St. Petersburg has honored many of its citizens with the title of “Mr. Baseball.” There was of course the first Mr. Baseball, Mayor Al Lang, after whom Al Lang Stadium is named. It was Al who mostly started it all by bringing Major League Spring Training to the city beginning with the St. Louis Browns and their manager Branch Ricky in 1914. Much later there was Mr. Baseball Bob Stewart and Mr. Baseball Rick Dodge, both of whom piloted the building of Tropicana Stadium, which led to securing the Tampa Bay Rays in 1995 (their opening season was 1998). Stewart was chairperson of the St.… Read More

The real magic happens right here in St. Petersburg – and the spark that ignites it emanates from long-time Old Northeast resident Roger Barganier, owner of Creative Arts Unlimited. Barganier conjures his magic from clients’ ideas that come to fruition through far-reaching concepts of design, building, and installation.

“We are more a service than a product,” says Barganier. The jaw-dropping results of Creative Arts Unlimited “services” enthrall those who experience them in the museums, healthcare facilities, corporate headquarters, hospitality venues, education settings, libraries, theme parks, nature centers, and retail environs where they’re featured.

When Old Northeast resident Jay Miller told his parents that he was buying a house in the neighborhood 22 years ago, his mother Sonya gave a wry laugh. When he asked why, she had to remind him that when she was growing up in St. Petersburg, the Old Northeast was off limits to their family – in its early years, the neighborhood, like much of the city, was not welcoming to Jews. 

Jay’s aunt, his mother’s sister, Marilyn Benjamin, recalled a similar story over a recent lunch at the Helm Restaurant in St. Pete Beach. “I remember when the Vinoy Hotel had its grand re-opening in 1992, after being closed for many years.… Read More