Neighborhood Partnership	Modified: Dec 31, 2009 01:41 PM

Childs Park

Amenities/character

The Childs Park Neighborhood is centrally located in St. Petersburg along the Clam Bayou Creek that feeds into Boca Ciega Bay. The 18-acre park with basketball courts, tennis courts, playground and community center is a focal point of the neighborhood. The community center offers programs, tutoring and a meeting location for the association. Clam Bayou Creek was recontoured in 1991, which created a greenway through the neighborhood for passive recreation, walking, wildlife uses and scenic views. Childs Park has many mature and recently planted shade trees and is in a high elevation that precludes most flooding problems. There are no traffic problems due to the wide streets and several major corridors through the neighborhood.

Architecture

Childs Park features a mix of residential building practices varying considerably in size and shape. Many are ranch style, concrete block construction with a stucco finish. The neighborhood represents the transition between housing practices of the early and mid 1900s. One section of the neighborhood, Bethwood Terrace, found between 1st and Fairfield Avenues South, features curved streets and a unified development theme. They feature various medallions, shutters, and other decorative features that depict romantic interpretations of Florida wildlife (dolphins, flamingos, sea horses, etc.).

History

The Childs Park subdivision was platted in 1911 by Julius A. and Lysander D. Childs. The remainder of the neighborhood was platted in the teens, 1920s, and 1940s by many persons.

Despite the tremendous real estate boom of the 1920s, few houses were actually constructed in Childs Park. Those built were concentrated along trolley lines that ran on 22nd Avenue South and Central Avenue. The area remained almost rural in nature.

The real estate bust of 1926, the Great Depression of 1929, and the onset of World War II, left Childs Park in a state of flux. Construction in the neighborhood resumed in the 1940s. This period brought with itchanges in the design and construction methods for residential properties. The newer homes were wider to adapt to driveways and garages at the front instead of off the alley. Homes were less formal, often without the front porch typical of older homes. Most homes are often two-bedroom, moderately priced and on small (60 foot wide) lots.

Organizations/programs

The Childs Park Neighborhood Association organized in 1992, and joined the City's Neighborhood Partnership Program as a neighborhood planning area. The association meets the second Monday of the month and board meetings are held the first Monday of the month. Neighborhood security is a concern and crime watches have been started with more to come. Childs Park was one of the first area where residents walk the neighborhood along with motorcycle police officers as part of the Wrice anti-drug effort.

A joint venture between the Public/Private Ventures and the Juvenile Welfare Board has made it possible for the neighborhood to form the following: Youth Sports Academy, tutoring/economic programs for youths from the ages of 14-20, and a partnership with Pinellas Technical Education College (PTEC) and area banks to print and mail the quarterly newsletter.

Neighborhood grant projects

The Childs Park Neighborhood has completed Operation Commitment (a joint venture with the City to implement the neighborhood plan) which looked at recreation, beautification, infrastructure, neighborhood security, housing codes, and land use.

During this process, the following was either completed or started: landscaping major corridors with trees, Trailhead Park built for the Pinellas Trail, streets paved/repaved, sidewalks installed/repaired, crime watches started, RESPECT motorcycle police officers walking the neighborhood with residents, a linear park along Clam Bayou, demolition of unsafe structures, new homes being built, and existing homes being renovated.

The park underwent a major capital improvement with new parking lot, basketball courts, tennis courts, playground, multi purpose green space, and landscaping. The park offers many programs along with a computer lab.

Boundaries

1st to 18th Avenues South from 34th to 49th Streets South.