Assignment: St. Petersburg » Architecture

Surreal Parade

Bob Horn — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:49:09 +0000

Yesterday morning, I took a break from the ‘work’ part of my job and opted to check out the Surreal Parade that was taking place to celebrate the official move from the original Dali Museum in its old warehouse building to the shiny, beautiful new $36 million dollar masterpiece on the waterfront next to Mahaffey Theater. I thought that I might catch an interesting photo or two for this blog, and I did. And, although some of my other photos are certainly more surreal by design, this shot was my favorite of the parade. As this formerly calm and peaceful horse walked down Third Street with Spanish Royalty riding in the carriage behind, it was suddenly spooked by some movement in the parade ahead, and it opted to register its concern with a couple of unplanned moves! After the jumping, there was a momentary, very sudden burst of forward speed, and then the driver was able to calm the horse down and resume a normal pace. But for a few seconds, it was pretty exciting to see! The small size of the photo here doesn’t do it justice, but if you click on it, you’ll get a larger image.

Anyway, there were hundreds of people who came out to watch the parade of Dali-esque beings who made the journey from old home to new. I’m not going to write about the details of the new museum – much better for you to get your information straight from the source, at the Dali Museum website. Rather, I’ve chosen to show you another parade image or two, as well as a shot of the front of the new Dali. It looks absolutely spectacular – I’m very excited to make my first visit!

Mound Park Hospital

Bob Horn — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 20:51:15 +0000

My younger sister was born at Mound Park Hospital in St. Petersburg in the 1950′s. My two children were born at Bayfront Medical Center in the 1980′s. Yet all of them were born in the very same hospital. Yes, it expanded (and expanded some more) and got a name change, but the very hospital that you see in the scan of an old postcard, below, still exists as the ‘old’ wing of today’s Bayfront Medical Center. In fact, if you walk around to the rear of the hospital today, you can still see some of the portions of the original building. Compare the architectural style of the postcard with the style of the photo (just below the postcard) that I took of the rear of BMC — you can see that it is the same! Then, check out the photo at the very bottom, showing the main entrance of Bayfront today, and you’ll see virtually no sign at all of the old Mound Park building that is still there!

Something else that disappeared, over the years, to make room for expansion, was the enormous Indan Shell Mound that was on the hospital grounds and for which Mound Park was named. At some point, the need to grow the hospital became so great that the city leveled the mound – something that I am very sure would not be allowed to happen today!

For a larger view of any of the photos, just click on the photo itself.

Updated Look at the New Dali

Bob Horn — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 16:37:57 +0000

I usually prefer not to repeat myself, but in this case, I’m going to make an exception. Yes, I’ve done posts in the past about the amazing new
Dali museum (click on this link if you’d like to check any of them out). But it keeps getting more and more amazing looking, and I just couldn’t stop myself this morning. My wife and I had taken a nice, long walk downtown (because, even though it was hot out, it seemed much more fun that going to the gym and fighting the treadmill) and when we finished, we decided to drive to The Hangar for breakfast. On the way, I saw the current state of The Dali and just had to stop for this shot.

According to their website, the new museum will open in 211 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes, and 34 seconds. I, for one, am very excited about it!

[for a larger, high resolution photo, click on the picture below]

Crislip After Dark

Bob Horn — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:16:31 +0000

I first posted on the Crislip Arcade back in August of last year. It’s worth a quick look at that post, so that you can compare the entryway to the arcade at that time to the new entryway. It used to have a very boring and stark opening at the bottom, and some old windows higher up. But now, with the renovation of the 600 block of Central Avenue and all of the new artist/tenants moving in, the arcade itself received a much-needed and very well-done facelift. As I drove by one evening last week, I saw the lights on and the new gates closed, and I had to stop to take a photo. It’s even more beautiful in person, though, so you should stop by when you have a chance. For information on some of the businesses and activities in the 600 block, check out their website. [please click on the picture for a full-sized image...]

Presentation is Everything

Bob Horn — Wed, 19 May 2010 20:07:18 +0000

I’ve driven past this little apartment unit on 8th Street North hundreds of times, and it never fails to catch my eye. What could be a very unremarkable 1939 four-plex is, instead, a little gem in an area of otherwise ordinary buildings. It reminds me of a little story that we read in elementary school called, “Clothes Make the Man”. It was about a down and out bum who found some sort of crisp uniform in the garbage. He put on the uniform, and suddenly everyone was smiling at him, giving him respect, treating him differently. In response, he went out of his way to be nice to people, he cleaned up his act, and he was a transformed person.

I guess it’s also like taking a small gift for someone and giving it a fantastic, shiny, happy gift wrap. Suddenly, it’s intriguing and exciting and it can’t wait to be opened!

I have no idea what the inside of this building looks like, but that’s really not the point. I just want to salute the owners of this building for this unique, art-deco esque paint job, the great sign for the Glory Apartments, and for generally going out of their way to let this building shine! If you want to see this building for yourself, it’s at 340 8th Street North. And, by the way, there’s a sign out front that says that there’s an apartment for rent! [Please click on the photo to see a full sized image.]

Stetson University College of Law

Bob Horn — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:23:53 +0000

Who could imagine that a law school could look this beautiful?

The Stetson campus is located in Gulfport, in the south/west end of St. Petersburg. This beautiful campus actually started out as the Rolyat Hotel. It was built in 1925 for developer Frank Taylor (yes, the very odd hotel name is just his last name, spelled backwards…) Unfortunately, the Florida land boom was followed by a bust, and after a few years, the hotel went out of business. It operated for awhile as The Florida Military Academy, but eventually was purchased by Stetson University to become the new home of the College of Law, back in 1953. Classes began in September of 1954 and have been going on at this location ever since.

It’s a truly beautiful campus, worth parking and walking around, if you love old buildings and especially Mediterranean Revival ones. In addition to the amazing buildings, the campus itself is just a really peaceful place, packed with shade trees and open areas. The campus even has a great swimming pool, so there must be an assumption that, at some point, students get to take a break for some recreation. This is truly a gem and a must-see if you’re new to St. Petersburg or have never discovered the campus on your own. If you’d like to view the full-sized image, please click on the photo below and it will open in a new window.

Blue Skies Over Snell Isle

Bob Horn — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:59:56 +0000

This photograph was taken from the sidewalk along Coffee Pot Bayou, shooting towards the southern corner of Snell Isle. The gorgeous home that you see was built by Perry Snell in the 1920′s, his fifth of six St. Petersburg homes. In 1939, the property was purchased by Wally Bishop, a famous cartoonist who produced the Muggs and Skeeter cartoon which ran in over 500 newspapers during its heyday.

The house is approximately 8,200 square feet and sits on almost one and a half acres of land. It’s a most beautiful home on an incredible piece of property, definitely worth a look sometime if you’re in the neighborhood. And, if you’re so inclined, this amazing home happens to be for sale right now – it’s been completely renovated and updated, but retains all of its original charm. If you think that this palatial property might make you happy, please give me a call right now! I’d love to drop whatever it is that I’m working on and arrange a showing for you!

If you like the look of Snell Isle, but would like to see something a bit more moderate, there are a number of other beautiful Mediterranean Revival homes on Snell Isle’s Tampa Bay waterfront that are available, too, if you’re in the market!

Snell Isle Home (click on photo for full-sized image)

St. Raphael Catholic Church

Bob Horn — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:52:54 +0000

Some of the most beautiful buildings in St. Petersburg are places of worship. Up to now, I have avoided posting photographs of any of them, because I didn’t want it to appear as though I was biased either in favor of or against any particular religion. But as time goes on and I see more missed photo opportunities, I can’t pass them up any longer. And so, from now on, I will include an occasional photograph of a place of worship if it strikes my fancy.

I’ll begin with today’s post, and it is a photograph of St. Raphael’s Church on Snell Isle. It’s located at 1376 Snell Isle Boulevard, right next to the bridge that joins Snell Isle to Shore Acres. Often when I drive through that neighborhood, if the sun is in just the right place in the sky, the golden dome has such a gorgeous light that it just looks magical. It’s truly a beautiful church, and the setting right on the water just adds to it. If you’d like to learn about St. Raphael’s, you can visit their web site.

St. Raphael's Church (click for larger image)

Historic Preservation in St. Petersburg

Bob Horn — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:04:56 +0000

This is a tale of two houses. Both houses share the same address – 2408 Brevard Road Northeast. That’s located in Granada Terrace, a beautiful area of St. Petersburg that lies between Coffee Pot Boulevard NE and First Street NE and between 22nd Avenue NE and 25th Avenue NE. It was developed by Perry Snell, of Snell Isle fame. The original houses constructed in Granada Terrace were all of Mediterranean Revival design.

The first house was built in 1926, in the boom years of St. Petersburg’s early development. It was a smaller house than many of its grand neighbors, but even so, it was a two story beauty with rough stucco exterior, a great fireplace, original oak floors, and all the charm it needed to hold its own against its bigger, grander neighbors. But, aside from being a bit smaller than its neighbors, there was another difference. This house was a wood frame house with slats of wood lath nailed onto the framing and stucco applied over the wood lath. Most of the neighboring houses were constructed of stucco over hollow tile. And, as it turns out, the second method is a more stable construction method in the long term.

So, although the house was a great house and it had a good, long life, by the time it reached its 75th birthday in 2001, it was no longer a stable house. Although many repairs had been done over the years, the aging process was unstoppable and the house was nearing the end.

Within a couple of years the house was sold to a developer who had originally hoped to revitalize the house and add more square footage to it, bringing it back to health. But at each step along the way, new problems were found and it was finally determined that the house simply could not be saved. Because Granada Terrace is such a beautiful neighborhood and it’s only a block from Coffee Pot Boulevard, the lot was valuable enough to allow the original home to be demolished and a new home constructed. But the developer ran into an interesting obstacle – Granada Terrace is a Historic Preservation District, and that means that any significant change in the features or appearance of a house have to go through a process of review and approval by a board before they can be carried out – even changing the color of paint on the exterior walls requires approval. So you can imagine that the idea of demolishing a house and building a new one was daunting.

Eventually, approval was given and a new house was constructed – a modern, energy efficient, solid, beautiful home with all the features one might desire in a new home. And, in addition to all of that, the new house has something else that’s actually very unique and makes it even more special – because of the guidelines of the Historic Preservation District, the new house had to be constructed with an exterior that matched the ‘flavor’ and the ‘look and feel’ of the original 1926 house. It did not have to look identical, but it had to have a similar look.

The first photograph below is a shot of the original house that occupied the lot at 2408 Brevard Road Northeast. The second photograph below is a shot of the new house, constructed in 2006 – 2007.

Without wasting any more words, I’ll leave it to you to see for yourself how nicely the architect and builders did…

2408 Brevard Rd NE Original (click for larger image)

2408 Brevard Rd NE 2006/2007 (click for larger image)

St. Petersburg’s Open Air Post Office

Bob Horn — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:29:47 +0000

Post Card of Open Air Post Office (click on picture for larger image)

St. Petersburg has a very unique and beautiful post office in the heart of downtown. It’s known as the Open Air Post Office because, as you can see in this late 1940′s or early 1950′s era postcard, the main areas of the post office are not enclosed. If you were to walk through the arches that you see, you’d be in the area of hundreds of post office boxes, as well as mail drops. Our Open Air Post Office is located at the southwest corner of Fourth Street North and First Avenue north, diagonally across the street from Williams Park.

This post office was completed and opened for business in September of 1917, so we are just a few years away from its centennial celebration! And, interestingly enough, this was not the first open air post office in St. Petersburg. Prior to the opening of this facility, there was a much smaller open air post office a block away. That one was built in 1907, on the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Fourth Street. But our growing city quickly outgrew that building, and in 1915, the post office had to move temporarily to the first floor of the City Hall of that day, located on Fourth Street South. That same year, a congressional appropriation of $102,000 was granted for the construction of a new, large, full service post office that would be able to serve the needs of the city for years to come.

Although initial plans drawn up for the post office involved a building built several feet above street level, with lots of steps leading up to it, our local Postmaster didn’t like those plans, and he worked to design a building at street level, with no steps, and one that was open on all sides and would allow postal patrons to have access to their post office boxes 24 hours a day. The result of his plans is history – a gorgeous Mediterranean Revival building with rich architectural detail and a grand feel to it. And, perhaps more importantly, a structure that has stood the test of time – this building is still operating as an active post office today. In 1975, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

To provide a little comparison, I scanned an old post card of the Open Air Post Office and that’s the picture that you see above. Then, a few days ago, I took my own photo of the building, and that’s the shot you see below. As you can see, it looks pretty much the same! And you might also notice the Snell Arcade/Rutland building – the tall structure just behind the post office – it also stands proud today, as beautiful as ever. This post office is worth a first hand look, so if you have a few minutes sometime and are near downtown St. Petersburg, park your car and walk through it and enjoy feeling a bit of history around you. This is one of those cases where you really can say, “They don’t make ‘em like this any more…

The Open Air Post Office, October 2009 (click on photo for larger image)

Open Air Post Office - Within the Arches (click on photo for larger image)