Elsbeth "Buff" Gordon

Elsbeth Buff Gordon

Elsbeth Gordon has written and illustrated several volumes published by University Press of Florida about Florida’ s historic architectural landscape and why it is sacred to the nation’s and Florida’s identity and heritage. The first volume, Florida’s Colonial Architectural Heritage, spans building activities from 1565 to 1821 (and won the Book Award, Society of Architectural Historians. The second, Heart and Soul of Florida: Sacred Sites and Historic Architecture, spans 8,000 years of the State’s building heritage divided into three cultural periods, Indian, Spanish and British Colonial, and Territorial-Statehood. Her third book, Walking St. Augustine: An Illustrated Guide and Pocket History to America’s Oldest City (2015), is the story of St. Augustine from 1565 to today, building by building in color illustrations in the heart of what was once the “walled colonial city.” She also authored and recorded the Florida Humanities Council’s audio walking tours of St. Augustine, and articles in Forum and El Escribano. Currently she is a Trustee (Board of Trustees) of the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum and Chair of Collections; Board member and past Vice President of the St. Augustine Archaeological Association; and Research Associate, Historic St. Augustine Research Institute. She is a former member of the Board of Directors, Mission San Luis, Tallahassee, and past President of Board of Advisors, University of Florida Performing Arts, and Board member of Florida Museum of Natural History. Before her contracts with University Press of Florida, she restored a number of Florida buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and designed and sculpted the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial for the city of Gainesville. She lives in St. Augustine.