William F. Rolleston

William F. Rolleston (b. 1912) was the vice president and general manager of Marineland, Florida, and secretary-treasurer of the St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission from 1959-1960. The St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission went on to become the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board in 1970, which restored and reconstructed buildings in downtown St. Augustine, Florida.
Career
The Secretary of the State of Florida appointed William F. Rolleston a member of the St. Augustine Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission on August 7, 1959, an office he accepted a few days later. Rolleston was one of the first members of the Preservation Commission, an organization that would work toward restoring downtown St. Augustine in anticipation of the city's 400th anniversary. Governor LeRoy Collins had a hand in choosing these first members, including Leonard Usina and William Sims. The restoration group had a budget of $50,000 for their first year in existence. Rolleston traveled to New Orleans to educate himself on historic preservation and zoning in the Vieux Carre.
Rolleston was elected an Honorary Member of the St. Augustine Historical Society in October 1959, following his appointment to the Preservation Commission. Rolleston was instrumental in recruiting historian Earle Newton, who was then director of the Museum of Art, Science, & Industry in Bridgeport, Connecticut, as supervisor of the restoration of St. Augustine in December 1959. Rolleston was present as the Preservation Commission sought to negotiate their first purchase of the Arrivas House, on St. George Street, in March 1960, which turned out to be a drawn out and arduous process. The plans to restore St. Augustine and Rolleston's role with the Preservation Commission were recognized by the New York Times in early 1960. An entire team of historians, consultants, and archaeologists had been recruited to work alongside Rolleston, who continued on as general manager of Marine Studios at Marineland.
William Rolleston resigned from his post as secretary-treasurer in September 1960, stating that he lacked the time to dedicate to the Commission. In 1975 he was involved with the St. Augustine Restoration Foundation, Inc, another preservation organization, later acquired by the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board.
Marineland
In 1954, following the February release of the film Creature from the Black Lagoon, parts of which were filmed in Palatka, Florida and Wakulla Springs, Florida, William Rolleston wrote to Universal-International to obtain a copy of the film script so Marineland could verify the scientific resources used. He later complained about the dialogue used to describe the "fish man."
Rolleston was listed as being an Industry Statesman for the Florida Attractions Association, an organization established in 1949, from the years 1955-1957.

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