Three Jewels of St. Petersburg

Last Friday at the Friday Morning Group, we noted the passing of Mrs. Astor in New York and her remarks about the three jewels of New York City. We could recall that she named the Metropolitan Museum, and the New York Public Library, but could not recall the third.

This led to a discussion about the three jewels of St. Petersburg. There was widespread agreement about the first two jewels, the waterfront park system and the Dali Museum. After that, well...

The Florida Orchestra was mentioned as the third possible jewel. However, there was not agreement that the Orchestra was in a place that qualified as being called a jewel. There is certainly the potential, and I know many of us would like to be able to say it it the third jewel in St. Petersburg's crown. So ,let's hear it. What do you think the three jewels of St. Petersburg are?

We also talked about the Battle of the B3's at the Palladium. For those of you who did not attend, you really missed a show. The Palladium was sold out for this battle of Jazz vs Blues organists playing the venerable Hammond B3 organs. The good news for those of you who missed it is that this event will almost certainly be back next year, probably for more than one night. This was a terrific display of the musical talent in the Tampa Bay area.

We also talked about an art preservation project now going on in St. Petersburg. The Piano Exchange Building, formerly the Garden cafeteria, is going to be redeveloped. This building is on Second Street North in downtown St. Pete, across from the Bay Walk. The Garden cafeteria was once one of the jewels of the cafeteria culture in St. Petersburg. It was decorated in a garden motif including Florida garden scene murals on the walls.

As a condition of the approval of the site plan for redevelopment of this building, the developers agreed to make the murals available to anyone who wants to preserve them. There are several murals that are painted on wall boards that can simply be removed. However, the entire back wall of the building is a giant mural that appears to be painted directly into the concrete. The developers have agreed to make the wall available to anyone who wants to remove it. But it is BIG. At a minimum, the artwork will be photographically documented before the building is demolished. If you can provide any assistance in this project, please let me know.

See you this Friday.