Sanitary Public Market - St Petersburg
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member ChapterhouseInc
N 27° 47.425 W 082° 38.305
17R E 338583 N 3075062
A onetime Coke Bottling Plant now houses a Children's Museum.
Waymark Code: WM403R
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 06/15/2008
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
Views: 10

The Sanitary Public Market was designed by architect Albert Lee Hawes and constructed in 1926-27. The building, designed as a walk through arcade, was constructed of structural clay tile and steel. It was built in a Mediterranean Revival style with twin Moorish towers and an arcaded central entrance. It was ornamented with cast stone trim, wooden roof brackets and a Cuban tile roof.

Due to the financial downturn of the depression, the market closed in 1931 and the building was sold to the American Legion Post and renamed the American Legion Armory. For most of the next decade it was home to wrestling matches, home shows and Legion events. In 1940 the building was sold to the St. Petersburg Bottling Company and served as a Coca Cola bottling plant until 1967. In 1940, the new owners hired architect William Harvard, Sr. to renovate the building. His renovations to the west facade were in the Moderne style and removed or concealed the Mediterranean style of the original building. The new look was characterized by a horizontal emphasis to the facade utilizing glass block and simplifying the style of the twin towers.

In 1967 the Turner family acquired the building and added it to the adjacent gardens to utilize as a gift shop. A faux lava rock entrance with a fountain and pond was added to the south facade facing the parking lot. For many years the building was advertised as the world’s largest gift shop.
Street address:
1825 4th St N
St Petersburg, FL usa
33710


County / Borough / Parish: Pinellas

Year listed: 2002

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering

Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1950-1974

Historic function: Commerce/Trade: Business, Department Store, Specialty Store

Current function: Vacant, Not in Use

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Privately owned?: Not Listed

Season start / Season finish: Not listed

Hours of operation: Not listed

Secondary Website 2: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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Recent Visits/Logs:
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debbado visited Sanitary Public Market - St Petersburg 04/18/2010 debbado visited it
ChapterhouseInc visited Sanitary Public Market - St Petersburg 06/14/2008 ChapterhouseInc visited it

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