By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.
Curious to learn more about preservation or ways to get involved in your community, but don’t know where to start? We’re here to help. In our blog, our preservation experts break down current advocacy issues, ways to get involved, and local St. Pete happenings.
St. Petersburg, a city surrounded by water and known for its resort lifestyle, had no pools where African Americans could swim until 1954. That changed when Jennie Hall, an 85 year old white woman from Montana, stepped forward to help the African American community build a pool. With a rather startling and unannounced moment in front of St. Petersburg’s city council in June 1953, Jennie Hall proclaimed she would be donating $25,000 for a swimming pool to serve the African American community. To prove her seriousness, she wrote a check for $10,000 on the spot and promised an additional $15,000. The City Council, somewhat cowed and taken aback, agreed to match the gift with $35,000 of city funds.
City Council closed out 2024 by voting 5-2 in favor of an application to create a Local Historic District around Mirror Lake. The designation is the city’s first since 2021, the tenth overall, and the second in downtown.
To some, it seemed like a race: the creation of a Mirror Lake historic district with guidelines for future development, or watching its historic structures demolished. For the past few years, demolition has been comfortably in the lead.
The effort to create a Local Historic District around Mirror Lake encountered a slight delay last month when the Community Planning and Preservation Commission (CPPC) failed to reach a quorum and was unable to vote on the application.
