A home with a direct connection to one of St. Petersburg’s most historic hotels is now on the market in the Jungle Prada neighborhood.
Located at 1600 Park St N, the home was built in 1963 and originally belonged to Florence Robinson, who was the owner of the long gone Floronton Hotel, until she passed on the estate to her son, the late State Representative Jim Robinson.
The 2,396-square-foot home has since been remodeled and updated over the years, but now comes with five bedrooms and four bathrooms, as well as a circular Augusta brick driveway, a private in-law suite, a hot tub, a whole house generator, and a dock overlooking Boca Ciega Bay.
Robinson died in 1972 at the age of 82.
The Floronton Hotel, which sat at 25 2nd St. N, was a big deal for St. Petersburg. Completed in 1910 by Mary Purnell, the Floronton was St. Pete’s first hotel to be built with stone bricks rather than wood. Mostly used for tourists, the building briefly served as headquarters for the Army Air Force’s Technical Training Command during World War II. Robinson purchased the hotel shortly after the war, but sold it in 1955 to Darlo Toffenetti, who renamed it the Toffenetti Hotel.
Over the years, the hotel changed hands (at one point it was called the Tropicana Hotel) and the building was eventually converted into offices in 1986. Most recently, it was used as the headquarters for the Bay Plaza Corporation, which ended up leveling the entire block except for the Floronton.
That didn’t last long. After a considerable effort to save the building, the Floronton Hotel was demolished in late 2015 to make way for what is now St. Pete’s tallest building, the One St. Petersburg condominium tower.
However, you can still save the Robinson house. The home is currently asking $4,999,000, and the listing agent is Kelly Jamruk of Phelps Realty Group.
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All photos via Zillow
This article appears in Mar. 26 – Apr. 1.