Take a stroll around the Mirror Lake neighborhood and soak in the beauty and history of the area, as well as the unique architecture of the buildings. The neighborhood is rich in 1920s-era architecture and a feast for the eyes. Styles include Beaux Arts, Masonry Vernacular, Mediterranean Revival, Modern, and Moorish. More recent buildings include the modernist Judicial Building, the Sebring State Offices, and Wannemacher-Jensen Architects.

Mirror Lake itself is the only lake downtown and believed to be part of a string of ancient lakes that also includes Crescent Lake. The lakes offered Native Americans a source of fresh water long before Europeans arrived.… Read More

Sometimes a simple synchronicity can be life-changing in ways we couldn’t dream of at the time. That’s what happened for Barbara Rhode, a St. Petersburg licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of the Red Tent Women’s Initiative.

Barbara had just finished reading Anita Diamant’s book, The Red Tent – a compelling fiction about the ancient tradition of women seeking comfort in each other’s company while they spent time in the “red tent.” The book reinforced Barbara’s belief that for many women, having a safe space to share their feelings and experiences was very much missing in today’s society.

At an estate sale a few months later, she had the odd sensation that something was wrong from the minute she walked into the house.… Read More

My mom went to work at the CIA in the late 1950s, beginning her career in what was commonly referred to as the secretarial pool. After a few years, she left to start a family, then returned to work at the CIA about 10 years later. By then, she had my brother, three sisters, and me. I was two years old. With five little ones to feed and clothe, both she and my dad worked.

Growing up, the best part for me was being able to reply to the near daily jibes I got regarding my family last name, Bond. Good jibes to be sure, as my response became the fun part.… Read More

Looking back at our own personal history can help us reflect on where we’ve been in order to see how far we’ve come. Architectural preservation can do the same for a community, allowing us to look back and appreciate a different time in history. It gives us a visible connection to the past while we forge ahead to the future. Since the early ’90s, Old Northeast resident Maureen Stafford has made it her mission to save and restore well over 30 homes in St. Petersburg – an impressive achievement in helping preserve the city’s unique history.

A self-made architectural preservationist with an innate passion, relentless perseverance and an undeniable vision, Maureen has done a remarkable job making sure that run-down old treasures are transformed with new life.… Read More

StPete2050 is a city-government-initiated visioning process to explore and create a picture of what St. Pete should look like 30 years from now. It’s an update of the 2020 visioning process that took place 20 years ago. StPete2050 will result in significant revisions to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations (LDRs). They are two of the city’s most important ordinances.

The Comprehensive Plan establishes policies related to growth management and preservation of the city’s character. Specific sections of the plan address future land use, conservation, coastal management, transportation, housing, recreation and open-space, infrastructure, historic preservation, and public school facilities.… Read More

In rural upstate New York where they live six months out of the year, Jim and Eva Tomlinson have an apple grove with 100 trees; a field with raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries; two large vegetable gardens, and a big pond. It’s peaceful. They can sit on the front porch of their 100-year-old cottage and see the fireflies and stars at night. Wildflowers like Queen Anne’s lace and day lilies grow everywhere. Oaks, maples, and other hardwood trees cover most of their 50-acre homestead.

But, they also have no electricity… which means no computer, no TV, no dishwasher, and no automatic coffee makers.… Read More

Not long after I arrived at Michelle Passoff and Andre Kupfermunz’s home in the Old Northeast, Andre informed me that although he was born in 1943, he’d just received the first copy of his actual birth certificate. The reason that Andre was born with a false birth record and the harrowing circumstances of his birth were just one of the many reasons I was there to talk to this fascinating, creative couple. 

Both Andre and Michelle see obstacles as opportunities. And in Andre’s case, it might just be in his genes. He was born in Nazi-occupied France during World War II to Polish-Jewish parents who were Resistance fighters in the French “M.O.I.”… Read More

While the City of St. Petersburg was developing its reputation over the past two decades as a premiere arts destination in the southeast, a budding native-daughter poet was set on filling the literary cultural void. What began as an effort to design and promote reading and writing events blossomed less than a year later into a nonprofit supporting the literary arts through ongoing education and creative events. Keep St. Pete Lit celebrated its seventh anniversary this past August.

Maureen McDole, Keep St. Pete Lit’s founder and executive director, spearheaded the organization’s growth from its inception to the present where it is now regarded as one of Florida’s leading literary arts groups providing low-cost, high-quality writing classes to people of all ages – from elementary school on up to seniors – and all skill levels from beginners to professionals.… Read More

As the 2020 holiday season approaches, we turn back the clock to pay a visit to the Christmas season of 100 years ago. In 1920, the nation and St. Petersburg were still coping with the post-World War I depression, although St. Pete was seeing good signs of recovery. World War I had come to an end in late 1918 as had the devastating Spanish Flu. In November 1920, Republican Warren G. Harding had been elected president. However, as of Christmas, Democrat Woodrow Wilson was still serving. His term would not end until March 1921. 1920 was a “Dry” year, at least officially.… Read More

As a master in the Ichiyo School of Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, Jeanne Houlton’s arrangements are a study in minimalism, balance, graceful lines, space, and proportion. More than a simple decoration, Ikebana arrangements are three-dimensional floral sculptures.

“In Ikebana, the idea is less is more,” says Jeanne. “By taking away, a more powerful effect is achieved. Negative space is part of the art. It’s also transient, which is represented in our use of all stages of the plant, from seed to flower to the dried form in death.” Jeanne also points out that western floral design is symmetrical, but Ikebana uses asymmetrical balance.… Read More