As St. Petersburg changes at a rapid pace, sometimes it’s fun to look at all the things that it’s been – the people, places, and events that were part of everyday life for years, and remain cherished memories for some, and eye-opening surprises for the newly-arrived.
Bill DeYoung’s Vintage St. Pete series is a sort of Encyclopedia Britanica of life in the Sunshine City. New from St. Petersburg Press, Vintage St. Pete & Vintage Pinellas, Volume 3 continues the chronicle with 25 all-new chapters about community traditions, legendary restaurants, beloved TV and newspaper personalities, movies made in the area, hometown heroes, artistic endeavors and more.
Like its two predecessors, this large-format book (available in both hardcover and softbound) is a historical who’s-who and what’s what – written in a breezy, entertaining style and lavishly illustrated with archival photographs, memorabilia and press clippings.
As the title suggests, this new volume moves outside the boundaries of St. Petersburg to include close neighbors like Clearwater (a loving look at the Kapok Tree Inn, once the most popular restaurant in all of Florida, and the Dolphin Tale movies), Gulfport (100+ years of the Boca Ciega Bayfront Casino, and the 1956 making of the film noir classic The Strange One), Tarpon Springs (there’s a complete and compelling history of the city’s rich, Greek sponge-diving industry), Treasure Island (the Penguin Restaurant, shaped like a gigantic white igloo) and Pinellas Park (the Beaux Arts, the first art gallery in Pinellas County and the longtime epicenter of bohemian activity for young people from both sides of the bay).
The Festival of States. The Little Theatre. Lenny Dee. Ted Peters. Salty Sol, Ernie Lee and the gang at WTVT “Big 13.” If you lived here then, you’ll remember. If you didn’t, you’ll be amazed at what went on (and, in the case of the Pier laser show, what didn’t go on) before you got here.
From the foreword by renowned historian Monica Kile: “The stories offer an eminently readable synthesis of what any historian will recognize as hours of painstaking research. Bill includes the important facts that establish the story’s credibility while not skipping the anecdote that makes it a joy to read. Bill entertains while he educates.”
Vintage St. Pete & Pinellas Volume 3 is available via Amazon and St. Petersburg Press, and locally at Tombolo Books, the St. Pete Store, and the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
