TRAVEL & CULTURE
FEBRUARY 2019 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM
54O
NCE A SLEEPY COASTAL
city where retirees congre-
gated on green benches
lining the streets, Tampa’s
neighboring town now
draws entrepreneurs,
painters, and travelers—
from beach lovers to art aficionados.
(Retirees have a lot more fun too.) “My
parents told me, ‘You’re too young to
move to St. Pete,’ ” says Emily Elwyn,
who relocated anyway, along
with scads of other Gen-Xers
and millennials who’ve helped
invigorate this town. “So much
of what people want is what
we already have: a walkable
downtown; front-porch
neighborhoods; funky old
buildings; and access to the
arts, parks, and recreation.”
Not to mention the fact that
beaches are minutes away.
A 12-year resident, Elwyn
now serves as president of the
board of directors at Preserve
the ’Burg, a nonprofit that
leads city tours for locals
and tourists every Saturday.From the Historic Old Northeast
neighborhood, with its inviting
bungalows, to the business center
along the marina, where new addi-
tions and million-dollar condos
are popping up, St. Petersburg feels
both historic and emergent.Locals say the recent boom has
centered along Beach Drive (facing
the bay) and Central Avenue (lined
with galleries, bars, and boutiques).
“The town has only been this
exciting for about 15 years,” says Jeri
Gammage, who volunteers at Florida
CraftArt, a gallery and store that’s
also a statewide nonprofit. Gammage
attributes the city’s evolution to the arts
community. “Some might argue it’s
the baseball team,” she says, nodding
toward the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana
Field on the downtown fringe. “But
most people in the baseball shirts go
straight to the stadium.”
For Gammage, it was the Morean
Arts Center, where locals can take
classes and tourists can watch glass-
blowing demos, that sparked many
changes downtown. She says that once
the Morean joined Florida CraftArt
on Central Avenue a few years back,
the businesses, restaurants, and
warehouses-turned-studios followed.A Florida Classic
The Don CeSar
hotel has been
welcoming guests
since 1928.Pool with a View
Stay at The Don
CeSar, and you
can take a dip
by the Gulf.Bird-Watch
The Sunken Gardens
are home to iconic
Florida flamingos.