Saint Petersburg, Fla. (pop. 238,629), is a popular resort city and retirement center. It lies on Tampa Bay at the tip of Pinellas Peninsula, on Florida’s west coast. St. Petersburg is sometimes called the Sunshine City because of its pleasant climate.
St. Petersburg grew rapidly during the mid-1900′s, partly because many retired people moved there. People aged 65 and over make up about 25 per cent of the city’s population. St. Petersburg and Tampa, which lies across the bay, form part of a metropolitan area that has a population of 2,067,959.
During the 1840′s, white settlers, most of whom farmed or fished for a living, first arrived in what is now the St. Petersburg area. Peter A. Demens, a businessman, built a railroad to the area from central Florida in 1888. Demens named the community for his birthplace, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Description. St. Petersburg covers about 59 square miles (153 square kilometers). Three bridges link the city with the Florida mainland to the east. Other bridges and highways connect the city with several islands in the Gulf of Mexico to the west. St. Petersburg has about 40 miles (64 kilometers) of shoreline and a deepwater harbor. The city also has about 70 public parks and 70 lakes.
The city’s chief cultural attractions and recreation areas lie on Tampa Bay, east of the downtown area. Many tourists visit the St. Petersburg Historical Museum, the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, and the Dali Museum, which houses works by the Spanish artist Salvador Dali. Bayfront Center and The Pier provide cultural and recreational facilities. Bayfront Center includes an auditorium, convention facilities, and a sports arena. The Pier extends into Tampa Bay and includes meeting rooms, restaurants, and shops. St. Petersburg is the home of Eckerd College, a branch campus of the University of South Florida, and St. Petersburg Junior College.
Several major-league baseball teams have held spring training in St. Petersburg since 1914. As a result, the city is called the Winter Baseball Capital of the United States. The city’s first major-league baseball team, the <a href=”http://tampa-seo.us” >Tampa</a> Bay Devil Rays, were scheduled to begin playing at Tropicana Field in 1998. Yachts from various parts of the world compete in sailing races held from St. Petersburg to several other Florida cities each spring. A Grand Prix automobile race is run during the fall each year on the streets of downtown St. Petersburg.
Economy. Tourism ranks as St. Petersburg’s leading source of income. About 31/2 million visitors spend about $2 billion there yearly. The city has about 200 small manufacturing plants. Their chief products, in order of value, include electronic equipment, glass products, and boats. The spending of retirement income by the city’s many retired residents has an important effect on its economy.
Government and history. St. Petersburg has a strong-mayor form of government. A city council makes government policies. The city council consists of a mayor and eight council members. The people elect the mayor and the council members to four-year terms. The mayor hires a city administrator, who handles the day-to-day operations of the government.
Indians lived in what is now the St. Petersburg area as early as 5000 B.C. Timucuan Indians lived there when Spanish explorers first arrived in the early 1500′s. Whites began to settle there in the 1840′s. By 1890, about 270 people lived there. St. Petersburg was incorporated as a town in 1892, and as a city in 1903.
The first of several tourist booms in St. Petersburg began in the early 1900′s. The city attracted worldwide attention in 1914, when the world’s first commercial airline began to operate there. A land sales boom increased its population from 14,000 in 1920 to about 40,000 in 1930. Gandy Bridge, which opened in 1924, linked St. Petersburg and Tampa. Later, other bridges helped its growth.
St. Petersburg has built several projects on Tampa Bay. The St. Petersburg Yacht Basin, a harbor for yachts, opened in 1963. Bayfront Center opened in 1965 and was modernized in 1988. The Pier was modernized in 1973 and 1988.