Celebrating Local Legacies

A business doesn’t have to last for 50-plus years to make an impression on a community, but reaching that milestone certainly qualifies for celebration! Plus, from their opening days to the present day, these longtime entities have helped define and shape St. Petersburg.

A Town is Born, 1892-1900

Incorporated in 1892, at 300 people, St. Petersburg was the largest community on the Pinellas Peninsula, prompting the West Hillsborough Times to move its operation from Clear Water Harbor and begin publishing as the St. Petersburg Times (today’s Tampa Bay Times). Proudly boasting of the town’s sidewalks, electric street lights, and telephones, the Times also reported when the town set speed limits for trains and horses, regulated saloons and banned hogs from running wild in the streets. By 1900, nearly 1,600 people had settled in what had become the most urbane town on the peninsula. Only vestiges remained of the sparsely settled frontier village, and the new century promised even more change. As the longest-running entity on the Legacy list, the Times still reports on those changes.

A Town Becomes a Sunshine City, 1900-1920

Popular wisdom pointed to port-centered industrialization as the surest route to 20th century prosperity, but some city boosters imagined a different path. Banking on tourism as an economic engine, the Board of Trade (today’s Chamber of Commerce), with support from the Times, pushed for preservation of “the natural and recreational amenities of the city including the waterfront park system” rather than an expanded industrial port. Controversial at the time, this path ultimately proved to be successful. Designated a public park in 1910, the waterfront and nearby Sunken Gardens, another spot of natural beauty founded during this period, were (and remain) wildly popular. The addition of La Plaza Theatre, the Mirror Lake Carnegie Library, and what is now the Morean Arts Center assured that the city’s “recreational amenities” would expand beyond nature.

The Sunshine City Booms and Builds, 1920-1930

By 1920, 14,000 people called St. Petersburg home. Few could have imagined the new roads ahead as the city entered a decade of rapid expansion. The boom of the 1920s was characterized by the rapid growth of population, tourism, construction and land speculation. As surveyors and engineers, George F. Young Engineering played an important part in this process as the city limits expanded from 11 square miles to 53. Afterall, full-timers needed places to live, and both tourists and residents wanted places to go. New neighborhoods were established during this time, including Allendale, Euclid, Snell Island, Granada Terrace, and (due to codified segregation) 22d Street S. The city also gained the Coliseum, the Manhattan Casino, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Million Dollar Pier before the land boom collapsed in 1928.

And then Booms and Builds Again, 1930-1960

That slowdown didn’t last long. Even before the Great Depression was over, things in St. Petersburg had picked back up. By 1960, the population had grown to 180,000, and tourism thrived. As building resumed, Harvard Jolly Architecture proved vital to helping shape the look of St. Pete, including the award-winning Williams Park bandshell and the inverted pyramid of the Municipal Pier. The steady stream of new home owners and renters wanting to update, remodel or newly furnish their spaces depended on newly established small local businesses such as Rayco Upholstery, Beyersdorf Wallpaper, Johnson Upholstery, Furniture Workshop and Herbach Rattan Furniture. Then, and now, these local businesses can help turn a house or apartment into a home.

And Chooses the Road!

In 1908, only 22 cars struggled to navigate the few existing roads, while trolley tracks continued to expand. By the time Gandy Bridge connected Tampa and St. Pete in 1924, cars had emerged as the clear winner. In response, the city spent millions of dollars building and paving roads; even the Million Dollar Pier was open to automobiles. As the number of cars increased, so did the need for service. In 1947, Bob Lee’s and Dodwin-Singer launched to meet that need. A year later, Goodyear Rubber opened as a source for replacement parts. Seventy years later, they’re still doing the job! By the 1950s, St. Pete’s devotion to driving prompted the removal of the trolley tracks as more bridges and the interstate opened the city to the rest of Florida.

Let’s Take a Drive

New and improved roads within offered new destinations. During the Great Depression, families could cruise down Central Avenue to buy a book at Haslam’s and take a quick break at Coney Island for a nickel hot dog before heading downtown to see their attorney at the law office of Fisher & Sauls. As the local economy shifted into the post-war boom, choices expanded. Hungry patrons could get breakfast at Munch’s, take “high tea” at the Chattaway and grab a burger at Biff Burger or El Cap. At the end of a long work day, Mastry’s and The Emerald offered perfect Central Avenue spots for a beer, some conversation and maybe some music. Lucky for us, all of these enterprises are still going strong.

It’s a Family Affair

Weathering Florida’s frequent boom and bust cycles is challenging, especially for small local places. Some of the places mentioned above, like La Plaza Theatre and the Manhattan Casino, didn’t make it. But over the last half-century, those that did endure have become icons. For many of these Legacy icons, family proved to be the secret to success. For example, Roger’s Cleaners, the oldest service business on the list, has been family-owned since 1916, and the newest Legacy entity, the Weekly Challenger, is currently edited by Lyn Johnson, daughter of the newspaper’s 1967 co-founder Cleveland Johnson. Celebrate St. Pete families and our community’s legacy by remembering these businesses the next time you need something! To see the complete Legacy list, visit www.stpete.org/history_and_preservation/legacy_businesses.php