History

During the Roaring 20s, downtown St. Petersburg was already booming with development and had a thriving business and shopping district. Meanwhile, west St. Petersburg was still filled with palmetto scrub and wild animals such as raccoons and armadillos. But beautiful Boca Ciega Bay attracted the notice of several prominent developers of the time. F. A. Davis, a Philadelphia publisher, first saw the potential in the west end of St.Petersburg. He had big plans for the neighborhood and promised that future development would be "The Gem of All Florida Development". Over the years, the neighborhood properties went through several hands including Jacob Disston, H. Walter Fuller, and "handsome" Jack Taylor. Davis knew the key to developing this end of the city would be the trolley, which ran through other parts of the city. By 1917, the trolley line crossed Central Avenue north to Park Street to the current site of Saffron's Restaurant. Nearby large hotels, including the Jungle Club (Admiral Farragut), the Roylant (Stetson University College of Law), and the Sunset Hotel, inspired "pioneers" to move into the area. Soon after World War II, the area became a haven for homes for returning soldiers; new development continued through the 1960s.

Architecture

Our neighborhood has a wide variety of architectural styles found through St.Petersburg. A home built in the 1920s may be situated between one constructed in the mid 1990s and another built in the mid 1940s. Davis, the Fullers and Taylor left a legacy of larger than average lot sizes, mature trees, brick streets, granite curbs, and original sidewalks. Several of the houses still occupy double lots. The styles include, but aren't limited to, colonials, Dutch colonials, ranch, Florida "cracker", Mediterranean, Spanish, arts and crafts, and bungalows. The neighborhood has retained almost all of the original brick streets.

Association

The Park Street Neighborhood Association was formed in the 1990s. Many neighbors purchased properties in the area to be close to family (several extended families live within a few blocks of each other, because they wanted houses with the tall windows, hardwood floors, and fireplaces, which are common in classic old homes). But the neighborhood itself seems to be the biggest attraction. It has the feel of a traditional community with Central Avenue shopping and Pasadena Fundamental School within walking distance. Our association is a small one in comparison with some others in the city by choice. It allows concerns to be handled very informally and quickly. We received City Council approval of the concept plan to redevelop the Central Avenue business district. This has a far-reaching goal of improving the infrastructure of the area along Central Avenue from 66th Street to Boca Ciega Bay, thereby encouraging business and redevelopment along the corridor. This strategy is new for all parties, and we hope over the years, it will be an improvement for the neighborhood as well as the business community.

Boundaries

Our association is encompasses the area from 1st Avenue South to 5th Avenue North and the Pinellas Trail west to include Park Street.