It’s the Sunday before Christmas, and my wife is getting the house ready for company. When you consider how long we’ve been married, you would think I know better, but I just have to ask, “What can I do to help?”
Well, I guess I am not surprised when she says, “How about getting out of the house and doing something outside?”
“I can do that,” I say. “I think I’ll go for a ride.” I load my bicycle on the bed of my truck and drive to Coffee Pot Park at 30th Avenue NE and First Street. I park in the shade of a large old oak tree.
It’s a pleasant December day, and the park is behind me as I make my way along Coffee Pot Boulevard NE. Traffic is light, but the brick road is rough enough to rattle my teeth, so I opt to use the wide paved walk along the bayou. It would be difficult to find a more pleasant way to spend the morning. Small uninhabited mangrove islands dot the water. Stately giant herons, egrets and even a few cormorants rest in the green mangrove branches. At 23rd Avenue NE, I cross over to the opposite side of the road to enter the Granada Terrace area, time for a short break.
From my place on a bench, I peer across Coffee Pot Boulevard at the concrete semicircle that protrudes into the bayou. I can’t help but notice a small crowd gathered around the steps leading to the water, looking and pointing into the water. My curiosity aroused, I soon join the onlookers and ask a tall gentleman what is happening.
“Nothing really unusual,” he replies. “There’s a manatee near the steps that just broke the surface. They can often be seen in the bayou this time of year looking for warmer waters to spend the winter.” My curiosity satisfied, I continue toward 21st Avenue NE where it becomes Snell Isle Boulevard and ride over the bridge to Snell Isle.
At the far end, I stop in front of the St. Petersburg Woman’s Club at 40 Snell Isle Blvd NE. The building was built on land given to the woman’s club by Snell in 1928. After much debate, the club accepted the land but was concerned it was too far from the streetcar line and in a jungle accessible only by a rickety wooden bridge. The dedication of the clubhouse took place in November 1929. Because of the Woman’s Club’s continued pressure on the city a new bridge was finally built and open to traffic on Christmas Day 1931. When it was rebuilt in 1996, residents of the area insisted on keeping the distinct style intact.
By 1906, Snell had a keen interest in civic affairs. With W.L. Straub’s vision for a beautiful waterfront, Snell helped preserve the land between downtown and Coffee Pot Bayou and later donated all of the land to the city provided it was used as a waterfront park.
He purchased the land that was to become Snell Isle on April 4, 1911, for $2,000. It was a low-lying area of sand and mangroves. In order to build the upscale community he envisioned, Snell had to raise the land using dredges and fill dirt from Tampa. When the development opened in October 1925, only 39 of its 275 acres were above the high tide line. The first nine homes built were in the classic European design in the Brightwaters area facing the water. Among them is a three-story Mediterranean Revival mansion at 375 Brightwaters Blvd. NE, which became the Snell family’s landmark home. When Florida’s land boom collapsed, the state made an early entry into the Great Depression, nearly devastating local developers. Regardless, Snell quickly sold more than $7 million worth of lots there. At great personal expense, he alone was able to fulfill the commitments he made to his clients.
Snell wanted his upscale development to be “the pearl of Pinellas.” He erected statues and sculptures, including concrete renderings of jungle animals and griffins at street intersections. Some were imported from Europe and others manufactured in the United States. Unfortunately, even paradise has its delinquents. Not long after the statues were erected, vandals started to damage them or haul them away. Even the city damaged some of the statues while installing new sewer lines. By 1980, nearly all of the originals were gone. Two of the missing statues were discovered some years later gracing the home driveway of a retired Northeast High School custodian. Over the years all of the missing statues have been replaced with duplicates, and still more have been added. Today, the neighborhood is filled with statues of lions, panthers, tigers and griffins.
As I continue on Snell Isle Boulevard, I come to the C. Perry Snell Memorial with its brass commemorative plaque, where the boulevard turns into a divided road. At the east end of Snell Isle Boulevard is the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club. Snell opened the first golf course with nine holes in 1920 and called it the Coffee Pot Golf Club. The clubhouse at the then-renamed Sunset Golf and Country Club was built in 1926, in the Mediterranean style. The building is a mixture of styles with many Moorish details, including a tower and a tall oniondome minaret. The building has not changed much over the years and remains the focal point of the Snell Isle development.
I can easily spend longer touring the Isle with its beautiful curved, tree-lined streets and glorious homes, but I should head home to see whether I will be allowed back into the house!
For more on Snell Isle history, visit spmoh.com.
For more info about the Snell Isle Neighborhood Association, visit enjoysnellisle.com.
