If you hear a faint roar in the middle of the night, don’t panic.
Late Tuesday, January 27, beginning around 11:00 p.m., two marble lions at the Bridge of Lions will be removed — leaving the span without the signature sentinels for up to two years.
The Florida Department of Transportation is temporarily removing the statues while replacing the aging seawall along the Matanzas River.
During the overnight closure, the City’s contractor, LaRue House Movers & Sons, Inc., will remove the lions, Firm and Faithful, and take them to a secure den.
Local artists Joe Segal and Enzo Torcoletti will restore the lions before they return to their rightful perch.
Crafted in 1926 in Florence, Italy, the lions are replicas of the famed Medici lions that flank the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria.
Dr. Andrew Anderson with two miniature medici lions. (Wikimedia Commons)
Commissioned by philanthropist Dr. Andrew Anderson II, a close friend of Henry Flagler, and carved from Carrara marble by renowned sculptor Raffaello Romanelli, the lions were gifted to the city.
Though Anderson died before their installation, the statues were placed at the bridge’s entrance in 1927 and quickly became a beloved part of St. Augustine’s singular identity.
The Bridge of Lions, completed the same year, was named in their honor and later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
This is not the first time the lions have left their posts. They were previously removed in 2005 during a major bridge restoration project and returned in 2011, a city rep said in a statement.
The Bridge of Lions will reopen to traffic in the early hours of Wednesday, January 28, around 5:00 a.m.