Category: History

Midtown Moments: The Chattaway

By Brittany Cravatta Enjoy Your Meal Next to a Beautiful Garden The Chattaway’s is a privately owned restaurant on the corner of 22nd Ave and 4th St. South. Built in the 1920s, people stopped by to buy snacks while traveling to other cities. Owner Jillian Frers claimed that she had been running the business since… Continue reading Midtown Moments: The Chattaway

Midtown Moments: The Royal Theater

By Joseph Conte A much-needed escape into the world of film for the community during tough times The Royal Theater located on the 22nd Street South, opened it’s doors to the public in 1948. The black community received the opening with great joy and festivities. The theater was kept in operation throughout 1966 and was… Continue reading Midtown Moments: The Royal Theater

Midtown Moments: Morean Center for Clay

By Lee Britain Midtown History Revived, Renewed, Rejuvenated Built in 1926, this historic Midtown St. Petersburg building was once the Seaboard Freight Depot. According to General Manager Valerie Scott Knaust, “everything that came into St. Pete once came in through this space.” The historic building has been turned into the Morean Center for Clay which… Continue reading Midtown Moments: Morean Center for Clay

Midtown Moments: Lorene’s Fish and Crab House

By Alyssa Fedorovich One of the oldest restaurants on the Deuces Situated at 929 22nd Street S. adjacent to a mural showcasing Ella Fitzgerald, Lorene’s Fish and Crab House offers a wide variety of foods such as burgers, jumbo shrimp, and even chicken strips. Owners Lorene and Arthur Office opened the restaurant over 25 years ago,… Continue reading Midtown Moments: Lorene’s Fish and Crab House

Midtown Moments: Black History Month

By Abigail Payne Black History Month in St. Petersburg had a productive start this 2017. For the second year in a row, Mayor Rick Kriseman rose the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum flag above City Hall. The event took place on Feb. 1, 2017, to jump start Black History Month. It represented… Continue reading Midtown Moments: Black History Month

Where are the voices of Midtown in the Tropicana Field redevelopment?

Tropicana Field, known as “The Dome” to locals, rests on the bones of the Gas Plant community, which was torn down in the ’80s to make way for the Trop. Midtown residents have raised concerns about the decisions regarding the stadium’s redevelopment.

“Even though the construction of Tropicana Field did, in some ways, bring new life to the city according to some, the stadium was a catalyst for a lot of the rebirth of downtown St. Petersburg, but to many in Midtown it remains a point of contention.” Written by NNB student Erin Murphy, this article was… Continue reading Where are the voices of Midtown in the Tropicana Field redevelopment?

John Lewis talks to St. Petersburg

photo by Jonah King, John Lewis and Charlie Crist preparing to talk to the crowd

Lewis speaks on the importance of voting, optimism in the face of fear, and endorses Charlie Crist BY JONAH KING Neighborhood News Bureau Civil rights is a 9-word problem: “Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, I Have a Dream.” Those nine words are the universal American understanding of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. Another two… Continue reading John Lewis talks to St. Petersburg

A Community on the Verge of Extinction

Filmed by USFSP student, Tracy Darity, this video shows her concerns regarding “concerning gentrification, the Warehouse Arts District,” and the lack of entertainment options in Midtown, St. Petersburg. According to Darity, “as a person of color, I believe this is a very important topic, and it saddens me that black community has grown numb to… Continue reading A Community on the Verge of Extinction

When baseball stars came to town, they stayed with him

Paul Stewart interviewed by David Stoner during the Telling Tampa Bay Stories: Midtown event at the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in February. NNB reporter Miranda Borchardt and WUSF journalist Lisa Peakes. Photo by Bernardo H. Motta.

BY DAVID STONER, Neighborhood News Bureau Most people know that Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargel, and Frank Robinson are three of the greatest baseball players of all time.  What people may not know is that these ballplayers, along with others, were a part of Midtown history. During the late 1950’s and 1960’s, many of the teams… Continue reading When baseball stars came to town, they stayed with him

Gallery celebrates second year, highlights Florida-born artist

Gallery owner and event curator, Carla Bristol, demonstrates how she greets every guest with a hug.

REPORTING BY KATIE CALLIHAN AND MARLA KORENICH PHOTOS BY KATIE CALLIHAN NNB Reporters MIDTOWN-During February of 2014, a massive snowstorm known as PAX froze and shut down the entire heartbeat of the city of Atlanta.   The major power outages left more than 100,000 people in the dark without heat for days, and for some, weeks.… Continue reading Gallery celebrates second year, highlights Florida-born artist