St. Petersburg is fortunate to contain not one, not two, but FIVE national historic districts. Each is described below with descriptions courtesy of the City of St. Petersburg.
“Listed” dates are the month and year the district was granted its national historic district status.
Downtown St. Petersburg
Listed April 2004
Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District is a compilation of various commercial, civic, religious, recreational, and residential buildings that reveal the unique development pattern of the city as a tourist and winter destination. The 320-acre district is listed on the National Register in the areas of architecture, commerce, community planning and development, entertainment and recreation, education, and politics and government. Approximately 356 contributing buildings, structures, and objects have been identified in the Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District. Another sixty-seven buildings, structures and objects are noncontributing. This count indicates 84% of all buildings, structures, and objects are contributing to the significance and character of the district.
The Downtown district derives historic significance from its ability to visually convey the unique community of full and part-time residents and seasonal tourists from the mid 1910s to 1950. The wide variety of building types within the district, including commercial, religious, residential, educational, governmental and recreational, document the many facets of this community and contribute to its significance. The district is particularly notable for its parks and recreational and entertainment facilities that for many decades served the resident, seasonal, and transient tourist populations of the district and city.
The Downtown St. Petersburg Historic District reflects the variety of architectural styles one expects to find in a city which developed intensively in the first five decades of the twentieth century. In addition to many masonry vernacular buildings contributing to the character of downtown, the district has a variety of buildings designed in recognized "high styles" that establish its development to a definitive period of time. These styles include Commercial Vernacular, Frame Vernacular, Mission/Mediterranean Revival, Beaux Arts, Neoclassical Revival, Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival and Modernist architecture.
Round Lake Historic District
Listed September 2003
The Round Lake Historic District is an area of approximately 160 acres that illustrates the full spectrum of popular residential design during the first half of the twentieth century. The historic building fabric within the district not only reflects prevalent styles and types, but also illustrates that the housing pattern in the Round Lake area was influenced by the influx of tourists in the early part of the twentieth century. The styles expressed in the historic district include: Frame and Masonry Vernacular, Craftsman Bungalow, Minimal Traditional, Tudor Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, Prairie, Mission, Classical Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, American Foursquare, Art Moderne, and Minimal Traditional. One- and two-story single-family dwellings typically with one-story garages to the rear, constructed between circa-1905 and 1952 characterize the district. The residence at 734 Grove Street, built between 1898 and 1906, is the earliest constructed resource within the historic district and it is individually listed at the local level. There are also a few small commercial buildings in the area. Of the 1,013 buildings that were surveyed, 919 contribute to the character of the district and 94 are considered noncontributing, a ratio of 90 percent contributing to 10 percent non-contributing.
Round Lake was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its remarkably intact collection of early twentieth century residential design and its significance in the areas of community planning and development and architecture. It was principally a working-to middle-class neighborhood. This area exemplifies the influence of St. Petersburg’s tourism industry on the residential housing stock. In addition, the neighborhood is one of the first to be developed outside of the commercial center of the city, and illustrates the beginnings of suburban planning principles. Those principles that ensured continuity to the district include: the original layout with its grid pattern and alleys that parallel the avenues; brick paved streets and alleys; hexagonal block patterns in the sidewalks; and the granite curbing. Comprised of a distinctive and sizable collection of intact early twentieth century residential architecture, Round Lake is architecturally significant as it contains excellent examples of popular styles constructed throughout the first half of the twentieth century.
Kenwood Historic District
Listed August 2003
The Kenwood Historic District is a 375-acre residential area containing a variety of residential architectural styles including Frame and Masonry Vernacular, Craftsman Bungalow, Minimal Traditional, Tudor Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, Ranch, Prairie, American Foursquare, Dutch Colonial Revival, Mission, and International. The district consists mainly of one-story and two-story single-family dwellings constructed between 1912 and 1945. Most of the primary residences have outbuildings, such as garages, garage apartments, and separate apartment structures. There are also a few small commercial buildings in the area, and five churches. When the first housing survey was completed in 1995, during the process of applying for historic status, there were 1104 structures in Historic Kenwood, 92 percent of which are considered as contributing structures to the Historic District. In the 1930's approximately 170 homes, most them Craftsman/Bungalows, were moved to Kenwood from Central Avenue and other St. Petersburg neighborhoods.
The Kenwood district was designated for its significance in the areas of community planning and development and architecture. It is representative of the early residential development of the City of St. Petersburg during the first half of the twentieth century. The neighborhood is also one of the first suburban residential areas to be developed outside of the central business area of the City. Comprised of a distinctive and sizable collection of intact early twentieth century suburban architecture, Kenwood is architecturally significant. A wide variety of residential architectural styles from circa-1912 through 1952 are represented in the historic district. The district also retains many of its original design features, including brick streets and alleys, hexagonal block sidewalks, and granite curbing as well as its original layout and grid pattern with alleys that parallel the avenues. Based on this concentration of historic buildings and the retention of the historic character, Kenwood reflects the architectural influences of the decades before, during, and after the Florida Land Boom era.
North Shore Historic District
Listed February 2003
The North Shore Historic District was listed on the National Register for its extensive and eclectic mixture of architecture in St. Petersburg. This district includes a high percentage of architectural styles that typify the Florida Land Boom era and reflect the broad settlement patterns of the City of St. Petersburg. It encompasses approximately 425 acres and contains a variety of residential architectural styles including Frame and Masonry Vernacular, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, Craftsman, Prairie, Georgian, Italian Renaissance, Mediterranean Revival, Minimal Traditional, Mission, Tudor Revival, Ranch, Split Level, Art Moderne, and Monterey. The district consists primarily of one-story and two-story residences built between ca. 1910, and ca. 1945. Of the 3,732 buildings in the district, 3,182 are contributing and 550 are non-contributing, a ratio of 85 percent contributing to 15 percent noncontributing. In addition to the residential buildings, the district also contains four contributing objects: two pergolas, an urn, and a fountain.
North Shore was listed on the National Register for its significance in the areas of community planning and development, and architecture. It is representative of the early residential development of the City of St. Petersburg during the first half of the twentieth century. The neighborhood is one of the first suburban residential areas to be developed outside of the central business area of the City. Comprised of a distinctive and sizable collection of intact early twentieth century suburban architecture, the North Shore Historic District is architecturally significant. A wide variety of residential architectural styles from circa 1910 through 1945 are represented. The district also retains many of its original design features, including brick streets and alleys, hexagonal block sidewalks, and granite curbing as well as its original layout and grid pattern with alleys that parallel the avenues. Based on this concentration of historic buildings and retention of its historic character, the North Shore Historic District reflects the architectural influences of the decades before, during, and after the Florida Land Boom era.
Roser Park Historic District
Listed April 1998
The 27-acre Roser Park Historic District was listed on the National Register for its significance in the areas community planning and development, architecture, and landscape architecture. One of the first suburban residential areas developed south of the downtown business district in St. Petersburg, Roser Park was known as an early "streetcar suburb" as it was adjacent to the Gulfport trolley line. Roser Park is also significant for its wide variety of residential architectural styles and types, including Frame Vernacular, Prairie, Craftsman, Bungalow Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, Neoclassical and Tudor Revival. Approximately 173 structures are located within the district and only fourteen are noncontributing. Roser Park is also an excellent local example of development inspired by the City Beautiful Movement, which advocated the creation of livable cities through the inclusion of public parks and designed landscape spaces. The sensitive site design and attention to landscaping by its early developers created the distinctive natural setting which gives the neighborhood its character. The district retains many of its original design features, including rusticated block retaining walls, brick streets, original hexagon sidewalk pavers, and granite curbstones.
Information made available by the City of St. Petersburg.