There are certain tragic occasions in our country’s history that will forever linger in our collective memory. The bombing of Pearl Harbor. John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Hurricane Katrina’s destruction in New Orleans. And 9/11.

Placido Bayou resident Jo Brower is making it her life’s mission to keep the memory of 9/11 alive by honoring and supporting our military, veterans, first responders, and their families. Over the past six years, her nonprofit organization RHS (Remember, Honor, Support, Inc.) has raised more than $500,000 for this worthy cause.

The funds raised directly benefit local nonprofit organizations that provide valuable services to injured or fallen veterans, police, and first-responders, including the Gold Shield Foundation, Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Stay in Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center, Warrior2Warrior R.A.C.E.… Read More

The Gandy Bridge is functional. The Skyway Bridge is majestic. The Salt Creek ‘Thrill Hill’ bridge is quaint. But the Snell Isle Bridge is splendid.

Old Northeast and what was to become Snell Isle were originally connected by a rickety one-lane wooden bridge as early as 1917. Early master developer C. Perry Snell opened his upscale Snell Isle development in 1925. In 1928, Snell donated three lots just north of the bridge to the women’s organizations of St. Petersburg for the purpose of their building a club house which would serve all of the 15 women’s organizations then in the city.… Read More

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. – USPS Motto

Among the many unique features of the Old Northeast, one of the longest continuous traditions is bicycle mail delivery. St. Petersburg is one of three remaining cities in the country where the United States Postal Service still delivers mail by bicycle.

Built in 1917, the Open Air Post Office at 76 4th St. N was the product of a joint effort among three prominent figures in St. Petersburg. Modeled after Edwin H. Tomlinson’s earlier post office on Central Avenue, the open-air concept was designed to provide postal customers with 24-hour access to their mailboxes.… Read More

When Robin Reed, a board member of the Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association, told me her friend Elaine Normile had recently retired as the historian for the Vinoy Renaissance Resort, my first thought was, “wait – the Vinoy has an historian on staff, how cool is that?”

A petite, bright, articulate 70-something, Elaine retired from the Vinoy at the end of May after an exciting 26-year career; 20 years as the iconic hotel’s in-house historian. This summer, just a week after her retirement, I visited with Elaine at her home in the Old Northeast to learn more about what it was like to be on the Vinoy staff during such a pivotal time in the hotel’s history.… Read More