In the early '90s, Sunken Gardens was one of those tourist attractions that had fallen on hard times. Though it was not a big draw, there was an endearing chaos about the place that gave it a particular brand of weird kitsch. For instance, you could enter a large, screened-in aviary and walk amongst all sorts of exotic birds (including, as I recall, peacocks) that were just milling around. The place had the faint smell of bird shit; some people called it "Stunken Gardens." There was a glass cage built inside a rock that held a rat, or some feral looking thing. The grounds weren't always kept up. Sunken Gardens, privately owned, was in disrepair. It was untamed.
The attraction closed for four years until the city of St. Petersburg bought it in 1999 and spiffed it up. Sunken Gardens' refurbished building, once home to "The World's Largest Gift Shop" and the "King of Kings Wax Museum," is the new home for the Great Explorations children's science museum.
These days, Sunken Gardens is like a manicured jungle — and who doesn't dig shade in the summertime? You must really, really like plants to visit. The concrete walkways are populated with a cornucopia of exotic green life. Blue Ginger, Mango, Croton, Yellow Shrimp Plants, Alexandria Palms, Tillandsia, cactus and succulents and dozens more plants indigenous to Madagascar, Australia, South America, the Caribbean, the South American rainforest and other faraway locales, not to mention right here in the bay area.
The newly tamed Sunken Gardens has much less of an animal presence: a few cages of birds and a gaggle of pink flamingos that stand together in a sandy area. The cage holding Blue and Yellow Macaws is the coolest. A couple of the birds holler out "Hello," to passersby. The only opportunity to actually commune with animal life is in a Butterfly Garden. You walk into a screened edifice where little winged things flutter about.
St. Petersburg may have taken the wildness out of Sunken Gardens, but y'know, the place is damn near fragrant these days.
Sunken Gardens is at 1825 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg (727-551-3100). Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Sun., closed Monday and Tuesday. $7 for adults, $5 for seniors (55+), $3 for children 3-12.
