Sanitary Public Market - St Petersburg
N 27° 47.425 W 082° 38.305
17R E 338583 N 3075062
Quick Description: A onetime Coke Bottling Plant now houses a Children's Museum.
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 6/15/2008 9:37:03 AM
Waymark Code: WM403R
Views: 10
Long Description:
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.