Down St. George Street at number 46 is the Arrivas House, the first completed restoration project of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, or HSAPB. Named for an early owner, Don Raimundo de Arrivas, this house layers centuries of change you can almost read with your eyes. It is believed that the first building on this property dates back as early as 1650–1680 and was built of ripio, a shell concrete mixture.
That original was replaced around 1725 with a building of coquina. Don Raimundo de Arrivas is listed as the owner on a 1764 map, created as an inventory the Spanish compiled for the British when Florida became a colony of Great Britain. During the British Period the property was placed in the charge of British agent Jesse Fish, and it later reverted to the Arrivas heirs when Spain regained Florida in 1783.
A 1788 map shows the house had evolved into the large L-shaped masonry dwelling very similar to what stands today. From 1824 until 1960 ownership changed over 20 times, bringing architectural changes including the addition of a second story and balconies. Picture the L-shaped masonry gaining its second story and balconies over two centuries.