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Thursday, July 8th, 2010
After so many days of gray skies and rain, it was absolutely glorious to wake up yesterday morning to blue skies and sunshine, the way things are supposed to be, here in St. Petersburg! I was close to downtown on business, so I drove by the Chihuly Collection location on Beach Drive, just to see how things are coming along. This brand new venue is scheduled to open this weekend at 400 Beach Drive. It definitely appeared as though all the finishing touches were being applied, including workers welding a protective frame around the base of this very cool looking Chihuly exhibit that will live in front of the new venue.
The Chihuly Collection is presented by the Morean Arts Center. For full details on the Chihuly Collection, as well as information on the many special opening events scheduled for this weekend, check out this link.
[For a larger, full-size view of the photo, please click on the picture.]
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
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]
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
If you’ve driven downtown in the past few months and noticed construction going on at the old Bank of America building on Central Avenue, between 8th Street North and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Street North, you might be curious as to what’s going on there. I was. The building had been slated for demolition, and a grand new condominium, The Arts, was going to be built on that site. But you know the story – the economy slumped and new projects were cancelled. So the building sat, empty, for awhile, but now there are signs of life. Not only is the building itself being renovated, but there’s a new parking garage being constructed, too. I kept watching for some sort of sign, either literal or figurative, that might tell me what’s going on there, but I never found one.
So, I finally did a little digging online, and learned that it is to become a new administrative hearing and appeals office for the Social Security Administration. Currently, the closest hearing office is in Tampa, and there is a large backlog and waiting period for cases to be heard. To address that, this new office is being built. I was unable to learn whether the ‘regular’ social security office, currently on 34th Street North, will also move its operations to this new center.
Friday, June 4th, 2010
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...]
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
The past couple of weeks have been really busy for me. I hate it that, when things get busy and something has to be pushed aside so that I can do what I have to do, it always seems to be the something that I enjoy the most! I love finding photographs to take and I love posting when I do find them. So, I’ve missed it over the past many days.
Anyway, just a quick and easy post today to remind everyone that this weekend, A Taste of Pinellas will once again take place downtown, at Vinoy Park. And remember, this event is not only great fun and a chance to indulge in some of the most delicious food by some of the best chefs in the area, but it’s also for a great cause! A Taste of Pinellas is an annual benefit that provides huge support for All Children’s Hospital, and the ‘good causes’ don’t get much better than that.
In addition to great food, there’s entertainment on all three days of the event, including Huey Lewis and the News on Friday night and Martina McBride on Saturday night. Try to find some time this weekend to indulge your taste buds, hear some great music, and support All Children’s. For complete details, check out this link.
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
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.]
Monday, May 10th, 2010
I’ve lived in St. Petersburg since I was four years old. The Vinoy was a cool old building when I was a kid, but it was on its way downhill. Eventually, it shut down and was scheduled to be demolished. After a few failed attempts, the beautiful Vinoy was finally saved, preserved, renovated, and is now back to her grand and stately self. For me, that corner of land on the edge of the Vinoy Basin has always been the Vinoy Hotel.
But recently, I was doing some research into a bit of St. Pete history, and, quite accidentally, I came upon a reference to the Braaf family and their beautiful property at 609 Beach Drive. (In those early days, Beach Drive was the name given to the waterfront road that we now call Bay Shore Drive.) What? That’s where the Vinoy is! A little more digging, and I learned what should have been obvious – that there actually was earlier development on the grounds where the Vinoy was destined to be built. And why wouldn’t there have been? This is one of the most beautiful pieces of property in the city!
As it turns out, there was a beautiful house and a large piece of property that was planted with all sorts of tropical plants, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Braaf, prominent St. Petersburg residents in the early 1900’s. Mr. Braaf owned a good deal of land in St. Petersburg in those days, and he was on the St. Petersburg City Council in 1912. In the early 1920’s, this property was purchased by Mr. Aymer Vinoy Laughner, who then moved ahead and built the Vinoy Park Hotel, the finest lodging in the city. Interestingly, many of the old trees on the west end of the Vinoy property today are trees that were planted by Mr. Braaf while he and his wife lived in their house there.
Although there’s not a great deal of detail visible, I found this post card online and purchased it so that I could give you a glimpse of what this Vinoy precursor looked like. I wouldn’t have minded living there one bit! The next time you’re downtown and you look over and see the Vinoy Hotel, just imagine this peaceful scene and the couple who lived here for many years before the Vinoy was born…
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
I was working with some friends recently to find a house for them. We found a great place in the Euclid Park neighborhood – an old bungalow in a peaceful neighborhood with a nice detached garage apartment. Their friend, a contractor, is updating it now, and they’ll be moving in soon. My friends are actually co-owners of the home, along with her dad. Her dad moved to Moscow sixteen years ago, after the fall of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, to operate the first Caterpillar Construction Equipment operation in Russia. Interesting man, and fun to talk to. After the closing, I arrived home to find a present on my front porch – it was from, as the card put it, “The Russians”. It was a bottle of vodka, but not just any vodka. It’s from St. Petersburg, Russia! Just so cool! Click on the photo below and you’ll get a larger image and then you can see “St. Petersburg”, both on the main label and the small upper label. I know we’ll start sipping it soon, but I just have to wait a little longer so that I can enjoy the wonderful bottle! I have to say that any transaction that ends with me receiving a bottle of vodka from my clients is a great transaction!
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
So, we keep hearing about poor attendance at the Rays home games. We like the Rays and we support them, but I”m afraid we’re part of that big mass of people who just don’t get around to going to the games. Well, we decided that it was time to change that, so last Friday, a group of 14 of us went to Tropicana Field to watch the Rays play the Kansas City Royals. After having won so many games and being on top of the world with their record for so long, we just happened to choose to attend the game where they lost! Of course, we were unhappy about that, and we felt bad for them, but the interesting thing was that we still had a great time! The energy and enthusiasm of the team and the crowd was great. Management at Tropicana does a great job. There were people to direct you to your seats, there were people who made sure that if anybody was standing up and blocking the view, they would either move on or sit back down. All of the usual ball game food was there, plus more. And they even had a little fireworks show after the game, inside of Tropicana – very cool! If you have thought at all about going to see a game, but you just haven’t gotten around to it, I encourage you to buy your tickets and go down and support St. Petersburg’s team! Tropicana Field and the Tampa Bay Rays are just one more of the huge variety of entertainment and activities that we have here to fill up our lives…
The photo below was taken when the Royals had several players on base, and the Rays were doing their best to figure out how to stop them in their tracks…
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
There are a lot of things to like about downtown St. Petersburg these days. New energy, new attitude, new restaurants, new art museums and galleries…
And a new bakery! For me, this is one of those areas where my response today is pretty much the same as it would have been when I was a child. I am ecstatic! I remember the days of bakeries scattered all over St. Pete when I was a kid. Even the Publix grocery store bakeries were separate entities in the ‘old days’, branded as ‘The Danish Bakery’ and situated in separate shops next to Publix. But most stand alone bakeries have become a thing of the past. I know of only a handful in all of St. Petersburg. And none downtown. While I love The Cupcake Spot on Central Avenue, it’s not a full bakery – as good as Cuppy is at making cupcakes, sometimes I long for more.
So, when I saw these signs in the window of the shop space next to the new Cassis American Brasserie on Beach Drive, my heart skipped a beat and I felt a serious adrenalin rush! Bakeries rule! I am very excited and can’t wait for this bakery to open it’s doors!
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