Geography

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 137.6 square miles (356.4 km²). 61.7 square miles (159.9 km²) of it is land, and 75.9 square miles (196.5 km²) of it (55.13%) is water.^[47] St. Petersburg is bordered by three bodies of water, the Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay, all of which form the Tampa Bay.^[48][49]

St. Petersburg seen from Spot satellite

Downtown

Downtown St. Petersburg is the Central Business District, containing high rises for office use, most notably the tallest building in the city, One Progress Plaza. The Tampa Bay Times newspaper is headquartered in the downtown area.^[50][51] The Poynter Institute, which owns the paper, is located on 3rd Street South.^[52]
The Mahaffey Theater complex, the Morean Arts Center, dozens of other art galleries, Haslam's Bookstore, The Coliseum, Palladium Theatre, and Jannus Live are among the galleries and cultural venues featured downtown.^[53] Several prominent museums are located in the perimeter. Many of them have received notable accolades, including the Chihuly Collection presented by the Morean Arts Center, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Salvador Dalí Museum, the Florida International Museum, the St. Petersburg Museum of History, and the Florida Holocaust Museum.^[53] The city hosts many outdoor festivals throughout the year.^[54]
St. Petersburg's downtown has been rated among the best in the South. The area's beaches are a 10-mile (16 km) drive from downtown. Jutting a half mile into the bay was the St. Petersburg Pier, a major tourist attraction that offered various activities. "The Lens" design which was chosen by the International Design Competition Jury and accepted by City Council later had its contract terminated by a citywide election during the summer of 2013.^[55][56] Following this, the "Pier Park" was chosen out of the 16 new design teams that submitted work in late 2014 and in 2015 the Pier Park was set for construction in early 2017.^[34] Downtown also contains the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and a downtown branch of St. Petersburg College.^[57][58] The downtown perimeter includes several parks, most of which are waterfront or lakefront. Straub Park is nearly a half mile long, boasts a waterfront location, and is home of the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts.^[59] The Vinoy Park Hotel has a bayfront location, a spot on the National Register of Historic Places,^[60] and an AAA Four-Diamond rating.^[61] It fronts Vinoy Park, which holds music festivals, including the Warped Tour. Nearby is the historic Tramor Cafeteria building, now part of the Tampa Bay Times. The city is connected via the Looper Trolley.^[62]
Most of the dining and nightlife can be found downtown on or near Central Avenue or Beach Drive along the waterfront. Venues include Jannus Live and the State Theatre. The active nightlife scene is credited to recent demographic and regulatory changes.^[63][64] In 2010, the city council voted to extend bar hours until 3 A.M., identical to cross-bay "rival" Tampa.^[65][66]
Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, is located in the western part of downtown. Until 2008, the team played its spring training games at nearby Progress Energy Park. This setup was unique, making St. Petersburg the first city that played host to its baseball team during spring training as well as the regular season since the 1919 Philadelphia Athletics.^[67] At the end of 2007, there was a debate over a new stadium to be built on the downtown waterfront at the current Progress Energy Park site. Tropicana Field would be demolished and replaced with prime residential and retail space. Completion of the stadium was planned for 2012; however, the proposal has been tabled indefinitely while a community-based organization investigates all alternatives for new stadium construction.^[68][69][70]

The S. H. Kress and Co. Building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

When the Wikimedia Foundation was founded by Jimmy Wales in 2003 it was originally located in downtown St. Petersburg. The foundation adopted its articles of incorporation in the city in 2005.^[71] On September 25, 2007, the Foundation announced its move in late 2007 from St. Petersburg to the San Francisco Bay Area.^[72][73]
St. Petersburg has the third-largest dedicated public waterfront park system in North America,^[74] with a waterfront park system that stretches 7 miles (11 km) and is used year-round for public events, festivals and other activities.^[75] In the early 20th century, citizens and city leaders engaged in a long and boisterous debate over the future of the young city's waterfront space, with one side advocating for commercial, port and industrial development and the other side advocating for a long-term commitment to parks and public access to the waterfront. The public access and park contingent won the debate when, on Christmas Eve 1909, the city announced the acquisition of the waterfront land that is encompassed by the waterfront park system.^[76]
The city is also becoming one of the largest destinations in Florida for kiteboarding with locations such as Fort De Soto Park, Pass-a-Grille, and Ten-Cent.^[77]
The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club was established in 1924 and gained attention as the "World's Largest Shuffleboard Club" with 110 courts and over 5,000 members in the 1950s and 1960s.^[78]

Cityscape

View looking out to sea towards the North Yacht Basin from Bay Shore Drive

Neighborhoods

Main article: Neighborhoods in St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg is home to more than 100 neighborhoods,^[79] with most of the historic districts located near the bay.^[80] In the eastern center of the city is Downtown St. Petersburg, which includes the cities residential and commercial skyscrapers, art galleries, museums, and parks.^[81] The downtown area is home the central business district to many start-up companies, corporation branches, banks, law firms, and restaurants.^{[citation needed]} Apart from downtown's business and cultural aesthetics, the area resides a branch of St. Petersburg College and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.^[81] Finally, the downtown district is home to two professional sports teams, the Tampa Bay Rays who reside west of downtown at Tropicana Field, and the Tampa Bay Rowdies who are located downtown at Al Lang Stadium.^[81]
North of Downtown St. Petersburg lies Historic Old Northeast and Snell Isle, both are a place of residence to Mediterranean style historic and waterfront homes, parks, and recreational areas.^[82][83] Old Northeast is also home to a shopping district, city landmarks, beaches, and small shops as well as small residential high rises.^[82] Snell Isle however was founded by C. Perry Snell who bought up the land to develop upscale properties in the 1900s, and helped create some of St. Petersburg's resorts such as the Vinoy Park Hotel and the St. Petersburg Woman's Club;^[84] both of which are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.^[85]
The western side of St. Petersburg includes the Grand Central District and Historic Kenwood. The Grand Central District houses the cities cafes, art galleries, restaurants, and bars all owing to the Renaissance style architecture.^[86][87] Whilst in Historic Kenwood is filled with art studios and galleries similarly to the Grand Central District.^[88]
Southward to St. Petersburg is Historic Roser Park, which houses Mediterranean style housing, parks, and museums.^[89] The neighborhood is divided by Booker Creek which flows into Bayboro Harbor.^[90][91]

Climate

Main article: Climate of the Tampa Bay area

St. Petersburg has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa), closely bordering a tropical savanna climate, with a definite rainy season from June through September. St. Petersburg, like the rest of the Tampa Bay area, is occasionally affected by tropical storms and hurricanes. However, the last time a hurricane directly struck the city was in 1946. Many portions of St. Petersburg, especially along the bay and in south St. Petersburg, have tropical micro-climates. Royal palms and coconut palms, as well as other tropical plants, grow to maturity. For the winter of 2014–15, the lowest recorded temperature at the St. Petersburg Downtown Airport was 40 degrees Fahrenheit (four degrees Celsius), which the city recorded on February 20.^[92] During the summer of 2015, the highest temperature recorded in the city was 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius), occurring on both June 16 and July 20.^[92] St. Petersburg has not recorded any freezing temperatures in the five-year period dating back to November 2010, which is the oldest data available from the local National Weather Service office page.^[93]