Only a handful of locals get to see the rarely-spotted angel designs in our city’s architecture. The time these locals spend on rooftops installing the lights that illuminate the historic district is what reveals hidden details that are often lost on passersby. That’s why the company is called “Angels in the Architecture.”
For over twenty years, Chris Fitts and his team have been hanging millions of lights throughout historic St. Augustine. Chris works with Tore Howe, Louie Astorga, and his nephew Mickey Fitts.
After relocating frequently, the Fitts family settled in Jacksonville, where Chris started a personal training career. In 1987, he felt the call of St. Augustine and moved here with his brother, Steve. While here, Chris and Steve have owned multiple companies including a surf shop called Shakka Surfboards, Inc.
But in 1997, Chris told Steve about plans for a hiatus. “It just seemed like days after I told him that, he came to me and said, ‘Chris, I’ve got an opportunity. The city came to me and wanted to know if I would consider forming a company and taking this contract over.'” Steve’s was the winning bid, and Angels in the Architecture was established. “There’s a lot of angels in the architecture around here,” notes Chris of their choice in name, “that…people don’t get the opportunity to see.”
Before his death in 2006, Steve made a request of his brother: “Never let these lights go out…it’s who we are.” Chris has not forgotten those words and says with pride, “It’s my brother’s legacy.”
Visit Angels in the Architecture online at www.facebook.com/AngelsintheArchitechture. Photography by Brian Miller.
