St Pete Beach History and Fun

By Published On: May 3rd, 2021

St Pete Beach – Beach Towns Series

Published on 05/03/21: Did you know that you live next to the #1 beach in the United States and #5 in the world, per TripAdvisor’s 2021 Travelers Choice awards? That’s right, the next beach town in my #LovingStPeteBeachTowns series is nationally acclaimed St Pete Beach (SPB). This is the second of TEN local beach towns in this series! This is the first of three posts dedicated to St. Pete Beach. Make sure to follow for the other two, plus info on the other eight local beach towns!

As you’ll see in the brief ‘Long Key’ history below, Pass-a-Grille (our initial #beachtown in this series) is technically part of SPB, though most locals consider them two distinct areas. While we absolutely love PAG for the community and peaceful family time, we equally love St. Pete Beach for fire pits, live music, ‘toes in the sand’ restaurants/bars, Sunday morning market & dancing at Jimmy B’s Beach Bar & Bistro (if wife twists arm).

After School Plans:

We lived 200 feet from Spinners Revolving Roof-Top Lounge and the Sirata Beach Resort for a while and had a blast. Our after-school routine was to head across the street for live music. If Bongo Beach Bar and the Sirata didn’t have anyone that day, we’d simply stroll down to TradeWinds Island Resort. Then we would head to the Guy Harvey Outpost (now RumFish Beach Resort, owned by TradeWinds). This is vacation territory, doesn’t matter the day, there’s live music somewhere!

While there’s a ton to do, SPB still has a small town feel when compared to ie the Ft. Lauderdale’s of the world. You can drive the length of the island in around 9 min (add a few during busy times). There’s a number of small neighborhoods, couple playgrounds, couple churches, a Publix, pharmacies and veterinarian. Pretty much everything one might expect for small town living. Plus, plenty of restaurants and activities. Much more on that in our final two SPB posts!

St Pete Beach History:

In 1957, the island known as Long Key became ‘St. Petersburg Beach’ after residents voted to consolidate 4 municipalities: Pass-a-Grille, Don CeSar Place, Belle Vista & St. Petersburg Beach. Then in 1994, residents voted to change the name to “St. Pete Beach”, shortening for paperwork and to distinguish from Saint Petersburg.

Thank you for spreading the word about my @LovingStPete Facebook and Instagram accounts!

One 📸 directly from The Hotel Zamora

Note: Spinners is currently closed for renovations under new ownership.

You’ll receive up to $10K at closing when you use my LovingStPete Team to buy or sell a property! I’m a St Pete Beach Realtor, with over 25K people following my LovingStPete Guide on social media! My past includes developing a vacation rental advertising business that I ran for more than a decade, then sold to HomeAway/VRBO. I’d love to help you buy or sell a property, simply contact me.

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Written by : St Petersburg Realtor, Mike Braswell

Mike Braswell is a Tampa Bay Realtor, serving St Petersburg, Clearwater, all nearby beaches and more. Mike started LovingStPete in October of 2020 after a difficult year took its toll on local businesses. After being cooped up for portions of 2020 (lockdown) Mike and his son decided to get out and explore, helping spread the good word about the local area he loves so much. Often even doing gift card giveaways to support local. LovingStPete is now followed by over 48 thousand people on social media! The majority of posts are informative on fun parks, activities, day trips, great restaurants, and in general provide a comprehensive tour of the area!

Soon after receiving his bachelors in Management Information Systems, Mike developed and then operated a vacation rental advertising business for 10+ years as CEO/Owner. The business was eventually acquired by VRBO. Mike has earned the trust of many large clients over the years. Such as NFL, Wynn Resorts, Blue Cross Blue Shield, VISA, Genuine Parts Company (NAPA Auto Parts), AT&T, and other Fortune 500 companies.

When not spending time with his beautiful wife and energetic son, Mike enjoys boating and is also an avid tennis player. An interesting fact about Mike is that he grew up on an avocado farm with over 15 varieties, some of which you can find in our local Publix/Winn Dixie as his dad still farms the same farm at 87 years old!

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