bounty for three decades and that museum is a mix of his 500 authentic items and interactive exhibits.
There are only two original Jolly Roger flags, he said, and he owns one of them. He has Capt. Kidd’s 1699 journal for his last voyage and the first wanted poster for a pirate: 500 pounds silver for the head of Henry Every.
The interactive exhibits, some of which are being built by Disney, include loading and firing a cannon and ship’s deck that rocks with the movement of the captain wheel.
Below deck, he said, the candles go out “And you experience Blackbeard’s death. You swear you’re going to get your own throat cut.”
Admission charges for the Key West museum are $13.50 for adults and $7 for ages 10 and younger.
Jay Humphreys, spokesman for the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra and the Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, said that Pirate Soul is the top pirate museum in the world and a coup for the city.
“I don’t think they were courted by the city at all,” Humphreys said. “To Pat Croce, I don’t think there’s a better location in the United States. And it’s one of the few places in America where you can look out the window and see where pirates attacked the city.”
The museum is a block away from the Spanish Quarter, where the city plans to build a new museum dedicated to the history of St. Augustine. It’s expected to be dedicated in 2015, in time for the city’s 450th anniversary.

http://jacksonville.com/business/2010-02-22/story/pirate_soul_museum_relocating_to_st_augustine

[Sportmotor]

ninjas are better

[blizz01]

Seems like Pirates & Ghosts have become big business for historic towns over the last decade.

[Jason]

^ You got that right!  And I'll miss the indians too.

Still, looks like it could be an interesting collection.  I'd love to see one of the remaining Jolly Roger flags.

Talk like a pirate day will be a much bigger deal now!

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

[copperfiend]

I think this is great news for St Aug

[jandar]

Perfect for St Augustine. There is a rich pirate history of this area anyway. Why not exploit it and the tourists.

[blizz01]

I wonder if history will one day allow for modern day (i.e. Somali) pirates to garner so much respect....... 

[Jason]

They don't wear the cool outfits, have peg legs, pet parrots, or sweet accents.  I don't count them as TURE pirates. 

[copperfiend]

Or a ride at Disneyland.

[samiam]

Now if only Jacksonville would exploit there French history and bring Marti Gras here that would be a money maker.

[British Shoe Company]

What kind of movies do pirate's like?

[blizz01]

Aaaar Rated!

[samiam]

What is a Pirate's favorite movie series?

[samiam]

STARRRRRR WARRRRRRS!

[Sportmotor]

that was a stretch lol