St. Pete Museum of History has a mission “to share Florida’s stories as the hub of scholarship and learning – to inspire, entertain, and promote civic engagement.” It’s no small order, but the museum makes it happen through thoughtful, creative exhibits, special events, and various history tours. One newer offering is a history lesson by boat titled, Liquid to Land: Discover St. Pete’s Waterfront History. This tour, touted as the city’s only historic boat tour, is in partnership with the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center, dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the bay’s natural habitats. Liquid to Land promises to take guests back in time while experiencing the beautiful nature of Tampa Bay and its shorelines. … Read More

It started in 1962, when she first arrived in St. Petersburg. And soon she became a familiar sight to thousands. With her bird-pecked straw bonnet, cautious eyes, three-wheeled bike, and flocks of gulls and sparrows clamoring for sustenance in her wake, Esther Wright was known to all as “The Bird Lady.” 

 For her love of the local fauna, Wright was featured in a number of national television programs, including Charles Kuralt’s CBS News feature On the Road, and the children’s program, Kid’s World. But few knew she was also an accomplished artist.

 Wright was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on October 15, 1898.… Read More

If you had seen this silver-haired senior lady walking around the Northeast Shopping Center in the early 1990s, you would have never guessed she was a famous wing-walker, aerobat, and pilot.

It all started in 1928. Jessie Schultz was bored that summer at her parents’ farm in rural Ulysses, Kansas – that is until she met and eloped with charming barnstormer pilot Jimmie Woods. With just enough clothes stuffed into her violin case, she flew off into the clouds with him and never looked back.

They flew back to Wichita where Jimmy had a job at the Swallow Factory selling airplanes and ferrying them to buyers, but they also made extra income from barnstorming – entertaining crowds with novelty flights.… Read More

A century ago, St. Petersburg was in the midst of a massive real estate boom. Empty lots changed hands multiple times a day and developers took large groups of visitors on bus tours to inspect the newest neighborhoods. Snell Isle was taking shape, but the area beyond Perry Snell’s development was considered a wild and distant place. The first house in Shore Acres sold in 1923, and on March 4 of this year, residents celebrated their neighborhood’s centennial with the dedication of the new Shore Acres Rec Center followed by a 1920s-themed block party. Attendees clamored for seats on a historic trolley tour, highlighting the lesser-known, but fascinating, history of Shore Acres. … Read More

As my husband and daughter ride their bikes to the closest SunRunner stop every Tuesday evening (read more here), I find myself lamenting the loss of St. Petersburg’s streetcar system, a line of which once ran from Coffee Pot Bayou to downtown, along Locust Street, passing our house on 17th Ave NE. I frequently come across references to the trolley, or streetcar line (terms used interchangeably here in St. Pete and elsewhere), when I’m researching historic homes in newspaper archives. Proximity to the line was a popular selling point for houses, and phrases like, “three blocks from car line” abound in old real estate advertisements.… Read More

I recently had occasion to watch Stanley Kramer’s 1960 classic film Inherit the Wind, about the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial.” Frederic March plays William Jennings Bryan, defending the Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools. Spencer Tracey plays Clarence Darrow, defending the high school teacher John T. Scopes, who is charged with violating the law. Bryan, known as the “Great Commoner,” was a three-time presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket and served for two years as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State. Darrow was perhaps the most famous trial lawyer of the time.

This summer marks the 97th anniversary of that historic trial, one that has surprising St.… Read More

This year, St. Petersburg welcomes new Mayor Ken Welch, but he’s not the first member of the Welch family to play a starring role in this city’s government. David T. Welch was Mayor Welch’s father and a three-time city council member. Welch was first elected to the city council in 1981, making him the second African American council member in the city’s history. (The first was C. Bette Wimbish in 1969.) As an accountant, he owned Welch Tax Services and Accounting on 16th Street South and served as assistant director of fiscal affairs at St. Petersburg Vocational Technical Institute. He sang in the choir and taught Sunday school at Prayer Tower Church of God in Christ where his brother, Clarence, was pastor.… Read More

Many birds in St. Petersburg were on the verge of extinction in the late 1800s. This was because their feathers had become unbelievably valuable. For example, the snowy egret’s fluffy mating feathers fetched thirty-two dollars an ounce – the same as the price of gold. Feathers had become quite fashionable, especially when displayed on women’s hats. The throat pouches of pelicans were made into tobacco pouches. There was even a market for wild bird eggs. The killing of birds for their feathers had become an industry for many hunters. And one of the most notorious of these was Jean Chevelier.

Take a stroll around the Mirror Lake neighborhood and soak in the beauty and history of the area, as well as the unique architecture of the buildings. The neighborhood is rich in 1920s-era architecture and a feast for the eyes. Styles include Beaux Arts, Masonry Vernacular, Mediterranean Revival, Modern, and Moorish. More recent buildings include the modernist Judicial Building, the Sebring State Offices, and Wannemacher-Jensen Architects.

Mirror Lake itself is the only lake downtown and believed to be part of a string of ancient lakes that also includes Crescent Lake. The lakes offered Native Americans a source of fresh water long before Europeans arrived.… Read More

StPete2050 is a city-government-initiated visioning process to explore and create a picture of what St. Pete should look like 30 years from now. It’s an update of the 2020 visioning process that took place 20 years ago. StPete2050 will result in significant revisions to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations (LDRs). They are two of the city’s most important ordinances.

The Comprehensive Plan establishes policies related to growth management and preservation of the city’s character. Specific sections of the plan address future land use, conservation, coastal management, transportation, housing, recreation and open-space, infrastructure, historic preservation, and public school facilities.… Read More