St. Pete Beach (formerly called St. Petersburg Beach) is a coastal city in Pinellas County,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. Known as a tourist destination, St. Pete Beach was formed from the towns of Pass-a-Grille, Belle Vista, St. Petersburg Beach and unincorporated Pinellas County.The population was 9,346 at the 2010 census. St. Pete Beach's downtown is centered on Corey Avenue. This district contains bars, restaurants and shopping and retail outlets. The Pass-a-Grille Historic District and the historic Don CeSar beach resort are located at the southern end of the beach. Recently, TripAdvisor named St. Pete Beach the No. 1 beach in America in 2021 and no. 5 best beach in the world.

History

The town of St. Pete Beach was consolidated from the municipalities of Pass-a-Grille, Don CeSar Place, Belle Vista and St. Petersburg Beach in a 1957 referendum, in which consolidation only won by a margin of 5 votes. At the time of its incorporation in 1957, its name was St. Petersburg Beach. On March 9, 1994, locals voted to officially change the name to the shorter version of St. Pete Beach, to distinguish it from the city of St. Petersburg a few miles to the east.

Geography

St. Pete Beach is located at (27.724587, –82.741850). According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (88.68%) is water. St. Pete Beach occupies the entire space of Long Key, a barrier island at the east central edge of the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. Three bridges lead into the city, connecting it to

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

, South Pasadena and the Bayway Isles area of St. Petersburg. St. Pete Beach is located about south of Clearwater Beach.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 9,929 people, 5,294 households, and 2,726 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,817 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.61%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.66%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.55% Asian, 0.22% Native American, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.34% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2.51% of the population. St. Pete Beach has the largest proportion of residents who are Lithuanian-American in Florida (3.3 percent). There were 5,294 households, out of which 10.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.5% were non-families. 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.82 and the average family size was 2.40. In the city, the population was spread out, with 9.7% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 33.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $47,574, and the median income for a family was $61,434. Males had a median income of $40,938 versus $30,532 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $35,514. About 3.7% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Residents are zoned to

Pinellas County Schools Pinellas County Schools is the public school district serving Pinellas County, Florida. The district is based in Largo, Florida, Largo. With over 104,000 students served in more than 140 schools and centers, the district is the 7th-largest in Flor ...

, the specific school they are zoned for include Azalea Elementary School, Madeira Beach Middle School, and

Boca Ciega High School Boca Ciega High School (BCHS), commonly referred to as Bogie by students, staff, and county residents, is an American four-year public high school in Gulfport, Florida, just south of the St. Petersburg city line, and is part of the Pinellas County ...

. In 1915 Sunshine Elementary School opened in Pass-a-Grille. Gulf Beaches Elementary opened in 1950. The ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' said that Gulf Beaches "quickly absorbed most of the kids from Sunshine".Gulf Beaches Elementary closes chapter for St. Pete Beach community
" ''

''. Tuesday June 2, 2009. Retrieved on April 28, 2013. Sunshine Elementary School closed on June 6, 1975. The Gulf Beaches School absorbed the traditions of the Sunshine school, including the fish broil fundraiser. On January 14, 2009, the Pinellas County school board voted 7–0 to close several schools, including Gulf Beaches Elementary School. When the school was in operation, it had annual fish broils. Linda Chaney, the commissioner of St. Pete Beach, and Mary Maloof, the mayor of

, had asked the school board not to close Gulf Beaches. The Gulf Beaches campus, which is located on of land in St. Pete Beach, had been closed after the school board faced budget cuts. In addition the year-round population of children had decreased. In 2014, the Pinellas County School Board announced Gulf Beaches would be reopened for the 2014–2015 school year as a technology magnet school.

Library

The St. Pete Beach Public Library is the public library that serves the city of St. Pete Beach and the greater Pinellas area. The library was founded in 1951 by the St. Petersburg Beach Community Club inside their clubhouse with “450 books on two shelves”. The library grew to include “200 adult and 200 children’s books” from the Florida State Library Extension Service. In 1957 it became a municipal library when the city of St. Pete Beach was incorporated allowing the St. Petersburg Beach Community Club to turn operations over to the city. In 1968 the Friends of the St. Pete Beach Public Library was formed raising over $26,000 for a new library building. On July 7, 1969 the St. Pete Beach Library opened an 8,200 square foot building by architect Glenn Q. Johnson at 365 73rd Avenue. The building was partially refurbished in 1995, and underwent a major renovation in 2020–2021. A member of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative since 1989, the library was temporarily relocated to 7470 Gulf Boulevard during the renovation. On March 26, 2021 the St. Pete Beach Library reopened after a $2.6 million restoration and renovation.

Tourism

St. Pete Beach is a seaside tourist destination. The Don CeSar is a renowned historical hotel, opened in 1928, located on the Gulf shore in St. Pete Beach.

Notable people

Chuck Hiller Charles Joseph Hiller (October 1, 1934 – October 20, 2004) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. In the 1962 World Series, he became the first National League player to hit a grand slam in a World Series. Hiller batted left-h ...

, baseball playerChuck Hiller, 70, First in N.L. to Hit Series Grand Slam, Dies
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References

External links

*
City of St. Pete Beach official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pete Beach, Florida 1957 establishments in Florida Cities in Pinellas County, Florida Populated places established in 1957 Cities in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Beaches of Pinellas County, Florida Beaches of Florida