The city of St Petersburg, famed for its perpetual sunshine, lies on the Pinellas peninsula on the central Gulf Coast of Florida, between Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay. Off the peninsula is a chain of long, narrow islands. There are wide beaches and numerous marinas along this stretch of coast.
History
The town was founded in 1876 and named after the home town of a Russian businessman who was much involved in the enterprise. In the 1880s the Pinellas Sunshine Coast was already renowned for its healthy climate and attracted a steady increase in population, mainly older people.
St Petersburg appeared in the Guinness Book of Records when the sun shone on every single day from 1967 to 1969. From 1910 to 1986 the local paper, the "Evening Independent", was given away free on any day on which the sun did not shine, and this cost the publishers only very small losses.
Although Saint Petersburg is Florida's fourth largest city, the downtown doesn't contain the same amount of skyscrapers as a typical urban center. The district is bordered by the bay in the east, 17th Avenue to the south, 9th Street (ML King JR Boulevard) to the west and 10th Avenue N in the north.
The Salvador Dali Museum is housed in a uniquely designed building, and features a great collection of this artist's works from various periods throughout his life.
The Sunshine Skyway is a dramatic sight as one looks out to the ocean. Two huge pylons stand at the high point of the bridge, the central features of the skyway, which is located at the entrance to Tampa Bay.
The St Petersburg Pier is a major tourist attraction. It extends 400 m into Tampa Bay and contains a large complex at the end with shops and restaurants.
Boyd Hill Nature Park is a 245-acre nature reserve containing more than three miles of trails and boardwalks located on the western shores of Lake Maggiore. The wooded area supports a variety of bird and animal-life including egrets, bald eagles, opossum, fox squirrels, turtles, frogs and alligators. There is an information center with interpretative exhibits.
Address: Boyd Hill Nature Park, 1101 Country Club Way South, St Petersburg, FL 33705, United States
Phone: 1 (727) 893-7326, Fax: 1 (727) 893-7720
Hours:
10am-7pm; Sun:10am-6pm; Sat:7am-6pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Tips: There are ranger-led nature hikes on different days of the week. Call for details.
A tram tour (1.00) leaves daily at 13:00
Parking: Free
Guides: Interpretive sessions sometimes available.
Dedicated to the six million Jews and five million children, gypsies, mentally and physical disabled, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, political dissidents, and Resistance Movement members killed by the Nazis during the holocaust. The exhibits at the Florida Holocaust Museum and Educational Center document the past as well as explore the contemporary Jewish experience. One of the original boxcars used to transport victims to the concentration camps sits outside the museum entrance.
Address: Florida Holocaust Museum and Educational Center, 55 Fifth Street South, St Petersburg, FL 33701-4146, United States
Phone: 1 (727) 820-0100, Fax: 1 (727) 821-8435
Hours:
10am-5pm
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Tips: Photography and video or audio recordings are not permitted. Closed for Rosh Hashanah.
Parking: Free
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Florida International Museum opened in 1995. Highlights of the museum include large "blockbuster" traveling exhibitions. such as the "Titanic-the Exhibition" with thousands of original artifacts and "Empires of Mystery" which displayed a collection of Pre-Colombian objects from the Andean region. Artifacts from the Smithsonian are displayed along with rotating exhibits.
Address: Florida International Museum, 244 Second Street North, St Petersburg, FL 33701-3312, United States
Phone: 1 (727) 341-7900, Fax: 1 (727) 341-7908
Hours:
January 19 to May 13: 10am-5pm; Sun:12pm-5pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25), New Year's Eve (December 31), Christmas Eve - Christian (December 24), Easter - Christian
Tips: Group rates are available. Last tour starts at 16:00.
Parking: Pay
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
The Florida Military Aviation Museum features aircraft, vehicles and artifacts that have been preserved to exhibit Florida's role in military aviation.
Great Explorations The Children's Museum was designed for the curious and inquisitive. Highlights include the Laser Harp, Gears and I Spy exhibits, Magnetic Poetry, Climbing Wall and a Robot Lab. Various stations allow visitors to learn hands-on how to become the veterinarian, explore the firehouse or shop at a child-sized market.
Also of interest is a two story tree house for children to build and play.
Interior of Great Explorations The Children's Museum in St Petersburg.
Address: Great Explorations, 1925 Fourth Street North, St Petersburg, FL 33710, United States
Phone: 1 (727) 821-8992, Fax: 1 (727) 823-7287
Hours:
10am-4:30pm; Sun:12pm-4:30pm
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Easter - Christian
Parking: Free
Disability Access: Partial facilities for persons with disabilities.
Kopsick Palm Arboretum is a botanical garden with over 500 palms representing more than 100 different species from around the world. Kopsick Palm Arboretum began in 1976 with 60 palms representing 10 species.
Address: Kopsick Palm Arboretum, 1400 19th Street North, St Petersburg, FL 33713-5729, United States
Phone: 1 (727) 893-7335, Fax: 1 (727) 892-5103
Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy Center for the Arts is a multi-use entertainment and convention complex made up of the following facilities: the Mahaffey Theater, the Grand Ballroom and the Bay View room. It hosts sporting events, theatrical productions, conventions and trade shows.
The Museum of Fine Arts, housed in a Neo-Classical villa, possesses masterpieces of European and American painting from the 17th-20th centuries. Particularly notable is its collection of French Impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, etc.). It also has interesting collections of Far Eastern and pre-Columbian art.
Address: Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NE, St Petersburg, FL 33701-3413, United States
Phone: 1 (727) 896-2667, Fax: 1 (727) 894-4638
Hours:
10am-5pm; Sun:1pm-5pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), American Independance Day (July 4), Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Tips: Group rates available. Photography and video is not permitted in the Museum.
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
Facilities: Gift shop, Restaurant or food service, Wheelchair loan or rental
The P. Buckley Moss Gallery displays an extensive collection of work by P. Buckley Moss, who focused on Amish and Mennonite themes. The collection features oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, etchings, offset lithographs and porcelain items.
Hours:
June 1 to August 31: 10am-6pm; Sat:10am-5pm; Closed: Sun
September 1 to May 31: 10am-6pm; Sun:12pm-5pm; Sat:10am-5pm; Closed: Sun
The Science Center offers a hands-on approach to the study of science through ongoing exhibits. Science laboratories, educational workshops, the marine room, field studies, an observatory and replica of a 16th century Indian village are some of the highlights of the Science Center.
The St Petersburg Museum of History highlights the history of St Petersburg and there are displays on the Native American first inhabitants, early settlers, the city's development and economic growth and the railway. The Flight One Gallery houses the restored airboat that made the first scheduled airline flight in the U.S. on January 1, 1914.
Exterior of St Petersburg Museum of History.
Address: St Petersburg Museum of History, 335 Second Avenue NE, St Petersburg, FL 33701-3501, United States
Phone: 1 (727) 894-1052, Fax: 1 (727) 823-7276
Hours:
10am-4pm; Closed: Mon, Tue
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
In 1903 George Turner Sr began planting as a hobby. Today, Sunken Gardens is a five-acre tropical garden filled with local and exotic plants, and flowers. There is a Japanese garden, butterfly garden, cactus garden as well as a walk-through aviary and wax sculptures of biblical characters in the visitor's center.
Hours:
10am-4:30pm; Sun:12pm-4:30pm
Parking: Free
Disability Access: Partial facilities for persons with disabilities.
Zoologist Ralph Heath Jr founded Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary in 1971. On average, 23-30 wild birds are admitted every day and over 80% of the birds that survive during the first 24 hours are rehabilitated and released back into the wild.
Hours:
9am-Sunset
Tips: Public tours are Wednesdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
Parking: Free
Disability Access: Partial facilities for persons with disabilities.
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Salvador Dali Museum
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Sunshine Skyway, St Petersburg
St Petersburg Pier, St Petersburg
Fort DeSoto Park, St Petersburg
St Petersburg Pier, St Petersburg
Fort DeSoto Park, St Petersburg
Sunshine Skyway, St Petersburg
St Petersburg Pier, St Petersburg
