A couple of weeks ago (remember the sticky heat of summer?) my girlfriend and I had the bright idea of going to Lowry Park Zoo. Now I have been to the Zoo plenty of times over the years and usually had a good time, the last time I was there was maybe two years ago. The park seemed to have changed quite a bit in the interim and I was sad to see the decline. The heat was oppressive, but I am used the that. Busch Gardens solves that with misters and an abundance of shade. Lowry Park doesn’t have much shade for visitors or their animals. The animals solve this by finding any scrap of shade and not moving at all but we didn’t have that option. The staff of the park was pretty lackluster as well. Very few places were open to serve refreshments due, I assume, to the low attendance. Those that were open were staffed by folks who looked as if they were just there to satisfy the provisions of their probation.
I don’t like to focus on the negative aspects when I write for Sticks so I will cut to the chase. We called it a loss and split for better times.
Wanting a cool treat we headed across the Bay to St Petersburg’s downtown waterfront and Beach Drive. After parking for free we walked along Beach drive and tried Gelato. A constantly rotating array of ice cream flavors is served in cups that can hold three or five different flavors. Caffeine addict? Have a shot of espresso served over you ice cream too. If you still need a pick me up walk next door to Hooker Teas for a chilled drink to walk with. We window shopped at antique stores we could never afford and then walked through the park and took our pictures in front of the majestic and cool Banyan trees.
Baywalk is right there too. For a small fee you can take a walk though the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoy art while strolling though air conditioned galleries and cool courtyards.
When you get done with the shopping district hop back in your car and drive further south on 4th Street South and turn onto Roser Park drive. Roser Park is a tiny oasis where the sound of water drowns out any lingering traffic noise and the old brick streets are so uneven that cars cannot speed through and disrupt the peace. Think of it as traffic calming early 20th century style. You can find parking on the street for free and take a walk along the path next to Booker creek. Trees loom over your head and provide a cool shelter from the sun. Sit on a bench and look at the historic homes sitting on top of high bluffs that look utterly unlike anything else I have ever seen in flat-as-a-pancake coastal Florida. So the next day you have off and want to do something local, something to break your routine without breaking your wallet, something to give you a respite from the hot and muggy take a quick drive downtown and think, “Wouldn’t it be nice if Tampa could figure out how they did this?”
BTW- Coming soon (or when I get around to it) “Central Avenue After Dark” or “Ybor Sans Handguns and Omni Parking”
Rick
2 years ago
St. Pete has such a great downtown, dont forget when you do your piece on Central Ave after dark to include “dodgeing the aggresive panhandlers.”
Judy Hill
2 years ago
So glad you discovered my home town. St. Pete is a wonderful place to live as well as to visit.
Tom
2 years ago
Thanks for telling folks about the beauty of Roser Park.
In a few months the scenic walk will extend a few more blocks south when a construction project is completed.
This weekend is the perfect time to visit with the annual art show on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday you can also go 10 blocks south and join the block party in Bartlett Park. Take a walk around the park and see the historic Tennis Center and the section of Salt Creek that flows through the park.
gaypinellas
2 years ago
Hooker Tea Rocks… Try the Ginsing Oolong….
Steven Tamayo
2 years ago
hippies
wifey
2 years ago
I love St Pete as well. I grew up clost to Treasure Island and miss it. I try to get the family over there often and now I have new places to try. Thanks!
Autopsy IV
2 years ago
Coming soon (or when I get around to it) “Central Avenue After Dark” or “Ybor Sans Handguns and Omni Parking”
With a properly placed phone call this could become “Central After Dark” or “Getting so drunk with Autopsy even the Emerald seems fun”.
jason
2 years ago
Ha! We will need a tour guide so I was going to call you. Tell me why we aren’t supposed to go to the Uptown bar again?
Autopsy IV
2 years ago
Why do we not goto the Uptown Bar brought to you by Autopsy IV:
a) they only serve beer.
b) said beer is horribly overpriced
c) the people that run it are total kooks.
d) if i wanna go see music too loud in a place to small i can go to the emerald…they serve whiskey.
chaaalie
2 years ago
I’m just glad you didn’t make a reference to Tropicana Field or the Devil Rays. Because then all the responses would have been about how far away it is, and how it all should be moved to downtown Tampa …
dreaming
2 years ago
when you look at lower central ave versus franklin street in downtown tampa, you see that franklin actually has a better infrastructure with cooler buildings, just mainly vacant.
the magnets along central are:
1/a live music venue (janus landing)
2/starbucks nearby
3/movies, stores and restaurants (baywalk)
4/numerous and various kinds of bars
5/numerous and various kinds of restaurants
that’s about it. franklin street could have those things.
there really arent many residents, per se, living on central ave., and the maj of downtown residents on the water are older.
so tampa cannot argue that more downtown residents is the key to its revival.
if you look at the old pictures from as recently as the 50s, you see people crawling, just crawling, all over downtown tampa. the shopping malls ended that.
but those days could return because malls are no longer a novelty.
Tom
2 years ago
Lots of people have moved to downtown in the past few years.
It is no longer a ghost town after 5pm. USF just open their dorm and brought in a younger crowd.
james
2 years ago
Glad to see that you do not think the bridge is a “bridge too far”! Downtown St. Pete is a great place. Come early on Saturday for the market, you will flip!
chaaalie
2 years ago
Dreaming –
You forgot a major benefit St. Pete has over downntown Tampa: Most of the time it is possible to find free parking reasobaly close to where you are headed.
Parking options in downtown Tampa are significantly less, unless you are willing to pay a premium. (Which is also why many of the Franklin Steet storefronts are vacant, or have lower-traffic businesses like lawyers, architects etc.)
James
2 years ago
I haven’t seen anyone burning down buildings in downtown St Pete, either. Downtown Tampa after dark will remain a shiathole, since a majority of the residents there do not actually live in homes.
Rachel*
2 years ago
The Uptown is fine. I don’t know about the beer, but their wine selection is actually quite broader than places that aren’t dive bars, and the women who run it are a Polish mother and daughter team who write horrible feminist poetry in way broken English, which is sort of interesting.
They are also kind to the point of bad business. I know of three events where they have put out advertising money for acts that were entirely unproven. All three were a success. One was profiled in the Times.
I’m not a huge fan of the place personally, because I don’t like most of the music they play (I like house music the best), but telling a large audience not to go there because it isn’t the Emerald is kinda shitty.
The Emerald’s cool, too, though. Tip my friend Chrissy!
Rachel*
2 years ago
Also, downtown St. Pete is nothing like Ybor.
We’re sexy and we smile and our hair is clean and we have nice clothes and we know how to dance without looking like dogs in heat and we don’t carry weapons.
Word up – Cafe Alma tonight. The Garage on Saturday. Feel free to email me.
Autopsy IV
2 years ago
but telling a large audience not to go there because it isn’t the Emerald is kinda shitty.
by and large i’ll advise you against going to the Emerald as well…unless a band you like is playing.
piratechic
2 years ago
Which is why I’ll be at the Emerald tonight. Nervous Turkey!
Autopsy IV
2 years ago
YES! If the Down show gets out in time I’ll be joining you for some Nervous Turkey.
Anonymous
2 years ago
Ooh look at Rachel flinging monkey turds at Ybor from God’s Waiting Room. How cute! Such class! And what decade are you from with “word up”?
Rachel*
2 years ago
Dude, I lived in Ybor for longer than I’ve lived in St. Pete. I am actually in a perfect position to comment from a comparative perspective.
And, shit, you wanna talk about dating yourself – who still cares what I say on the internet? Oh. You. Haha!
Jenna
2 years ago
I just had the honor of experiencing downtown St. Pete for the first time this past weekend. I like the pier and strolling through Bay Walk. One day, I’d like to check out the Museum of Fine Art and the Museum of History. BTW, I’m really impressed with the picturesque tree on the corner.
Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog » Blog Archive » central avenue after dark
2 years ago
[...] after my recent post about the fun to be had downtown in St Pete (as opposed to downtown Tampa which is about as fun on a Saturday as a root canal) I promised that [...]
Bungalow
2 years ago
Thanks for writing the article on St Pete. I’ve lived in the Old Northeast Historic District for 3 years and love the preservation efforts so many homeowners have shown in our area. I’ve been renovating my 20’s bungalow for a long time and never get tired of the charm our neighborhood has. I also like what has been happening downtown. However, I really wish we could get a Trader Joe’s or a Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel in downtown. The little boutique shops get tiring. There is definitely money in this area. I do not why we don’d have anything like the places mentioned.
Moira
1 year ago
I was just down there visiting my sister whom lives in Seminole County and we went to St. Petersburg Thursday nite to see the new batman movie (which was awesome). While walking through the Bayfest, we came across a man and his dog whom was decked out in dread locks and scarf and was just about the most wonderful thing I have ever seen. Sooooo cute. Does anyone have a picture of this dog? If so could you please send it to my e-mail address above. I would really appreciate it.