History

Our tagline is “Keep St. Pete Special.” It’s an effective earworm that has seeped into the local discourse. Residents and politicians often repeat variations of this mantra, telling audiences that we “can’t lose sight of what made St. Pete special in the first place.” Indeed, at a forum hosted last year by the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, mayor Ken Welch related the sentiment of one of his constituents who asked him if we’re “maybe loving St. Pete to death.”

The role of women in St. Petersburg's history has often been overshadowed by the men that they worked alongside. But from the very beginning of the Sunshine City, when Sarah Williams played a role in persuading Peter Demens to bring the Orange Belt Railroad to what is today downtown St. Petersburg, instead of what is now modern-day Gulfport, the story of St. Petersburg has been driven in large part by women. Below are just a few of the names you should know.

As Preservation Month 2022 comes to a close, we have a lot to look back on! Join us in reviewing all the events we hosted in recent weeks in honor of Preservation Month.

In the 1960s, the Polish American Society of St. Petersburg, anchored in their clubhouse at 1343 Beach Dr. SE, welcomed Polish-American baseball players in town for Spring Training. Over on 13th Avenue South, the Melrose Clubhouse was home to the “Colored YMCA,” a meeting place for the first Black Boy Scout troop and the local NAACP.