St. Petersburg is a city in Florida's Tampa Bay Area, a well-known holiday resort area. The city's population is 245,314, making St. Petersburg the 4th largest city in the state. The city of St. Petersburg is situated in the County of Pinellas, for which Clearwater serves the county seat. On the other hand, county services are available through county offices within St. Petersburg. There are 2.7 million people within the Metropolitan Statistical Area.
John C. Williams and Peter Demens co-founded the city. Mr. Williams bought the land in the year 1876, and Demens helped bring the railroad there in the year 1888. St. Petersburg became a city officially during 1892, with a population of 300 inhabitants.
Situated on Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg enjoys a tropical weather condition, allowing the city to pack the year with various outdoor events. Over 1,000 thousand outdoor activities are held here on a yearly basis, nearly all taking place along the preserved downtown waterfront area. Activities comprise the Cajun/Zydeco Crawfish Festival, American Stage in the Park, the Art Arbor Nature Crafts Festival, Earth Day's Green Thumb Festival, and a lo more. The art and music is practically nonstop as the city's parks and streets fill with visitors. St. Petersburg is also the site of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, an Indycar series car race.
St. Petersburg's downtown Central Business District is full of office high rises like for instance the Bank of America Tower. Downtown dining is located on Central Avenue and adjacent streets, and on Beach Drive. Several clubs, bars and lounges could be found around and along Central Avenue with entertainment to suit whichever taste. The State Theatre and Jannus Landing are two popular concert places. The St. Petersburg Times newspaper has its headquarters in the Central Business District.
The Central Business District has various fine theatres and galleries. The Mahaffey Theater complex has a glass-enclosed atrium overlooking the city's waterfront. The Coliseum, the multi-use facility, has the finest ballroom in the south. There are a number of famous art collections: Chihuly Collection presented by the Morean Arts Center, Museum of Fine Arts, Salvador DalÃÂ Museum, the Holocaust Museum and the Florida International Museum. Dozens of various cultural places and galleries can be found downtown and on the border.