Saint Petersburg

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Saint Petersburg
Nickname : Florida's Sunshine City
Skyline
Skyline
County and state location
Pinellas County Florida Incorporated and Unincorporated areas St. Petersburg Highlighted.svg
Basic data
Foundation : 1876
State : United States
State : Florida
County : Pinellas County
Coordinates : 27 ° 46 ′  N , 82 ° 41 ′  W Coordinates: 27 ° 46 ′  N , 82 ° 41 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 249,688 (as of 2013)
2,870,569 (as of 2013)
Population density : 1,617.2 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 344.7 km 2  (approx. 133 mi 2 ) of
which 154.4 km 2  (approx. 60 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 13 m
Postcodes : 33701-33784
Area code : +1 727
FIPS : 12-63000
GNIS ID : 290375
Website : www.stpete.org
Mayor : Rick Kriseman

Saint Petersburg ( English for Saint Petersburg) (nickname "St. Pete"), also called Florida's Sunshine City , is a port city in Pinellas County in the US state of Florida with 249,688 inhabitants (as of 2013). After Jacksonville , Miami and Tampa , Saint Petersburg is the fourth largest city in Florida. The city on Tampa Bay is part of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater ( Tampa Bay Area for short ) with around 2.8 million inhabitants.

geography

Brown pelican on the pier of Saint Petersburg 2012

Saint Petersburg is located in western Florida on a peninsula, around 10 km southwest of Tampa on the Gulf of Mexico , which also forms the western and southern borders of the peninsula. To the east this is Tampa Bay . The city is directly adjacent to the cities of Gulfport , Kenneth City , Pinellas Park , South Pasadena , St. Pete Beach and Treasure Island .

climate

The climate is mild and warm with a light sea wind. Statistically, it rains an average of 40% of the days in the summer months, even if only for a short time. The highest temperatures are from May to October with up to 32 ° C. The coldest months are December to February with an average of only 12 ° C. Snowfall is very rare in the region.

history

In 1875 General John C. Williams moved from Detroit to the area after purchasing 2,500 acres (10 km²) of land on Tampa Bay. He imagined a great city, with big parks and wide streets. The first hotel was named after his birthplace, Detroit. 13 years later, Peter Demens , a Russian aristocrat, brought the Orange Belt Railway to Saint Petersburg. On June 8, 1888, the first train arrived with empty freight cars and a single passenger, a shoe seller from Savannah . The track was built, but the workers and loans could not be paid. Difficult times for dementia. He named the small town after his birthplace in Russia : Saint Petersburg . After several takeovers, the railway line was shut down as part of the establishment of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967.

The year 1914 brought two great events to the city: the spring education awakening and spring semester of college students and professional baseball . The previous mayor of the city, Al Lang, convinced Branch Rickey his team, the “St. Louis Browns ”to“ Sunshine City ”for spring training. In the same year, Tony Jannus flew over Tampa Bay with his “Benoist airplane” in a 23-minute flight at an altitude of around 15 meters. This event is commonly referred to as the birth of commercial aviation.

In the early 1920s, the city's first major growth boom began with an influx of tourists that resembled an invasion. They came by car, train or yacht. In 1924 the "Gandy Bridge" was opened and the travel time Tampa-Saint Petersburg was halved and Saint Petersburg was slowly preparing to become the largest city in Pinellas County. The building boom in the 1920s also brought remarkable architecture to the city: the Mediterranean motifs came to life again, supported by Perry Snell. Saint Petersburg's Mediterranean architecture can still be admired today in various buildings: the “Vinoy Hotel”, the “Jungle Country Club Hotel”, the “Princess Martha” and the “Snell Arcade” and also the Spanish style castles and houses along the “ Coffee Pot Bayou ”.

Saint Petersburg skyline as seen from the pier (Dec 2009)

The real estate boom collapsed during the Depression. The economic upswing did not return until the mid-1930s. The Saint Petersburg City Hall was financed in 1939 with the federal funds made available. In the 1940s the city grew again. In addition, a naval base for the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard) was built and a training base for the troops of World War II . Every night there were submarine patrols along the Gulf of Mexico. The War Department later selected Saint Petersburg as the training center for the United States Air Force . More than 100,000 trainees filled every hotel in town or private accommodation. This caused the population to continue to grow rapidly and a housing shortage spread. After the war, many men moved here with their families or came as tourists. Around 1950 air conditioning found its way into the city, trade moved into the city center and the tracks of the old tram were removed for the future automotive company.

Saint Petersburg skyline at night

With the new development in the 1960s came the city marina, the main library, the Bayfront Center and the Museum of Modern Art. In the 1970s, Saint Petersburg increasingly applied future technologies, such as: B. in water treatment, where used water has been recycled into service water. It developed the largest water return system in the USA.

In the 21st century, downtown redevelopment continued to include retail stores, restaurants, and movie theaters. More than 900 events bring more than 10 million visitors to the city every year. 10 marine institutes and more than two dozen galleries bear witness to the city's cultural activity.

Saint Petersburg still retains much of its charm as a holiday resort, its pelicans, sailboats and sunshine that the founders of the city loved.

Saint Petersburg port

Since Saint Petersburg was founded on the coast of Tampa Bay, the city has struggled for decades to use its port profitably. After Peter Demens brought the railroad to town, colonists came to set up a farm and go fishing. But the port basin was too shallow to become a commercial port of call for cargo and passenger ships. In 1901 the city council announced its plan to dig the harbor basin deeper. This project had to be approved by the War Ministry, so it could not begin until April 1906. The canal was completed in 1908. After further port basins had been dredged in April 1910, Saint Petersburg received approval to expand the port. In November 1913, the city council also gave permission for the dredging to be used as a deep sea port. In March 1921 Bayboro-Point was opened for passage for large ships.

On October 29, 1909, a couple of sailors founded the Saint Petersburg Yacht Club. Two months later they made the first excursion to the water with 20 boats and around 100 people. At that time the city had about 1,600 inhabitants. In 1924, a coast guard base was established to curb smuggling. This was closed in 1933, but reopened in 1939 as a training camp for the merchant navy. In that year the sailing training ship "Joseph Conrad" was built in 1882 and another sailing training ship was moved to Saint Petersburg. By the time they were decommissioned in 1944, the two sailing ships had trained more than 25,000 members of the merchant navy.

In 1927 the Florida Engineers and Consultant magazine declared Saint Petersburg a paradise for yacht owners. And in 1930 there was a big regatta from Saint Petersburg to Havana , Cuba. Eleven boats took part. From then on, the port became a popular meeting place for private yachts. From 1926 to 1936, copper magnate Murray Guggenheim's 30-meter yacht “Leonie” regularly wintered here . In 1937 the 28-meter yacht "Palladin" from AB Modine from Boston , Massachusetts also docked here.

As the population grew, so did the demand for appropriate sea transport. The first shipyard for yachts was built. In September 1965 the "Morgan Yacht Corporation" delivered the first ocean-going yacht. Five years later, the yacht “Heritage” built by the same company won the America's Cup . Since the 1980s, the port of Saint Petersburg has been an important hub for cruise ships destined for Key West , Cuba and Central America .

Religions

In Saint Petersburg there are currently 147 different churches from 28 different denominations, of which the Baptist congregation is most strongly represented with 28 churches. There are also 11 churches that do not belong to any denomination (as of 2004).

Demographic data

Population development
Census Residents ± in%
1910 4127 -
1920 14,237 245%
1930 40,425 183.9%
1940 60,812 50.4%
1950 96,738 59.1%
1960 181,298 87.4%
1970 216.232 19.3%
1980 238,647 10.4%
1990 238,629 -0%
2000 248.232 4%
2010 244,769 -1.4%
Source: 2010

According to the 2010 census, the then 244,769 inhabitants were distributed over 129,401 households. The population density was 1585.3 inh / km². 68.7% of the population identified themselves as whites , 23.9% as African American , 0.3% as Indians and 3.2% as Asian Americans . 1.5% said they belonged to another ethnic group and 2.5% to several ethnic groups. 6.6% of the population was made up of Hispanics or Latinos .

In 2010 children under the age of 18 lived in 24.9% of all households and persons aged 65 or over lived in 26.0% of all households. 54.3% of households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without offspring or one parent with offspring). The average household size was 2.19 people and the average family size was 2.88 people.

22.1% of the population were younger than 20 years, 25.6% were 20 to 39 years old, 30.4% were 40 to 59 years old, and 21.8% were at least 60 years old. The mean age was 42 years. 48.1% of the population were male and 51.9% were female.

The median annual income was $ 44,510, with 15.3% of the population living below the poverty line.

In 2000, English was the first language of 88.53% of the population, 4.43% spoke Spanish and 7.04% spoke another language.

Twin cities

Culture and sights

Special attractions are the harbor and the pier, the "Tropicana Field", the botanical park "Sunken Gardens", the "Tampa Bay Walk of Fame", the "Baseball Boulevard" and the "St. Petersburg Times Walk Through History ”as well as the“ Bayfront Center Arena ”,“ Mahaffey Theater ”and the“ Coliseum ”.

There are several museums, galleries and theaters in the city. The most important are:

More Attractions

The following properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places :

Parks and sports facilities

There is a wide range of 125 different city parks with a size of 2500 acres (10 km²), as well as several sports facilities, as well as playgrounds and opportunities for camping. Sports options include softball, baseball, football, basketball, soccer and swimming. Particularly noteworthy are the Boyd Hill Nature Park , the Sunken Gardens botanical park and the Pinellas Trail , a 70 km bike and hiking trail that connects Saint Petersburg with the center and north of Pinellas County. It is also the longest paved bike and hiking trail in the eastern United States. There are several golf courses, nine Olympic-sized public swimming pools, 80 floodlit tennis courts, three dog parks, two skateboard parks, a BMX bike park, and a frisbie park.

Sports

Honda Grand Prix 2006 in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is represented in the American League by the Tampa Bay Rays ( Major League Baseball ). The home games are played at Tropicana Field .

In 2003, the St. Petersburg Grand Prix , an automobile race, was held for the first time on the Streets of St. Petersburg street circuit . After a one-off appearance by the CART series, the IndyCar Series has been on the track since 2005 . Since 2007, the American Le Mans Series sports car race has also been held as part of the Grand Prix .

Since 2011, St. Petersburg has been represented in the North American Soccer League by the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer franchise . The home games are played at the Al Lang Stadium .

The Women's Tennis Association is located in Saint Petersburg .

Economy and Infrastructure

The main branches of employment are: education, health and social affairs: (21.2%), trade / retail: (11.9%), finance, insurance and real estate: (10.2%), industrial production: (10.1%) . Future technologies, management, administration: (11.2%). The city administration employs 3,628 people in full and part-time jobs, including 539 uniformed police officers and 303 professional fire services.

The recycling plant for industrial water is not only the only one in the USA, but also one of the largest in the world. This innovative system delivers more than 75 million cubic meters of recycled service water per day. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is the longest cable with 9-km suspension bridge in the Western world.

traffic

Saint Petersburg is connected to the whole world by its large port. Interstates 175 , 275, and 375 , US Highways 19 and 92, and Florida State Roads 595 , 600 , 679 , 682 , 686 , 687 , 688 , 693, and 694 run through the city . The city's airport is St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport immediately north of the city limits.

Public facilities

Clinics

  • All Childrens Hospital
  • Bayfront Medical Center
  • St. Anthony's Hospital
  • Palms of Pasadena

education

schools

The school system in Pinellas County is the seventh largest in Florida and the 22nd largest in the United States, with over 148,000 enrolled students in over 140 public schools, 72 private schools, 5 technical colleges and universities. The biggest schools in Saint Petersburg are:

  • John M. Sexton Elementary School, approximately 980 students
  • Sawgrass Lake Elementary School, approximately 960 students
  • Northwest Elementary School, approximately 800 students
  • Blanton Elementary School, approximately 780 students
  • John Hopkins Middle School, approximately 1500 students
  • Bay Point Middle School, approximately 1400 students
  • Riviera Middle School, approx. 1200 students
  • Meadowlawn Middle School, approx. 1200 students
  • Tyrone Middle School, approx. 1100 students
  • Saint Petersburg High School, approx. 2300 students
  • Gibbs High School, approx. 2050 students
  • Dixie M. Hollins High School, ca.1780 pupil
  • Lakewood High School, approximately 1650 students

Further educational opportunities

  • St Petersburg College
  • Eckerd College
  • University of South Florida St. Petersburg
  • Pinellas Technical Education Center
  • Stetson University College of Law

Libraries

Saint Petersburg has six public libraries, the "Main Library", the "Azalea Branch Library", the "James Weldon Johnson Branch Library", the "Mirror Lake Library", the "North Branch Library" and the "South Branch Library", a total of more than 423,000 books.

crime

The crime rate in 2010 was 594 points (US average: 266 points) in the high range. There were 13 murders, 105 rapes, 752 robberies, 1,888 assaults, 3,564 break-ins, 9,015 thefts, 1,236 car thefts and 90 arson.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Others

literature

  • R. Bruce Stephenson: Visions of Eden: Environmentalism, Urban Planning, and City Building in St. Petersburg, Florida, 1900-1995 . Ohio State University Press, Columbus OH 1997. ISBN 0814207251 ( digitized version on the publisher's pages in full access)

Web links

Commons : Saint Petersburg  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gregg Turner: A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing , Mount Pleasant 2014, ISBN 978-1-439642-54-2
  2. ^ Census of Population and Housing . 2010.census.gov. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  3. ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 . United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  4. ↑ Language distribution 2000 . Modern Language Association . Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  5. ↑ Petersburg: From the beach to the museum ( Memento of the original from January 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Travel EXCLUSIV magazine website, accessed January 12, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.reisenexclusiv.com
  6. ↑ FLORIDA - Pinellas County. National Register of Historic Places , accessed August 15, 2015 .
  7. ↑ http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-St.-Petersburg-Florida.html