In February of 1999, a sold-out crowd attended the Palladium Theater’s soft opening featuring the Florida Orchestra performing its Kids-Time Classics concert. Less than a week later, the Ballet Society performed on the Palladium’s new “sprung” stage, designed with rubber padding to cushion dancers’ leaps. Soon after, a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated the official birth of the 903-seat, not-for-profit Palladium Theater. For the community leaders behind the effort, the moment represented the culmination of a decade-long dream to offer the community a low-cost venue for local arts groups. This dream continues to thrive with the help of St. Petersburg College, which purchased the property in 2007. In 2012, the building that continues to house the Palladium was designated as a St. Petersburg historic landmark. It was a proud moment for the Palladium, but the path began long before theater backers dreamed of affordable seats for lovers of the arts.
Sunshine City Church Crowds: “too great for existing church structures”
In early 1925, the St. Petersburg Times noted that 50,000 of the estimated 100,000 people living in St. Pete during the winter season regularly attended church, surpassing national church membership averages by nearly 10 percent. According to the article, these crowds of worshipers were simply “too great for existing church structures.” As a result of the overflowing pews, numerous congregations joined the Sunshine City’s building boom, including First United Methodist, First Christian, Westminster Presbyterian, Temple Grace, and First Church of Christ, Scientist. A preview of the new church planned for the First Church of Christ, Scientist, estimated costs for the upcoming construction at $200,000. The paper noted that the new church was to have the capacity for 1,200 worshippers in its main auditorium and balcony, but its plans didn’t stop there. It would also have three organs, a spacious lobby, check room, Sunday School rooms, and offices. An artist’s rendering showcased the structure’s “beautiful edifice.”
The Romanesque Revival Rage
Designed in the Romanesque Revival Style by architect Henry Lovewell Cheney, the church was inspired by Brunelleschi’s Foundling Hospital in Florence, Italy. Typical features of this style are evident throughout the church, including the terra cotta roof, limestone pillars topped with Corinthian capitals, and vaulted portico ceiling. A Chicago native, Cheney would go on to design several high-profile structures, including the Court of Peace for the 1939 World’s Fair, the original Washington National Airport building, and the historic Miami Beach Post Office. The tiles present throughout the building were the work of an already renowned artisan, Ernest Batchelder. By the time the church was finished, Batchelder’s distinctive work could be found in buildings and homes across the nation.
Built By the Best
Turning the beautiful design into reality was the work of another well-established name: the George A. Fuller Construction Company. Fuller had revolutionized the building industry in the late 19th century with his use of Bessemer steel beams. The substructures made skyscrapers possible and helped spur the upward growth of cities. His company constructed some of the most famous structures in America, including the Flatiron Building (originally known as the Fuller Building), the Rookery Building, the Lincoln Memorial, the New York Times Building, and the Plaza Hotel. Locally, his company was responsible for the Rolyat Hotel, the Jungle Country Club, and the Florida Theater. With an experienced builder like Fuller Construction at the helm, the church went up quickly, and over budget at $250,000. By the fall of 1926, the Times compared it favorably to “any newer church buildings in the south.” It noted that the city’s expansion meant that giant oaks once considered “the finest in Pinellas County” had been thinned to a quarter of their former glory to allow for the rush of new construction, including the new First Church of Christ, Scientist building.
In the Oak Grove
Despite the loss of the oak grove, the 1926 article celebrated the new church as another positive sign of the city’s rapid expansion. “Situated in the center of what was once the most beautiful oak grove in the city, and still surrounded by many beautiful trees, the new First Church of Christ Scientists [at] Fifth avenue and Third street north, presents one of the most imposing fronts among St. Petersburg’s churches,” the story read. For 73 years, the building served its congregation until dwindling attendance led the First Church of Christ, Scientist, to sell it to a group of hopeful art lovers. That fortuitous sale may have saved it for prosperity. Ninety years after the newspaper sang its praises, the historic landmark still presents one of the “most imposing fronts” among the city’s buildings.
Sources available on request.
