Each year, the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society celebrates the World’s First Airline and its renowned pilot, Tony Jannus. Where was this airline? New York? Chicago? London? Berlin? No… the first airline originated right here in St. Petersburg. Presently an effort is underway to erect a worthy monument to an event that both led the way to today’s multi-billion dollar commercial aviation industry, and also serves as a model of a community coming together to embrace a new technology. But, before discussing the new monument, let us first recall the history of that inspiring event.

The world’s first regularly scheduled airline took off from the Central Yacht Basin on New Year’s Day 1914.… Read More

While there have been many near-miss hurricanes in the Tampa Bay area – including the most recent, Hurricane Irma – there are only two so far that have really made the history books. These are the hurricanes of 1848 and 1921. We will not recount the distant 1848 hurricane here. For those interested, you may read about that in my book The Making of St. Petersburg.

But on October 25, 1921, a hurricane hit Tampa Bay by way of Tarpon Springs. Known as the Tarpon Springs Hurricane or the Tampa Bay Hurricane, this storm at one point reached Category 4 status with winds of 140 mph while out over the Gulf.… Read More

The Kids and Kubs slow pitch senior softball club’s first game was May 30, 1931. The club is the oldest continuous soft ball club in the United States. In the early years the club played most of their games at Waterfront Park, generally where Al Lang Stadium is now located. Today they play at Northshore Park, at a dedicated field next to the Northshore swimming pool.

The club has played exhibition games against local teams around the area and especially ‘ladies’ teams for more than 50 years. According to the club’s official history, the club has played before an estimated half-million fans since 1930.… Read More

March marks the beginning of Baseball Spring Training, and there is nowhere that has more of a spring training history than St. Petersburg. Beginning with the St. Louis Browns in 1914, some nine major league teams made their spring training home in St. Petersburg. The New York Yankees played here from 1925 to 1961 with a few breaks in between. Babe Ruth played for the Yankees from 1925 to 1934. Ruth’s presence in St. Petersburg was huge. When The Babe and the Yankees were in town, the population of the city would swell with tourists and fans. It has recently been documented that Ruth likely hit his longest home run here, and perhaps the longest hit ever off of major league pitching.… Read More

Once again, some are debating our Pier raising the question, “Do we still need a new pier?” Reasons for a new pier are many. For example, there are economic arguments. In 2001, the Klages Group did an economic study of the Pier and determined an economic impact for the city of $42 million annually ($56 million in today’s dollars). However the focus of this article is on how the new pier harmonizes with our Downtown Waterfront Parks and bay – two defining features of St. Petersburg’s sense of place.

The New Pier design was originally called Pier Park. Due to another party having copyrighted that name, the City no longer refers to it as Pier Park, but simply as the New St.… Read More

A major attribute of our city’s specialness is our sense of place. A large part of our sense of place is the unique blend of historic buildings and places along with the excitement of new development. St. Petersburg Chamber President Chris Steinocher stated it well: “The secret of our City’s current livability is the vibe created by offering the natural mix of wonderfully built historic structures and districts, seamlessly connected and complemented with new developments and dwellings.”

But despite this recognition of the importance of historic preservation, our city has once again gone through a contentious debate trying to find a balance between new development and historic preservation.… Read More

This is the second of a two-part article based on an extensive interview with former mayor Don Jones. Don Jones was mayor during a time of intense infrastructure improvement, and a watershed period for St. Petersburg’s civil rights history.

Upon his election as mayor in 1967, Don Jones announced three goals: the creation of small parks in needy areas of the city; transfer of Mound Park Hospital (now Bayfront) from city operation to a non-profit corporation; and increasing wages for city employees. During his first year in office, the first two goals were achieved. But in the midst of these progressive steps, a major city crisis was soon to erupt and it had to do with Mayor Jones’ third goal, adequate wages for city employees.… Read More

This is the first of a two-part article based on an extensive interview with former mayor Don Jones.  Don Jones was mayor during a time of intense infrastructure improvement, and a watershed period for St. Petersburg’s civil rights history.

Don Jones was city councilman from 1963-1967 and mayor from 1967-1969. In a recent interview, he described his tenure as ‘the best of times and the worst of times.’ “Five of those years were years of dramatic progress, accomplishment and growth. The sixth year was a time of stress, tension and confrontation due to the racial climate at that time in St.… Read More

A 1961 Times editorial entitled “Everybody’s Target: Al Capone,” stated “St. Petersburg and Pinellas County have been fortunate over their lifetime because our citizens have elected sheriffs and appointed police chiefs who have seen to it that racketeers moved on and never got a start here. That’s the way the citizens wanted it when Pinellas broke away from Hillsborough 50 years ago and that’s the way they want it today. In their heyday Al Capone, Johnny Torrio and other gangsters came to St. Petersburg, but their welcome was so cold and their stay so brief that the incident is hardly a footnote to history.”… Read More

Over the years, there have been numerous rumors, reports, and stories about Al Capone in St. Petersburg. This article is an exploration and new look at those stories.

“Al Capone Pays Vist to the City” reads the caption on the front page of the St. Petersburg Times on February 10, 1931. The article reported, “Al ‘Scarface’ Capone, reputed king of Chicago’s gangland, paid a visit to Pinellas County Monday, spending a few hours in St. Petersburg and later motoring to Tarpon Springs, where he spent considerable time looking over the sponge industry. Capone, with a party of five, including one woman, was seen here by several persons.… Read More