Timeline of St. Petersburg, Florida explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of St. Petersburg in Pinellas County, Florida, United States.

Late 19th century

• 1875 – John C. Williams purchases land.^[1]
• 1884 – The St. Petersburg Times was established.^[2]
• 1888
  • Peter Demens brings railroad into St. Petersburg.
  • The first hotel is built, named the Detroit Hotel.^[3]
• 1892
  • Town of St. Petersburg incorporated.^[4]
  • David Moffett becomes first mayor of St. Petersburg.^[5]
• 1897 – Electrical service established.
• 1899
  • Orange Belt Railway constructs the Railroad Pier.^[6]
  • Henry W. Hibbs introduces major fishing business.^[7]
• 1900 – Population: 1,575

20th century

• 1903 – City of St. Petersburg incorporated.
• 1904 – Trolley services enter St. Petersburg by F. A. Davis.^[8]
• 1906
  • The Electric Pier is built, replacing the Railroad Pier.^[9]
  • Shipping channel dredging begins.
• 1910 – Population: 4,127
• 1913 – The Municipal Pier is built, replacing the Electric Pier.^[9]
• 1914
  • St. Louis Browns invited to use St. Petersburg for spring training at Coffee Pot Park.^[10]
  • The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line perform the first commercial flight with a Benoist XIV flying boat.
• 1915 – Mirror Lake Library opens.^[11]
• 1916 – Al Lang becomes mayor.^[12]

St. Petersburg–Tampa Airboat Line

A Benoist XIV was used for flights.

• 1920 – Population: 14,237
• 1921
  • St. Petersburg Museum of History is founded.^[13]
  • 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane.
• 1924
  • The United States Coast Guard opens base.^[14]
  • Gandy Bridge opens.^[15]
• 1925 – The Vinoy Park Hotel is built.^[16]
• 1926 – Millions Dollar Pier is constructed, replacing the Municipal Pier.^[17]
• 1928 – WSUN radio begins broadcasting.
• 1930 – Population: 40,425
• 1940 – Population: 60,812
• 1942 – St. Petersburg used a training facility for the Army Air Force.^[18]
• 1947 – Original Al Lang Stadium is built.^{[19] [20]}
• 1950 – Population: 96,738
• 1953 – WSUN-TV (television) begins broadcasting.
• 1954 – The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge opens.^[21]
• 1960
  • Population

181,298.

• • Howard Frankland Bridge is constructed.^[22]
• 1965
  • Museum of Fine Arts is established.^[23]
  • Bayfront Center is constructed.^[3]
• 1968 – Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg established.^[24]
• 1970 – Population: 216,159.
• 1973 – The St. Petersburg Pier is built.^[25]
• 1976 – Al Lang Stadium is rebuilt.^[26]
• 1980
  • Population

238,647.

• • The south bound span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapses due to the MV Summit Venture striking a pier.^[27]
• 1982 – Salvador Dalí Museum is established.^[28]
• 1987 – The new Sunshine Skyway Bridge is constructed.^{[29] [30]}
• 1990
  • Population

238,629.

• • Tropicana Field is constructed.^[31]
  • One Progress Plaza is constructed.
• 1992 – Florida Holocaust Museum is established.
• 1993
  • Original Sunshine Skyway Bridge is demolished.^[32]
  • Mazzaro Italian Market opened^[33]
• 1998 – Tampa Bay Rays established as Tampa Bay Devil Rays.^[34]
• 2000 – Population: 248,232

21st century

• 2001 – Rick Baker becomes mayor.
• 2003
  • Wikimedia Foundation established.
  • First ever St. Pete Pride celebration and declaration of June being Pride month ^[35]
• 2004 – Bayfront Center is demolished.
• 2009 – Signature Place is constructed.
• 2010
  • Population: 244,769
  • Bill Foster becomes mayor.
• 2011 – Salvador Dalí Museum is established in current building.^[36]
• 2014 – Rick Kriseman becomes mayor.
• 2015
  • The St. Petersburg Pier is demolished.
  • The History Council of St. Petersburg is formed.^[37]
• 2017 – Rick Kriseman is re-elected as mayor.^[38]
• 2020 – St. Pete Pier opens.^[39]

See also

• List of mayors of St. Petersburg, Florida
• History of St. Petersburg, Florida
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pinellas County, Florida
• Timelines of other cities in the Central Florida area of Florida: Clearwater, Lakeland, Largo, Orlando, Tampa

Bibliography

• Book: St. Petersburg, Florida . Arcadia . Charleston, South Carolina . Black America . 2003.

Notes and References

1. Web site: History Of St. Petersburg - St. Petersburg. www.stpete.org. 2015-11-29.
2. Web site: Times History. https://web.archive.org/web/20100420140745/http://www.tampabay.com/company/about-us/times-history. dead. April 20, 2010. www.tampabay.com. 2015-11-29.
3. Book: Deese, Alma Wynelle. St. Petersburg, Florida: A Visual History. The History Press. 2006-01-01. 9781596290952. en.
4. Web site: What happened on February 29 in 1892 year. historyindates.com. 2015-11-29.
5. Web site: St. Petersburg Daily Times - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 2015-11-29.
6. Web site: St Petersburg Pier. savethepier.org. 2015-11-29. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131127074924/http://savethepier.org/history.html. 2013-11-27.
7. Book: Deese, Alma Wynelle. St. Petersburg, Florida: A Visual History. The History Press. January 1, 2006. 9781596290952.
8. Book: Hartzell, Scott Taylor. St. Petersburg: An Oral History. Arcadia Publishing. 2002-01-01. 9780738514253. en.
9. Book: Michaels, Will. The Making of St. Petersburg. The History Press. 2012-01-01. 9781609498337. en.
10. Book: Quesada, A. M. de. Baseball in Tampa Bay. Arcadia Publishing. 2000-02-16. 9781439610053. en.
11. Web site: Mirror Lake Public Library. 2015-11-29. www.stpete.org.
12. Web site: Remembering Al Lang, St. Petersburg's Mr. Baseball. https://archive.today/20130205021516/http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/remembering-al-lang-st-petersburgs-mr-baseball/428340. dead. February 5, 2013. Tampa Bay Times. 2015-11-29.
13. Web site: About. St. Petersburg Museum of History St. Petersburg, Florida. 2015-11-29. en-US.
14. Web site: USCG Sector St. Petersburg FL. www.uscg.mil. 2015-11-29.
15. Web site: George "Dad" Gandy and his Bridge. www.tampapix.com. 2015-11-29.
16. Web site: The Evening Independent - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 2015-11-29.
17. Web site: St. Petersburg Times - Google News Archive Search. news.google.com. 2015-11-29.
18. Web site: St. Pete Goes to War. 2015-11-29. www.stpete.org.
19. Book: Pahigian, Josh. 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out. Rowman & Littlefield. 2015-02-10. 9781493016471. en.
20. Web site: Al Lang Stadium - St. Petersburg International Baseball. www.stpeteinternationalbaseball.com. 2015-11-29.
21. Book: Proceedings of the 2nd Historic Bridges Conference: March 11, 1988, University Inn, Columbus, OH. Ohio State University. 1988-01-01. en.
22. Book: Anderson, Anne. Insiders' Guide® to the Greater Tampa Bay Area: Including Tampa, St. Petersburg, & Clearwater. Rowman & Littlefield. 2010-03-16. 9780762762309. en.
23. Web site: Curator at Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg resigns unexpectedly. Tampa Bay Times. 2015-11-29.
24. Web site: Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: USA . . Norway . April 22, 2017 .
25. Book: Michaels, Will. The Making of St. Petersburg. Arcadia Publishing. 2012-12-04. 9781614237761. en.
26. Book: Byrd, Alan. Florida Spring Training: Your Guide To Touring The Grapefruit League. registration. Al Lang stadium built 1976.. Intrepid Traveler. 2004-01-01. 9781887140522. en.
27. Book: Newton-Matza, Mitchell. Disasters and Tragic Events: An Encyclopedia of Catastrophes in American History [2 volumes]]. ABC-CLIO. 2014-03-26. 9781610691666. en.
28. Book: Hellmann, Paul T.. Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. 2006-02-14. 1135948593. en.
29. Book: PCI Journal. The Institute. 2006-01-01. en.
30. Web site: BUILDING BIG: Databank: Sunshine Skyway Bridge. www.pbs.org. 2015-11-29.
31. News: A Home in Florida That Nobody Seems to Want. The New York Times. 2008-10-09. 2015-11-29. 0362-4331. Richard. Sandomir.
32. Book: McMorrow-Hernandez, Joshua. Tampa Bay Landmarks and Destinations. Arcadia Publishing. 2015-04-27. 9781439651063. en.
33. Web site: 2022-06-10 . Mazzaro's Italian Market is a little piece of Italy in St. Pete . 2024-05-15 . ABC Action News Tampa Bay (WFTS) . en.
34. Web site: Rays Timeline. Tampa Bay Rays. 2015-11-29.
35. Web site: St. Pete Pride . Tampa Historical . Tampa Historical . 12 March 2020.
36. Web site: Salvador Dali Museum tour. https://web.archive.org/web/20110111080343/http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2011/reports/salvador-dali-museum-st-petersburg/. dead. January 11, 2011. www.tampabay.com. 2015-11-29.
37. Web site: Establishing St. Petersburg as an International Cultural Heritage Destination . StPete . The History Council . 12 March 2020.
38. Web site: Kriseman wins race for mayor in Saint Petersburg. Salomone. Julie. November 8, 2017. WFTS. en. December 12, 2018.
39. Web site: Moore. Waveney Ann. Talbot. Peter. Welch. Monique. Solomon. Josh. July 6, 2020. After years, St. Pete Pier opens to a crowd of thousands Monday. July 21, 2020. Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. en.