The city of Treasure Island will undertake two major projects in the future, including restoration of the city’s master pump station (2025) and building a new public safety building (2027). The new City Hall will open in 2024, housing the City Commission chambers, City Hall departments, public works administration and display historical photos and artifacts. There will be rentable spaces for recreation classes, events, and kitchen facilities. The city bought the building in 2020, and the project took longer than expected but is nearing completion.
Downtown Treasure Island is getting more parking as the retail/restaurant center on the south side of the clock tower on 107th Ave. has been demolished and the businesses there moving across the street or to other neighborhoods. The Pearl moved to Gulfport more than a year ago and ReMax Metro is at the entrance to the Pasadena Yacht & Country Club; the barbershop is now on the north side of the clock tower. The owner of Vine and Grind has purchased the privately owned and operated post office and bookstore on the north side of the clocktower from Rich Libero. Site spokesperson Gail Byrne says southside property will become a parking lot for the near future, until conditions are more favorable for redevelopment. Learn more at www.mytreasureisland.org.
Treasure Island’s main attraction is shelling and sunning on the wide beaches and it’s a popular destination for kite-flyers with an annual kite festival 1/13-1/14. You can rent paddle boards, kayaks and shaded cabanas and kids enjoy the giant inflatable water slides just west of the beach parking lot at 104th Ave. In November, the Annual Sanding Ovations Master’s Cup features master sand sculptors from around the world. This community is eco-friendly and a little hippie-dippie, with a Sunday drum circle and an ordinance banning smoking or vaping in the beaches or city parks. Recreation is big here including golf at the city’s Treasure Bay Golf & Tennis, tennis at Rosselli Park, home to the John Morroni Memorial Dog Park on Isle of Capri and boating from local ramps nestled in the fingers. There are dozens of fitness classes around town. Drink and dine at Sloppy Joe’s in The Bilmar Beach Resort, Crabby’s on the Pass, Tiki Woo Woo in the Thunderbird, Ricky T’s, Caddy’s on Sunset Beach, Sea Dog Brewing Co., VIP Lounge, or the Taco Bus. For casual fine dining and wines, check out Middle Grounds Grill or BRGR Kitchen + Bar in the chic Treasure Island Beach Resort. Shop for beach essentials and souvenirs at Sun Coast Surf Shop, Florida Shell Shop and Surf Style. For iconic gifts and special occasions, visit Diny’s Jewelers near the clock tower.
History The early settlers of Treasure Island, after the Great Gale of 1848 and the Civil War, were mostly fisherman, hunters and the occasional pirate or smuggler. In 1908 Treasure Island welcomed its first landowner, Tom Pierce, who bought the island for $1.25 an acre. Other early landowners were Whitey Harrell, who was quick to realize the possibilities Treasure Island had to offer and in 1915 built Treasure Island’s first hotel, The Coney Island, on the east side of Surf Avenue (now Gulf Boulevard) near 100th Avenue. Whitey’s Coney Island Hotel unwittingly played a role in naming Treasure Island. In 1918, a fellow named Bill McAdoo wanted to generate interest in land he owned on St. Pete Beach. McAdoo, along with friend Ed Brantley and two guests from the Coney Island, “discovered” buried treasure on the beach (treasure McAdoo and Brantley had buried the night before). Subsequent publicity resulted from the two guests spreading the word about their discovery and people began calling the area around the hotel “out at that Treasure Island.” The direct link from St. Petersburg to Treasure Island came in 1939 with the Treasure Island Causeway, which brought unprecedented development after World War II. The four towns of Treasure Island, Boca Ciega, Sunshine Beach and Sunset Beach incorporated as The City of Treasure Island on May 3, 1955. Source: The Treasure Island Story by Bonnie L. Williams