Dedication
The Pan American Center was scheduled to be dedicated on April 14, 1965, which was Pan-American Day as well as the 75th Anniversary of the first meeting of the International Union of American Republics (the precursor of the OAS). Instead, a cornerstone ceremony for the site was held on April 24, 1965, attended by representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru, Panama, and Honduras. Dr. William Sanders, assistant secretary general of the OAS placed the stone. The actual dedication took place with equal fanfare on September 4, 1965, and was part of the official 400th anniversary celebrations for the city.
The interpretational narrative of the space changed in the mid-1970s with the approach of the Bicentennial Celebration (1976), and switched to one that highlighted the Franciscan Missions in colonial-era Florida and the lives of indigenous Americans living within that system. Until then, there was a small place in St. Augustine that celebrated the fact that, for 236 years, Florida was part of Latin America, and not just a precursor to the United States.
Sources:
Ledford, Thomas G. “Pan American Center” (Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, St. Augustine, FL, July, 1975.
Newton, Earle. “The Restoration of Spanish Colonial St. Augustine” (Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, St. Augustine, FL, May 7, 1965).
“Program Narrative for Marin-Hassett Exhibits” (Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, St. Augustine, FL, ca. 1976).
“The Inter-American Center of St. Augustine, Florida” (Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, St. Augustine, FL, 1964).