Saint Petersburg in the Tampa Bay

Friday, 25 August 2017 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
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Downtown_Saint_Petersburg © John O'Neill/cc-by-sa-3.0

Downtown Saint Petersburg © John O’Neill/cc-by-sa-3.0

St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County in Florida. The population is at 261,000, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the largest in the state that is not a county seat (the city of Clearwater is the seat of Pinellas County). St. Petersburg is the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. Together with Clearwater, these cities comprise the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area, the second-largest in Florida with a population of around 2.8 million. St. Petersburg is located on a peninsula between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and is connected to mainland Florida to the north. St. Petersburg was founded in 1888 by John C. Williams, who purchased the land, and by Peter Demens, who brought the railroad industry into the area. As a part of a coin toss bet, the winner, Peter Demens, named the land after Saint Petersburg in Russia, while Williams opted to name the first hotel built which was named the Detroit Hotel, both named after their home towns respectively. St. Petersburg was incorporated as a town on February 29, 1892 and re-incorporated as a city on June 6, 1903.

The city is often referred to by locals as St. Pete. Neighboring St. Pete Beach formally shortened its name in 1994 after a vote by its residents. St. Petersburg is governed by a mayor and city council. With an average of some 361 days of sunshine each year, and a Guinness World Record for logging the most consecutive days of sunshine (768 days), it is nicknamed “The Sunshine City”. Due to its good weather and low cost of living, the city has long been a popular retirement destination, although in recent years the population has moved in a much more youthful direction. American Style magazine ranked St. Petersburg its top mid-size city in 2011, citing its “vibrant” arts scene. St. Petersburg has become known and regarded as one of America’s most livable cities.

Saint Petersburg Marina © GPlantam/cc-by-sa-4.0 Al Lang Field Stadium © Franksgiving/cc-by-sa-4.0 Alexander Hotel © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0 Saint Petersburg © flickr.com - Jamie Beverly/cc-by-sa-2.0 Sunshine Skyway from Tampa Bay © Kelly C. Cook Downtown Saint Petersburg © panoramio.com - Richard Mc Neil/cc-by-3.0 Downtown Saint Petersburg © John O'Neill/cc-by-sa-3.0 Bayshore © panoramio.com - Raman Patel/cc-by-3.0 Vinoy Park Hotel © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Downtown Saint Petersburg © panoramio.com - Richard Mc Neil/cc-by-3.0
St. Petersburg is home to more than 100 neighborhoods, with most of the historic districts located near the bay. In the eastern center of the city is Downtown St. Petersburg, which includes the cities residential and commercial skyscrapers, art galleries, museums, and parks. The downtown area is home the central business district to many start-up companies, corporation branches, banks, law firms, and restaurants. Apart from downtown’s business and cultural aesthetics, the area resides a branch of St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Finally, the downtown district is home to two professional sports teams, the Tampa Bay Rays who reside west of downtown at Tropicana Field, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies who are located downtown at Al Lang Stadium. North of Downtown St. Petersburg lies Historic Old Northeast and Snell Isle, both are a place of residence to Mediterranean style historic and waterfront homes, parks, and recreational areas. Old Northeast is also home to a shopping district, city landmarks, beaches, and small shops as well as small residential high rises. Snell Isle however was founded by C. Perry Snell who bought up the land to develop upscale properties in the 1900s, and helped create some of St. Petersburg’s resorts such as the Vinoy Park Hotel and the St. Petersburg Woman’s Club; both of which are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The western side of St. Petersburg includes the Grand Central District and Historic Kenwood. The Grand Central District houses the cities cafes, art galleries, restaurants, and bars all owing to the Renaissance style architecture. Whilst in Historic Kenwood is filled with art studios and galleries similarly to the Grand Central District. Southward to St. Petersburg is Historic Roser Park, which houses Mediterranean style housing, parks, and museums. The neighborhood is divided by Booker Creek which flows into Bayboro Harbor.

The city has a children’s museum (Great Explorations), the Museum of Fine Arts, and will soon host the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement (expected to open in 2017), The St. Petersburg Museum of History (which has a full-size replica of the Benoist XIV seaplane and is located near the approximate spot by the St. Petersburg Pier where the first scheduled commercial flight departed), a Holocaust Museum, and the Salvador Dalí Museum, which houses the largest collection of Dalí’s works outside of Europe, including a number of famous and large-scale paintings such as The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. The Chihuly Collection, located at 400 Beach Drive, houses some of the magnificent glass sculptures of Dale Chihuly. There are also various other smaller art galleries and entertainment venues, especially in the downtown area, which has seen a boom in development since the mid-1990s; these include the Mahaffey Theater complex, American Stage (an equity regional theater), The Coliseum, and Palladium Theatre, and the Midtown Royal Theater, The Arts Center, and the Florida Craftsmen Gallery. The St. Petersburg Pier was a popular tourist attraction, which is now closed since May 2013. In 2010, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to demolish and rebuild the pier, which is set to open in 2018. Downtown is the location of the Sundial shopping complex which opened in May 2014. It contains an IMAX Muvico 20-screen movie theater, as well as many chain restaurants and retail shops, catering to more of a middle and upper class audience. The Sundial St. Pete has nightlife destination, although it is less well attended than the block surrounding Jannus Live, just south of Sundial St. Pete. Central Avenue, from the Yacht Club west to 8th Street, is also both more vibrant and “organic” the Sundial St. Pete with the exception of a couple underdeveloped blocks. Restaurants serving ethnic and domestic culinary specialties can be found throughout the downtown area. Every Saturday morning, from October to May, the downtown area hosts a farmers’ market in the parking area of Al Lang Stadium (formerly Progress Energy Park). Local vendors sell the fruits of their labors (whether edible or decorative) alongside artists of all kinds including live music. West of downtown on Central Avenue is the district known as 600 Block Arts District. The district contains art from Bohemian origins and clothing stores. The eve-N-odd gallery is located in the historic Crislip Arcade built in 1925. The refurbished shopping arcade is one of 13 original city arcades built in the city. Only three are left and only the Crislip arcade is still being used as a place for small businesses to set up shop. Further west is the Grand Central District located within Historic Kenwood District. It is known for its artistic community, LGBT presence, and hosting of the annual St. Pete Pride parade. Haslam’s Bookstore can also be found in the Grand Central District. It is the largest independent bookstore in Florida with over 30,000 square feet. Like its name implies, Old Northeast is adjacent to downtown from the northeast. It is known for its historic status and eclectic architecture. St. Petersburg boasts two historic neighborhoods: Roser Park, located just south of the downtown area, and Grenada Terrace, in the Old Northeast Neighborhood. Both are known for stately architecture and together, comprise the urban core of St. Petersburg. North of downtown is the Great Explorations Children’s Museum, an interactive museum featuring a Children’s Village with giant pretend stores, fire house and pet vet clinic, and preschool, science, music, art, and water exhibits. The museum is located next to Sunken Gardens. 4th Street as a whole, from Downtown up to Gandy Boulevard, is home to many restaurants and bars running the gamut from fast food to haute cuisine. This area is called the “Garden District”, although as of 2010 this name is not widely in use. Boyd Hill Nature Park, located on Lake Maggiore, is a 245-acre (0.99 km2) preserve where one can see many of the endangered plants and rare wildlife of Tampa Bay. There is a bird exhibit which houses bald eagles, owls, hawks, and other species. The area’s main shopping mall is Tyrone Square Mall, constructed in 1972 and is located in the northwestern part of the city.

Read more on City of Saint Petersburg, Visit St. Petersburg / Clearwater, VisitFlorida.com – Saint Petersburg, Wikivoyage Saint Petersburg and Wikipedia Saint Petersburg (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.






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