From the road, the Garden Cafeteria and Piano Exchange building looks fairly unassuming. Weeds and trees cover much of the building's Spanish mission-style facade. There is no longer a marquee. Some of the jalousie windows are smashed.
But if you peek inside the glass front doors, the building's significance becomes clearer: Colorful murals of pink flamingos, blooming flowers and a massive banyan tree adorn the walls. These murals were painted in the 1940s by George Snow Hill, a Works Progress Administration artist known for his murals that hang in the Delta terminal of the Tampa International Airport. (Hill also created a painting of black entertainers that hung in St. Pete's City Hall until a young Joe Waller, now Omali Yeshitela, destroyed it.)
But the Garden Cafeteria sits on primo land, right across the street from Baywalk. Developers plan to demolish the building, along with some of the murals, to build condos on the site.
It's a story often repeated in St. Pete's history. As the city modernizes its downtown, it struggles to hold onto its past — because with every building boom comes the threat of demolition.
"I always thought that old houses and buildings are wonderful parts of your community," says St. Petersburg Preservation Inc. member Peter Belmont, standing in front of the Garden Cafeteria with fellow member Kai Warren. "But lots of people don't have sensitivity to the history."
Belmont and Warren have worked on preservation issues since the early-'80s, when another housing boom spawned development across the city. For years, city leaders tried to distance themselves from St. Pete's "God's Waiting Room" moniker. They removed downtown's green benches. They tore down the old Mediterranean Revival-style pier to create a more modern version. In the '80s, city government OK'd the leveling of whole downtown blocks, partly to make way for the embattled Bay Plaza project. Among the casualties was the Soreno Hotel, a 1920s Mediterranean Revival hotel similar to the Vinoy.
"They had the idea that they'd remake downtown by just demolishing downtown and starting over again," Belmont says. "It's crazy to level whole blocks of your downtown and not have the pride in your city to save important buildings."
In the last few years, as several downtown buildings have fallen to make room for condo developments, preservationists worry some of St. Pete's remaining historical structures might not survive.
The Garden Cafeteria and nine other historically significant structures are in danger of demolition. All of the buildings — which range from one of the city's first churches to one of baseball's first spring training stadiums — lie in the downtown region, which, ironically, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
National designation is little more than ceremonial.
"For all intents and purposes, everything downtown is threatened," says Belmont, who along with Warren, gives historic walking tours several times a year.
Receiving local landmark status is more binding, preservationists say. Property owners of structures with local landmark designation must jump through more hoops to demolish a building.
"How can we as a community ensure that important buildings are preserved?" Belmont says. "It's by designating them as local landmarks."
City officials say preservation is one of their priorities. After all, Mayor Rick Baker wrote a book on St. Petersburg's history. Two years ago, he sponsored a Historical Preservation Summit. And in the latest land-use regulations, there are a host of incentives for property owners and developers to keep historical structures intact.
"A big part of why people love St. Pete is the quality of life of our city and our history adds to that quality of life," says Mayor Baker. "One of the big defining aspects of St. Pete's character is our historical structures."
Preservationists are not sure about the city's sincerity.
"We feel the city is doing very little in preserving the few historical structures we have," Belmont says.
He points to St. Pete's comprehensive plan, which directs city officials to seek out and designate three buildings as local landmarks each year. The city has not initiated any local landmark designations in the past two years.
Julie Weston, the city development director, says city officials are hesitant to designate a property without an owner's approval, though the City Council can, and has in the past.
"That's just a very difficult, adversarial relationship," she says. "You really create ill will with the property owner by doing that. I'm not sure that you do a lot of good in historical preservation either."
Adds Baker, "To me, the most important thing you can do is actively be involved in the process of renovating these buildings for future use so that [developers] won't tear them down."
Bob Jeffreys, formerly the city's assistant development services director, says more property owners need to be educated on the benefits of preservation. Since leaving the city, Jeffreys has renovated several older buildings.
"People think preservation is not economically sound," he says, "but let me tell you as a person practicing it, it's a very economically wise thing to do."
Preservationists agree. Historical buildings can have an impact on the whole city's economy, they say.
"If you strengthen your historic sense of place, you'll attract heritage tourists," Warren says. "Heritage tourists are reported to spend twice as much money in a city and stay twice as long."
It's about preserving "a sense of place," Warren says.
"We're not interested in saving every old building, every piece of wood or light fixture," he says, "but looking at the big picture."
Below are nine of the most threatened buildings in St. Pete, according to St. Petersburg Preservation Inc. Three of the structures listed are in imminent danger of demolition; the fate of five others is in question; there is no plan to destroy the last structure on the list, the Detroit Hotel, but preservationists say it is vulnerable.
"This is a group of buildings that is obviously a part of the character we have here," Belmont says. "If you take out that variety of buildings, I think you are affecting our character. And if that's all of a sudden gone, it's no longer the same place that attracted you."
Awaiting the Wrecking Ball
1. First Baptist Church, 120 Fourth St. N.
Built in 1924, this beige brick church across from Williams Park is one of the few examples of neoclassical architecture in St. Pete. The building has sat empty for nearly 20 years, ever since its congregation moved to a Gandy Boulevard property. St. Peter's Episcopal Cathedral owns the property and has tried to sell it with no luck.
In February, St. Peter's found a willing buyer in WRH Princess Martha LLC, which owns an independent living facility next door. Although the church is a designated local landmark, the City Council has approved its demolition twice, providing that prospective buyers show they have the financing to build on the site. Princess Martha LLC hasn't met that requirement. In a letter to SPPI, St. Peter's suggested that the deal with Princess Martha could still proceed.
"It's still a definite demolition threat," Belmont says.
2. Garden Cafeteria and Piano Exchange Building, 232 Second St. N.
This 1920s-era building was part of downtown's "cafeteria culture," serving tourists and World War II servicemen. Although its Spanish mission-style architecture is rare among St. Pete's vintage commercial buildings, the real historical gems are the murals inside. The building helped St. Pete win its national historic designation in 2004 but has never gained local landmark status.
Last year, the City Council approved developer Grahar Second Street LLC's plans to demolish the structure and build a 19-story mixed-use development. Council members asked the developer to find homes for the murals; however, the largest pieces are painted directly on the concrete wall.
"We'd like to find a way to preserve the murals," Belmont says, "and of course the best way would be to save the building."
3. Crislip Arcade, 641-647 Central Ave.
Over the decades, St. Pete has lost many of its early commercial arcades, or open-air shopping corridors. The Crislip Arcade — one of only three left in the city — may be next. The 82-year-old arcade was built during St. Pete's '20s boom, and like other arcades, is regarded as a precursor to pedestrian malls and modern shopping malls.
In 2006, 601 Central LLC bought the entire north side of the block and moved out several small retailers in order to build condos. Soon after, the housing market tanked and the block has sat empty since. But on May 1, the developer requested a demolition permit from the city, which is pending.
Threatened
4-6. Morrison Hotel (Inn by the Bay); Henry-Bryan Cottage; Bay Gables (Chateau France): 126-146 Fourth Ave. N.
These three buildings are the last vestiges of a waterfront neighborhood that thrived around Fourth Avenue during the early-1900s. Over the years, the buildings were converted to snowbird boarding homes, hotels, and bed and breakfasts. The Henry-Bryan Cottage and Bay Gables, which operates as the Chateau France restaurant, were designated local historical landmarks in 1994.
The Liberty Group plans to build a hotel on the piece of land encompassing the three homes. In applications submitted to city planners, Dan Harvey (of Harvey's Fourth Street Grill) plans to relocate the Henry-Bryan Cottage and Bay Gables. A demolition permit has been pulled for the 98-year-old Morrison Hotel, which is not protected.
7. Ninth Street Bank and Trust Building, 895 Central Ave.
Towering over the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Central Avenue, this classic revival-style structure's last incarnation was as a NationsBank. The 81-year-old structure was St. Pete's first financial institution, designed by M. Leo Elliot, architect of Tampa's Cuban Club and City Hall. Besides the bank's survival through the Great Depression and two world wars, it also holds the distinction of having installed Florida's first drive-in teller machine, says Belmont.
The building survived demolition efforts over the years until finally being designated a local landmark in 1997. In 2004, developer Jimmy Aviram announced his plans for The Arts, a 500-unit condominium that would encompass the 800 block of Central, adjacent to the new Arts Center. The development would only keep the bank's façade, according to published reports. Market woes have delayed the project for now.
8. Al Lang Stadium, 230 First St. S.
For nearly a century, St. Pete has been home to baseball spring training. In 1914, the St. Louis Browns were the first team to train in the city. Thirty-three years later, the city built Al Lang Stadium. Since then, more than 2,000 spring training games have been played at the site.
Al Lang not only marketed St. Pete as a spring training capital, he was the mayor responsible for installing those green benches, too. City leaders got rid of those long ago; Al Lang Stadium may be next.
If city officials and citizens approve, the Rays will move their home from Tropicana Field and build a new stadium on the Al Lang site.
"Our waterfront is definitely a part of our character," says Belmont, who has publicly criticized the Rays' new stadium plans. "It's unique, and people come here for it."
Safe … for Now
9. Detroit Hotel, corner of Central Avenue and Second Street
The story goes like this: St. Pete's founding fathers, Peter Demens and John Williams, stood on the corner of Central Avenue and Second Street and flipped a coin. The winner would name the city; the loser could name the hotel.
Demens won and named the city after his hometown in Russia. Williams named the hotel after his hometown in Detroit.
Built by Demens and Williams in 1886, the Detroit Hotel is one of the city's oldest remaining structures. The hotel operated until 1992; in 2002, developers turned the rooms into condominiums that overlook Jannus Landing and downtown.
But despite its rich history, the building still hasn't received a local landmark designation.
Although there are no plans to demolish the Detroit, Belmont warns that as the condo units age, there's a possibility the owners could sell to a developer. Jeffreys, the former St. Pete development official, says the building deserves historical designation, but convincing all the condo owners to agree could be tough. Then again, he notes, that could save it from demolition, too.
This article appears in May 21-27, 2008.