Florida winter weather is typically perfect for walking tours and St. Petersburg Preservation’s (SPP) walking tours explore a variety of historic neighborhoods this winter. Tours are offered every Saturday thru April. Tours are free to SPP members and just $10 for non-members. Saturday tours, last approximately two hours and the lunchtime tours last approximately one hour. Tour starting locations vary, depending upon the tour. Tour details, including starting time and location are listed below.
Tour participants see the jewels of St. Pete’s past while learning about the founding of the city and its historic architecture. Tours, times and locations can be verified by checking the SPP website calendar, www.stpetepreservation.org, or by calling (727) 463-4612.
Friday, February 10 & March 3 – Downtown Lunchtime Tour – starts/ends in front of Mickey’s Café & Organics, 318 Central Ave. Tour begins at noon.
This approximately one hour lunchtime tour is led by SPP President & architectural historian Emily Elwyn. Tour goers will get a chance to see some of the best of the city’s architecture, including landmarks like the 1916 Open Air Post Office and the adjacent 1926 Snell Building & Arcade, while being led by a historian offering a unique perspective on the growth of the ‘Burg. The tour offers a great introduction for visitors to downtown St. Pete, showing how the city’s architecture and sense of place contributes to making St. Pete special!
Saturday, February 11- The Waterfront Tour – starts at the corner of 1st St and 1st Ave. S.E., next to the entrance to the Saturday Morning Market (100 1st St. S.E., St. Petersburg 33701). Tour begins at 10 am.
The waterfront has a great history, ranging from being the site of the fountain of youth to the departure point for the world’s first airline. Tour participants will get to visit the fountain of youth and learn about the history of the city, including the civic visionaries who transformed a working waterfront into one of the largest waterfront park systems in the country. In addition to seeing some of the best of the past tour goers will also have a chance to learn about some of the newest buildings gracing the waterfront and what the city has done to encourage good design in those buildings.
Saturday, February 18– Historic Old Northeast Architectural Bingo Tour – starts from Westminster Presbyterian Church, 126 11th Ave. NE. Tour begins at 10 am.
This fun tour offers participants a chance to learn a bit about architecture while looking for some common and not so common architectural features from the neighborhood’s homes that also appear on the bingo cards. The first to find the features and, as in “regular” bingo, complete the row on the bingo card will be the winner (prizes awarded!). It’s a great tour for the kids but architecture bingo is fun for all ages! The Old Northeast is a perfect neighborhood for this tour as it is one of the city’s oldest and contains an eclectic mix of architecturally styled homes.
Saturday, February 18 & March 18 – Historic Gulfport – starts at 3 p.m. at the Gulfport Historical Museum, 5301 28th Ave. S., Gulfport, FL. Tour begins at 3 pm.
The Gulfport tour offers a stroll in the “suburbs” of funky and artsy Gulfport. Tour participants will get a look at this former fishing village on Boca Ceiga Bay and its collection of historic commercial and residential structures, including the National Register listed Gulfport Casino. With the introduction of the streetcar connecting it to St. Pete, Gulfport began to grow and to attract tourists in the 1920’s. The tour will be led by Cathy Salustri, a Gulfport local, author and the arts & entertainment editor for Creative Loafing.
Saturday, February 25 & March 25- Westward Ho to Historic Kenwood – starts/ends at Craftsman House Gallery, 2955 Central Ave. St. Petersburg. Tour begins at 10 am
The tour, led by neighborhood resident guides, is one that young and old can partake to enjoy the feel & character of Historic Kenwood, one of the country’s premier bungalow neighborhoods. Historic Kenwood is a National Register Historic District and is also the city’s first artists enclave district – meaning artists’ studios are now permissible uses within the neighborhood’s historic structures. Tour participants will hear the story about how this traditional neighborhood fell into decline but successfully brought itself back to become one of the city’s most popular & desirable neighborhoods. The tour includes a stop inside one of the neighborhood’s restored bungalows.
Saturday, March 4 – The “Original” Downtown Walking Tour – starts at the corner of 1st St and 1st Ave. S.E., next to the entrance to the Saturday Morning Market (100 1st St. S.E., St. Petersburg 33701). Tour begins at 10 am.
This leisurely stroll explores the “Burg’s central business district and a portion of the St. Petersburg Downtown National Register Historic District. Tour goers will see grand hotels, stately churches, and architectural treasures like the Snell Arcade and the Open Air Post Office while learning the stories behind how the city started (yes, there was an Orange Belt Railroad!) and grew to become one of the country’s leading tourist destinations. The tour will also point out some of the many examples of how historic buildings can be successfully reused today and contribute to keeping St. Pete special.
Saturday, March 11 – Historic Allendale – starts at the Allendale United Methodist Church,3803 Haines Rd. St. Petersburg 33703. Tour starts at 10 am.
It’s Grand Prix weekend and this tour offers a fun alternative to the race. Allendale is a special neighborhood, with large oak trees shading its red brick streets and lined with large homes with stone veneer. Cade Allen platted the neighborhood in the early 1920′s and was one of the few developers of his time to use stone, quarried from Georgia and North Carolina, to help showcase his homes. The tour will take a leisurely stroll through the neighborhood, allowing participants to enjoy it in all of its spring splendor!
Saturday, March 18 – From Central South Downtown Walking Tour – starts in front of the Crislip Arcade, 641 Central Ave., St. Petersburg 33701. Tour starts at 10 am.
With a boom in new apartment construction, a lot is happening as one travels south of Central Ave. in the ‘Burg. Not all historic is being lost, however, and some of the best of the past is leading the way for the rejuvenation of an often overlooked portion of downtown whether it be the former funeral parlor and YWCA building, now repurposed as Rococo Steak, or the historic Tramor Cafeteria now repurposed as the Hofbrauhaus. The tour will start at the 1926 Crislip Arcade, a beautiful historic downtown arcade that was nearly lost to the demolition ball in 2008. From the arcade, tour goers will enjoy a leisurely loop stroll taking in the best of the past in downtown south of Central Avenue while getting a better understanding of what makes St. Pete special.