Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood News - March 2009

Historic Old NOrtheast NeighbOrhOOd News

Published Quarterly

Old NortheastNeighborhood News

Historic St. Pete’s Jewel on Tampa Bay

Volume 36 Issue 1 www.honna.org March 2009

March 16th

Neighborhood Potluck Dinner

April 20th

Neighborhood Plan Review and Discussion

May 18th

Neighborhood Plan Discussion and Vote

Mark your calendar!

HONNA Neighborhood Meetings

are held the third Monday of each month (except

August and December) at

Westminster Presbyterian Church126 11th Avenue NE

Social: 6:45pmBusiness: 7pm

UPCOMING MEETINGS

I would like to start this letter by thanking Mary Alice Lange, my predecessor as presi dent, for her tireless hard work over the years on behalf of HONNA. Her dedicated efforts have helped keep our neighborhood a wonderful place to buy a home and settle

down. Among the many things she has done to improve our life in The Historic Old Northeast is securing the acorn lighting along 1st Street. So, when you are driving down 1st and you see the attractive acorn light poles, you can thank Mary Alice for keeping the lights on for us. I am pleased she’ll be continuing on the Board, contributing to our moving forward together as a community of neighbors.

We have a great Board of Directors this year and, after a marathon session for our first Board meeting in January, we are charged up and ready to go!

Among the list of things we have in store for you is a revamping of our web site (www.honna.org). We value your thoughts and ideas so, with that in mind, we are looking into changing our web site to make it more user-friendly. In this way it can be easier and more convenient for you to contact the association and for us to more quickly respond to your concerns and needs in a way that will serve you better.

Another change for the Board is the creation of a new position for Public Relations. This position is intended, among other responsibilities, to reach out into the community to bring you programs and activities in which you, our residents, are interested. Tracey Locke, a new Board member and somewhat new resident to The Historic Old Northeast, has professional experience in this field and is doing a wonderful job pulling this all together.

Crime Watch is very high on our list of identified goals for the year. With the changing economic climate we see the need to stay ahead of crime statistics. It is no longer enough to

New HONNA Officers/ Board ........ 6-7

Easter Egg Hunt ............................... 9

Termites!! ....................................... 22

Spring Walking Tour ....................... 23

Florida Orchestra Vinoy Concert ........ 27

Codes Compliance ..................... 29-30

IN THIS ISSUE

Something New!

Our March Monthly Neighborhood Meeting is a

POTLUCKAn Informal Opportunity to Enjoy Good Food and the Company of Neighbors and Friends, Both Old and New

Come to the first of what plans to be Potluck Meals this year in lieu of three of the usual monthly neighborhood meetings. This first is Monday, March 16th, at our regular gathering place, Westminster Presbyterian Church at 126 11th Avenue NE. HONNA will provide the main entrée (meat and meatless), beverages and you can bring a favorite dish to dazzle our taste buds.

Here’s our request. Depending on where you reside, here’s what you can bring:Between 5thAve.-9thAve: a salad of some sort (examples: greens, pasta or Jell-O) 10th-14th: a dessert 15th-22nd: vegetable dish 23rd-30th: bread or appetizerMake enough to serve 6-8, depending on what it is you’re bringing (of course, you get to

take home any leftovers).

The President’s PerspectiveMaureen StaffordAssociation President

continued on page 2

continued on page 2


*Preprinted inserts that you provide are delivered within the newsletter. Due to delivery restrictions, inserts are available on a limited basis.

The newsletter quarterly publication dates are March, June, September, and December. The deadline for accepting new ads and ad changes is three weeks prior to the publication month. The next deadline is May 7th. Payment for new ads should be submitted at the same time that the ad layout is provided and should be addressed to “HONNA Advertising.”

The newsletter is distributed by mail to all homes in The Old Northeast (boundaries are 5th Ave N to 30th Ave N, and 4th St N to North Shore Dr/Coffee Pot Bayou Blvd). There are approximately 2,800 active home mailing addresses.

Contact Rachel Sartain: [email protected] space is limited so please make arrangements early.

Ad SIzE 1 Qtr 2 Qtrs 3 Qtrs 1 Year Business card 50 93 128 1601/4 page (H 4.9” x w 3.7”) 100 186 256 3201/2 page (H 4.9” x w 7.8”) 200 372 512 640Full page 400 744 1024 1280Single page insert* 400 700 1000 1300

Ad RATES

Published quarterly – March, June, September and December and mailed to all households in The Old Northeast

P.O. Box 76324, St. Petersburg, FL 33734 e-mail [email protected]

The Newsletter of the Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association

Editor Rick Carson Columnists and Reporters

Peter StanhopeMike PanettaJohn Gee Chuck Lindeen

Keaton GreenBarbara RhodeAmy LabieJill McGrath

Circulation Cathy Leonard and Joe O’ConnorContributors All our Old Northeast neighborsNewsletter Layout & design Sharon Bond: [email protected] Information Rachel Sartain: [email protected]

Mike DaileyDavid FormanYvonne SwansonLinda Dobbs

New Members

Patty Miles, Lou Theberge ............................... Bay Street NEKyle D. Murray ......................................................3rd Street NMarion and Richard Arnold ................................... 1st Street NJulie Farmer................................................... 21st Avenue NEDawn Greenidge............................................ 21st Avenue NEElise and Jeff Hazzard .................................. Beach Drive NE Carol Doerr and Tom Pulley ......................... Beach Drive NEDan and Megan Gulick ........................................ 2nd Street NRudy and Doris Heitler ...................Coffee Pot Boulevard NEKen and Dottie Young ...................................... 9th Avenue NE

just hear the crime statistics every month and hope they will not grow. Ron Magray along with Bob Hunter (a returning Board member) are working through CONA (Council Of Neighbor-hood Associations) to bring us together with our “neighboring neighborhoods” to the north, south, east and west so that we can our grow Crime Watch with them. It is important that we share what is happening with our neighbors and support one another. We recognize that crime in our neighbor’s yard is not just their concern. More immediately we are growing Crime Watch in our own neighborhood. We welcome those who would like to join in and share this effort. This might be considered the clarion call to pull together. Together we can make a difference. We all want to live feeling safe. Call 898-7987 and talk to Bob Hunter. Tell him you want to help.

With all that said, the Board still has another great goal for the year. We will be having a “grins and gripes” session at the conclu-sion of each monthly neighborhood meeting. We’ll be providing blank cards on which you can give us your gripe (you may remain anonymous if you prefer) or you can state publicly your concern. You’ll get an answer to your gripe; or we’ll arrange for a follow-up if we don’t have an answer immediately. Your grins will get our

applause if you share something you’re pleased about. In the spirit of having fun and getting us to know one another

better, we have decided to initiate several “potluck” gatherings on the dates of our regularly scheduled monthly meetings in March, June and September [see details on page 1]. Each will be an op-portunity to enjoy tasty foods, exchange great recipes and chat with neighbors. We know that our regular meetings don’t always leave enough time for you to greet-and-meet your neighbors, so on the potluck evenings we will have just a few short announce-ments and then enjoy the food and conversation with one another. We are looking forward to getting to know you through this kind of leisurely environment.

Lastly, and importantly, we have our Neighborhood Plan almost ready for your review. Robin Reed, Mary Alice Lange and the Planning and Neighborhood Design Review committees have been hard at work honing the vision, issues and goals for what our neighborhood could be — might be — over the next 10 plus years. It has been at least that long since we designed our last City-approved plan. This is a very important time for each of us to take part and help in designing the future for where we live. Watch for notices about the meetings where you will be able to speak out and participate.

This promises to be an ambitious year for your neighborhood association, but it will be a real challenge to realize our goals without your involvement and support. You do not have to be a member of the association to be involved in its activities and plans, but we welcome your membership as a commitment toward our shared vision of an even better Old Northeast. How about letting us meet you at the March 16th potluck?

Potluck from page 1

If you are kitchen-challenged – or even if you’re not – we encourage you to bring a can or package of non-perishable food which we’ll donate to the church’s food pantry to pass along to those in need.

Plan to arrive between 6:45-7pm so we can lay out all the food and begin dining by 7 or so. There will be no formal program – just neighborly conversation at tables over dinner. If you can’t arrive by 7, come when you can as the food should hold out until we start to close down around 8pm.

Have children? They are welcome, too, though you’ll know if you have to bring special food for them.

Not a HONNA member? You’re definitely invited anyway. And if you decide to join, we won’t stop you.

President’s Perspective from page 1


Association News & ActivitiesThe November monthly meeting featured a presentation by Lt.

David DeSchryver representing our neighborhood fire station #4 on 4th Street N. He described the number and nature of personnel assigned to the station, the types and purposes of the vehicles located there, the 911 emergency call system as well as programs (such as smoke detectors, first aid and CPR) offered by the fire department.

At the November meeting the Board members for the 2008-09 year were elected [see box] by HONNA members. The Board, at its December meeting, elected its officers for the year. They are: President, Maureen Stafford; Vice President, Bob Watts; Secre-tary, Peter Stanhope; and Treasurer, Douglas Haan.

The Board, on behalf of the Association and its members, thanks those Board members who served the 2007-08 term and chose not to run for re-election. They are: Anne-Marie Stephen-son (secretary and Candlelight Tour of Homes co-chair), Susan Lahey (Programs chair) and Rick Field (Neighborhood Design Review chair). These folks devoted a whole lot time and energy toward improving the quality of life in our neighborhood and we appreciate all that they did.

There was no December meeting and the annual all-neighbor-hood holiday party was held in its stead.

January’s meeting featured the Souvenir of St. Petersburg, Views from the Vinoy book (pub-lished by The Historic Old North-east Neighborhood Association) and its author, Robin Gonzalez. She read selected chapters from the books and shared with the au-dience “souvenirs” from her per-sonal collection of old postcards, china and local historical memo-rabilia. [See “Planning/Historic Preservation” report below.]

Crime & Safety CommitteeRon Magray, Chair

We all read the newspapers, listen or watch the news daily — we are in a record breaking economic slump. Increasing crime is and will be a reality.

The safety of our neighborhood depends on your diligence. Be aware of what is happening on your street and in your alley. If the person does not appear as if he or she belongs, call the St. Petersburg Police Department non-emergency number, 893-7780, and report a suspicious person. Let the police make the decision whether or not it is a bad guy. If you have a problem dealing with the Police Department, I want to know about it (502-9065, [email protected]).

A Community Police Officer attends every HONNA monthly meeting to report on recent criminal activity in The Old Northeast. This meeting also provides you the opportunity to speak directly

Committee Reports

with an officer.HONNA Crime Watch is here to help keep our community safe.

You need Crime Watch, and we need you. Complete and return the information box on page 4 (or go to HONNA.org) and join to support safety.

Programs and Publicity CommitteeTracey Locke, Chair

I am new to the Board and this is a somewhat new Board posi-tion. We have expanded the role of program planning to include publicity for not only neighborhood events but for the neighbor-hood itself. We have a few goals in mind this year. First and foremost, we would like to increase participation in HONNA. The majority of neighborhood residents are not members of the neighborhood association, and the percentage of members who participate in events is even smaller.

If you are like our family, we juggle careers and kids and have a heck of a time carving out time to get involved in one more thing. Maybe you don’t know what the meetings have to offer you. Beyond providing timely information about development projects, criminal activity/crime prevention, preservation issues and candidate/political forums, what would you like to see HONNA provide?

Would you be more likely to participate in events if childcare was available or the programming appealed to school-age children? Are you a business owner living in The Old Northeast who would participate if HONNA provided a forum to network with neighbors and support local businesses? Would you enjoy discovering touring some of the historic treasures surrounding our neighborhood? Do you have any interest in learning about the history of your home? Would you attend a roundtable discussion on property values and like to learn about ways to improve the value of your home? We want to know.

Please e-mail me with your ideas and feedback ([email protected]). We are currently working on a marketing plan for The Old Northeast. Your input is invaluable. Volunteers are welcome!

Planning/Historic Preservation CommitteeRobin Reed, ChairPLANNiNG

One of the most important documents that a neighborhood uses to map out its future plans and recommendations is the Neighbor-hood Plan. Our plan currently in use was written in 1990/91. With the passage of time, as well as the City’s new Land Development Regulations (LDRs), it has become outdated.

In 2003, the Association contracted with Gladding-Jackson to take the relevant census and City statistics and create a “Neigh-borhood Profile.” At the same time, the Planning Committee of about 35 residents met regularly to create the neighborhood’s Vi-sion 20/20 document. Committee members were given disposable cameras and asked to document the things they “liked” about the neighborhood and things they “didn’t like.” These photos were then used to stimulate discussion about what residents wanted to see happen in the neighborhood in one, five and 30 years’ time.

Author Robin Gonzalez (left) with Lois Laughner, daughter-in-law of Vinoy Park Hotel vi-sionary Aymer Vinoy Laughner.


JOIN OUR COMMITTEES

Candlelight Tour of Homes: Chair, Julia Brazier, 895-4443

C.O.N.A. Rep: Bob Watts, 821-8997

Crime & Safety: Ron Magray, 502-9065

Bob Hunter, 898-7987

Planning & Historic Preservation: Robin Reed, 825-0480

Membership: Barbara Marshall, 385-4746

Neighborhood design Review: Mary Alice Lange, 251-2034

Newsletter: Rick Carson, 898-7834

Programs and Publicity: Tracey Locke, 475-0287

Traffic: Bob Watts, 821-8997

Web Site: Nona Peebles, 894-3529

Your volunteer involvement in one of our com-mittees will help enhance your neighborhood and our association.

Please contact any committee chair for information.

Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood

Association MembershipThe Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association was founded in 1974 to promote civic improvement of our neighborhood. We invite and welcome all residents of the Old Northeast to join the association and become involved. Annual membership dues (tax deductible) are $30 per household.

Send this completed form to:Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood AssociationP.O. Box 76324St. Petersburg, FL 33734

Name(s): ________________________Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________Phone: __________________________E-Mail: _________________________When did you move into the neighborhood (month and year)?: _______________

$30 ANNuAL DuES ENCLOSED

Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood AssociationOFFICERS and BOARd

HONNA Board meetings are held the second Monday of each month at 6:30pm and are open to the public. Check with HONNA for the location.

PresidentMaureen Stafford 488-8154 [email protected] PresidentBob Watts 821-8997 [email protected] Stanhope 896-6272 [email protected] Haan 488-5514 [email protected] Brazier 895-4443 [email protected] Carson 898-7834 [email protected] Hunter 898-7987 [email protected] Alice Lange 251-2034 [email protected] Locke 475-0287 [email protected] Magray 502-9065 [email protected] Marshall 385-4746 [email protected] Reed 825-0480 [email protected]

Crime Watch Fact SheetName _____________________________________

Address ___________________________________

City/State: St. Petersburg, FL Zip: _____________

Home Phone: _______________________________

Office Phone: _______________________________

Cell Phone: ________________________________

E-mail: ____________________________________

Emergency Contact Person ____________________

Contact’s Phone # ___________________________

HONNA Member: Yes____ No____

Would like more info on membership Yes___ No___

Signed: ___________________________________

HONNA PO Box 76324, St. Petersburg, FL 33734

Like our neighborhood?Want to make it even better?

Volunteer with one of our committees!

CLiP AND MAiL


In early 2008, the HONNA Board voted to hire Bob Jeffrey and Mike Dove to complete a new plan using the Neighborhood Profile and the Vision 20/20 document. A draft of the plan was completed in January and given to Committee members to review. Divided into groups of four, members “adopted” sections of the plan to discuss and amend. They added “likes” and “dislikes” and made additional recommendations for improvements they want to see accomplished now and in the future.

By the time you receive this newsletter, the Plan will have been edited and ready for review by the community. The April and May HONNA monthly neighborhood meetings will be devoted to a presentation and discussion of the document, and at the May meeting residents will be asked to approve the plan. (For a preview of the Neighborhood Plan, beginning the first week in March, see the HONNA website, www.HONNA.org.)

Once the plan has been adopted by the residents, it will be sent to the City staff and City Council for final approval. Although not “legal” in the technical sense, City boards and the City Council give serious consideration to such a neighborhood plan as a vision of what residents want for the future of their neighborhood and how they want to accomplish those goals.

HiSTORiC PRESERvATiONEvents Chair NeededIn 2007, the Historic Preservation Committee created an Events

subcommittee to foster community spirit and bring neighbors together. Events include:

Book Project: The neighborhood’s recent heritage education book, Souvenir of St. Petersburg: Views from the Vinoy, kicked off in early December. Mayor Rick Baker, Council members Jamie Bennett, Bill Dudley and Wengay Newton joined funders and other invited guests to celebrate publication. Students from North Shore

Elementary School and other neighborhood children featured in the book were the “stars” of the day. They partici-pated in the scavenger hunt of the Vinoy Hotel (which is in the book) and were individually greeted by the Mayor who, along with the book’s author Robin Gonzalez, signed copies of the book for each of them. (See photo left.)

The education com-ponent of the book will debut in March when 50 copies of the book will

be given to every elementary school in St. Petersburg (private schools upon request). The following month HONNA will join Sunken Gardens to host a teacher training afternoon for interested teachers. The enthusiasm of Pinellas County School officials has been gratifying and we look forward to seeing children enjoying, as well, as learning from the book!

The book ($16 including tax) can be purchased at the following locations:

Davis Anthony Home and Garden, 300 Beach Drive NEHaslam’s Book Store, 2025 Central Avenue

Interior Motives, 1110 Central AvenueMuseum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NERenaissance Vinoy Resort gift shop, 501 5th Avenue NESunken Gardens, 1825 4th Street N

“Meet and Greet”: This small group of neighbors led by Cyn-thia Silvestri welcomes all new residents to the neighborhood. They personally deliver to newcomers useful information, a copy of this newsletter, invitations to Porch Parties, membership meet-ings and other upcoming events.

Easter Egg Hunt: This event, organized for children and held in Coffee Pot Park each spring, has been sponsored by Cynthia Serra and colleagues from Smith & Associates for a number of years. It is especially popular with toddlers and their parents!

Children’s 4th of July Parade: The last two years have seen a reprise of the Association’s Children’s 4th of July Parade. It is a terrific event – almost 300 children with decorated bikes and wag-ons, along with their parents, join together to march from Coffee Pot Park, along the Boulevard, and back again. Last year a Fife and Drum Corps led the parade and entertained neighborhood children with traditional marching songs. Truly an old-fashioned celebration of our country’s birthday!

Please note: The Committee is seeking a chairperson for the parade. The parade was organized so that it could be duplicated with a minimum amount of effort. If no one steps up, HONNA will be forced to discontinue this event. So, if you enjoyed partici-pating in previous years and would like to see it continue, please contact Robin Reed at 825-0480, [email protected], to help make this happen.

Halloween Decorating Contest: For many years, the Halloween decorating contest has been a smashingly popular event. People from all over St. Petersburg flock to The Old Northeast to stroll, check out the costumes and décor and “trick or treat”. Again, thanks to Cynthia Serra for organizing this “scary” and very competitive contest!

Walking Tours: For several years now, Rob Wertz and Mike Dailey, our neighborhood architecture “gurus,” have taken us on fascinating tours of various sections of the neighborhood. Their Sunday afternoon “walks” feature information about the various architectural styles in the neighborhood as well as historical com-ments and asides. This spring’s tour will be held on Sunday, April 26th, at 1:30pm. Please join us for an informative and entertaining afternoon! [See details on page 23.]

Photo Project: Carol and Burt Kline have finished taking photographs of every house in the neighborhood from 5th to 30th Avenues! This collection will become the benchmark for an architectural inventory of The Old Northeast. The Klines’ photo-graphs have already proved invaluable to those working on the Neighborhood Plan and will be even more important in providing a record for future historians.

MembershipBarbara Marshall, Chair

I’m delighted to serve HONNA as a new Board member and to chair the Membership Committee, which has been managed by Douglas Haan. The Board looks forward to a larger membership this year, and in that vein each of us is personally committed to sign up more members. We want to meet more of our neighbors and be sure you are included in its many fun and interesting activi-ties. And this can be greater accomplished through your annual


membership. If you’ve been a HONNA member in the past, we hope you will renew your membership this year. If you’ve never been a member, now is the time to sign up! And we want to reach out to new residents of our community through an even more robust “meet and greet.” Stay tuned! I welcome any ideas or comments from the community on how we can make our membership work well and better for you! My cell is 385-4746 and my e-mail address is [email protected].

NewsletterRick Carson, Editor

We continue to seek out those in the community looking for advertising opportunities in this newsletter. Rachel Sartain, our advertiser coordinator, is working to identify those businesses looking to raise their profile in the neighborhood; we are always looking for new advertisers – the folks who make this newslet-ter possible – and if you know of a business or organization that could benefit from appearing in this publication, please let us know ([email protected]). No advertisers = no newsletter.

One easy way in which you can help make this newsletter more interesting is to pass along news, ideas and issues of concern. If you have some thoughts about a matter you’d like to see us address, let me know. Have something worth sharing with the neighbors – like for our “Over the Back Fence” feature – pass it along. You may e-mail me at [email protected].

Web SiteNona Peebles, Administrator

A small working committee has been formed to investigate the vari-ous options that exist for redesigning the current web site to expand its offerings and ability to increase and improve communication between the Board and residents and among Old Northeast neighbors.

Officers

President: Maureen Stafford (Bay Street NE) was raised in New Zealand. She moved alone as a young girl to the US in 1969 after living abroad in Europe for a short while. She lived in New Jersey for about 18 years raising a family with her then husband. She has three grown sons living in three different states. Maureen moved to St. Petersburg in 1990, where she has always lived in The Historic Old Northeast. Her livelihood’s been in real estate, and she settled into the specialty of high value residential restora-tion. Her work has won awards – she calls herself a “restorative developer

Vice President: Bob Watts (1st Street N) hails from Indianapolis and is a graduate of Purdue University. Bob, his wife Jonni, and their two daughters have called The Old Northeast home since 2000. As a Real Estate Broker Associate, Bob interacts with people every day who recognize the value of our unique corner of the world. He is excited about our new neighborhood plan to be intro-duced this year. Bob served last year as a Board member, chaired the Traffic Committee and served on the Candlelight Home Tour Committee. He’s a graduate of the CONA Leadership course and also a graduate of the St. Petersburg Citizen Police Academy. Bob looks forward to serving this year as an officer and hopes to be a very active Vice President.

Secretary: Peter Stanhope (15th Avenue NE) came back to the Board for a one year term as secretary after a four year absence. He has been active in the neighborhood since 2002 when his home was featured on the Candlelight Home Tour. He has continued his volunteer community efforts as a contributor to the newsletter for the past seven years and also handled newsletter advertising for one year and established a rate and payment structure toward a self-sustaining product. He has been an active volunteer on six years of Candlelight Tour committees and five years of Garden Stroll committees, as well as the Porch Party committee, alley cleaning crew, Historic District committee and Friends of Helen Torres community concert. He and his life partner, Marc, relocated to Florida in 1997 from German Village, a historic neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.

Treasurer: Douglas Haan (8th Avenue NE) and his partner bought their first “fixer upper” home in The Historic Old Northeast in August 2000 when they settled here full time (and they’re now in their second fixer-upper and were featured as the first “work in progress” on the 2006 Candlelight Tour of Homes). Douglas is serving his ninth term as a Board member and fifth as treasurer. He is a founding member of the Spring Garden Stroll Committee and has been the financial coordinator for the last seven Holiday Home Tours. Douglas also volunteers as a cook at St. Vincent’s homeless shelter. He is eager to foster continued neighborhood involvement in a place we can be proud to say we live.

HONNA Officers

The book ($16 including tax) can be purchased at the following locations:

Davis Anthony Home and Garden, 300 Beach Drive NE Haslam’s Book Store, 2025 Central Avenue

Interior Motives, 110 Central Avenue Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive NE

Renaissance Vinoy Resort gift shop, 501 5th Avenue NE Sunken Gardens, 1825 4th Street N


Consumer Tip

Board of directors

Julia Brazier (20th Avenue N) was a life-long resident of the Washington, DC, area when she experienced an epiphany one win-ter night in 2000 while stranded on the Washington Beltway during an ice storm. Two weeks later St. Petersburg was home. While still in epiphany mode, she abandoned a 26-year career in high-end corporate technology systems sales and consulting and launched a business as a Realtor. She immediately recognized The Historic Old Northeast as a rare treasure and enjoys nothing more than working to preserve and enhance its unique charm. Julia was Chair of the 2008 Candlelight Tour of Homes and will hold the same position in 2009. She is a member of St. Petersburg Preservation and is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Citizen Police Academy.

Rick Carson (Cherry Street NE) has been editor of the Asso-ciation’s newsletter since 2002 and this is his fourth year serving on the board. He has lived in the neighborhood since 2001 and in Florida since 1989. Prior to moving to Florida he co-owned and operated a B&B in New Jersey and before that spent a couple decades in the D.C. area working in political campaigns, serving on Congressional staffs and working as a lobbyist. He currently sits on the City’s Social Action Funding Committee and volun-teers as associate editor of the United Church of Christ’s Florida newspaper.

Bob Hunter (18th Avenue NE) and wife Jeanne moved to The Old Northeast in January 2001. Bob has enjoyed working on Candlelight Tours, Garden Strolls, the Porch Party and tree planting committees. He was a member of the HONNA Board in 2006 and was very happy to be asked to rejoin the board for this year. After a lifetime wasted working in the frozen north country, Bob has finally found useful employment as personal assistant to a large Golden dog.

Mary Alice Lange (15th Avenue NE) is a St. Pete native who returned home as a young adult after living in Germany and Maryland. She has been an active member of the neighborhood association since 1988 including several terms as its President and serving on the Board for a number of years as chair of the Planning Committee. Mary Alice helped create the first City of St. Petersburg Neighborhood Plan for The Old Northeast, and the Planning Committee has worked with the City to re-design the zoning codes which are contained in the city-wide Land Develop-ment Regulations.

Tracey Locke (15th Avenue NE) and her husband, Kenny, purchased a home in The Old Northeast in 2006 where they reside with their two lovely children. Kenny is a lifelong St. Petersburg resident. Tracey, originally from Chicago, has lived in the Tampa Bay area for eight years and lived in historic Semi-nole Heights before getting married. Her career has included 13 years in television news reporting and three years as a publicist. Tracey has always gravitated to historic neighborhoods and is an antique junkie.

Ron Magray (17th Avenue NE) and his wife, Jan, have finally settled in The Old Northeast. They initially discovered St. Pe-tersburg while attending a sailboat show and although did not buy a boat they did buy a condo in downtown St. Pete. They had quickly realized that after many years of exploring the west coast of Florida that this beautiful “Sunshine City” was what they had been searching for and what had eluded them in previous residences. They love the diversity and multicultural aspects of St. Pete and are very happy that they have found this wonderful community in which to live. This is Ron’s second year serving on the Board.

Barbara Marshall (8th Avenue NE) moved to St. Petersburg in 2006 from Washington, DC, with her husband Jay after liv-ing there for 20 years. They knew shortly after they arrived that The Old Northeast was where they wanted to live and to involve themselves in the community, and immediately renovated their 1925 craftsman style home after purchasing it in 2007. Barbara served last year on the Candlelight Tour of Homes committee (their home was on the Tour), mentors a young boy through Eckerd Youth Alternatives and is a board member of the Panama Canal Museum (located in Seminole). Her 30-year career was with both the federal government and the nonprofit sector in administration and operations, and she held various leadership volunteer positions at St. John’s Episcopal Church (Church of the Presidents) in Washington, DC, for five years before moving to Florida.

Robin Reed (16th Avenue NE) and her husband, Joe, moved

to St. Pete from northern New Jersey nine years ago. A life-long preservationist and admitted “old house nut,” she has participated in, and co-chaired, our annual Candlelight Tour of Homes, the Garden Stroll and is a charter member of the Garden Group. Robin recently led our campaign to become a Local Historic District. For the past several years she has volunteered at Sunken Gardens and spearheaded their Master Plan efforts. Currently, she is chairman of HONNA’s Historic Preservation Committee, continuing the neighborhood’s efforts to preserve our special and unique qualities.

and Board of directors 2008-2009

When contracting services from any business it’s always a good idea to check with the Better Business Bureau for prior complaints. Ask for references and confirm that your contractor is licensed.


KIDZ KORNER

With the steady influx into our neighborhood of new residents, we’re seeing an increasing

number of families with young children – plus the stork is keeping pretty busy around here as it is. So we thought it might be helpful to share with par-ents of youngsters (as well as grand-

parents welcoming visiting grandkids) ideas of family-friendly activities and

destinations nearby, especially ones which are free or inexpensive. If you have any such

good “secrets” you’d like to pass along, let us know.

The Real Florida – Real Closeby Linda Dobbs

Sometimes the perfect outing is not in The Old Northeast itself but close enough for a day trip or even an overnight trip. Can you imagine the fun of experiencing Florida of the 1930s? How about staying overnight in a vintage log cabin in the woods? Now that is a treat always to be remembered (don’t worry — indoor plumbing, electricity, heat and A/C are included).

Only a little more than an hour away to the south there is such a place, a place with miles and miles of prai-ries, wetlands, forests of oak and pine, a pristine lake, a lazy river with alligators sleeping on the banks, wilderness as far as the eye can see, wildlife galore and numerous nature trails. There is even a tree canopy walk, surely a rarity for Florida.

Our family has expe-rienced this overnight treat in both the winter and the spring. It could even be fun in the summer – for that real feel of Florida! Best of all, I can report that kids and grandkids of all ages have found something to delight in. Now that is rare for sure. (Note on the “real” aspect: the brochure says, “alligators are abundant” — that is not an exaggeration!)

Bring bikes, kayaks or canoes or rent them there. The alligators are so plentiful, I prefer observing them from land with a car or

bike nearby! The day will be filled with activities, from an airboat ride on the lake (see all the alligators) or a tram ride (see the forest critters) to lunch on alligator stew at the Outpost (family favorite). Birding is easy — there is even a “birdwalk” boardwalk on the upper lake. Or just bring the fishing pole for a leisurely day by the water. Picnic areas and pavilions are abundant. If you are one of the lucky ones with a horse, you can ride your steed into the park’s wilderness backcountry! The various, plentiful walking trails range from short, to medium to long.

Myakka River State Park is all of these things and more. The park is located nine miles east of I-75 at State Road #72/Sarasota. This is one of the oldest and largest state parks in Florida with the 14-mile-long Myakka River flowing through its 57 square miles. The five wonderful log cabins were built in the ‘30s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and are so popular that reservations fill up fast – unless you want a Sunday night. Check it out: Reserve America at 800/326-3521 or www.ReserveAmerica.com online.

These cabins are only $60 a night and sleep six with two double beds and one double sofa bed. This includes a lovely fireplace, sofa, rustic lamps and a simple wooden dining table and six wooden chairs for cozy family meals. For outdoor dining, eat at the picnic table in a clearing in the woods just outside the front porch (grill provided). Cabin #1 is the best (if you can get it) because it is roomier to make it more accessible for people with limited mobil-ity. But, on the other hand, cabins #3–5 are more secluded. Pets are not allowed in the cabins so send Fido to doggie camp for an

overnight.The kitchen

has a micro-wave, refrig-erator, small s tove /oven , basic dishes and utensils. H o w e v e r , the re i s no d i s h w a s h e r so wash ing up is very tra-ditional and c o m m u n a l . The bathroom — well, there is one, and it has a shower, too. That’s all

I’m saying about that. We found it easier and more comfortable to bring sleeping bags and our own towels, even though sheets and towels are provided.

I hate to tell you, but there is no TV. Cell phones don’t work either (texting does). Games and reading do work. Therefore, the family is “forced” to interact! But, nothing beats sitting on the


Linda and her husband Bob moved to The Old Northeast on Valentine’s Day 2003 (they wanted to be near their two grand-children who live in our neighborhood). Over the past 30 years Linda has been editor of a weekly newspaper, a magazine and a medical journal as well as numerous newsletters.

Check out the HONNA web site www.honna.org

porch at night and gazing in amazement at the stars. A short walk to the road away from the treetops reveals the most amazing sight of all – the Milky Way! You can never have such a view of the star-filled night sky elsewhere in this area due to light pollution. If you’re sleeping without the mechanicals on you can hear the night owls and other rustling things (not alligators — the cabins are far from the river banks).

The things to see and do are so varied and fun that everyone is entertained easily for two days for more. Park programs are scheduled throughout the year. The park is open 365 days a year from 8am until sundown. Entrance fees for one day use are only $5 per vehicle (two to eight persons). Pets on leash are allowed.

Happy trails to you!

For more info about the park go to www.myakkariver.org and www.floridastateparks.org/MyakkaRiver/

Annual

EastEr Egg Hunt

HONNA invites you to the neighborhood’s 8th annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday morning, April 11th, at 10am at Coffee Pot Park (30th and 1st Avenue NE; on premise parking is very limited so you’ll likely have to park on a side street west of 1st Avenue).

Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Smith & Associates Real Estate – the Platinum Group represented by Cynthia Serra, Connie Lancaster, Bob Riner and Ed Standford – the Easter Bunny will be hiding plastic eggs

and other treats throughout the park for eager kids to seek out for their baskets. Always a fun occasion, filled with surprises and lots of gleeful, smiling faces. Be sure to be a part of the good time.

The Real Florida – Real Close...


at the corner of Coffee Pot/Cherry Street and 22nd Avenue was also part of the shoot. But since all this was supposed to be New York City, palm trees were not included in the shots. Other close-by locations – in-clude Bella Brava restaurant and Wil-liams Park – made the cut.

One-of-a-Kind…The estate of the late Hildegarde Matison, who passed away at age 89 last July, earned a story in the 12/7 St. Petersburg Times. A sale was held at the 4,000sqft early ‘60s contemporary home on Brevard Road NE off Coffee Pot Boule-vard, offering art (much of it her own paintings), statuary, French provincial furniture, china and glass and eclectic furnishings.

“Croquet, Anyone?”…Did you know that The Old Northeast is the site for the J. Hand’s Annual Super Bowl Croquet Classic Invitational? It was held on Super Bowl Sunday in Jason Hand’s front yard with about 50 participants. The winner signs the “golden mallet” and gains possession of a pink jacket until the next year tournament. Players could be observed wearing knickers, vests, double-breasted blazers, newsboy caps and other appropriate period attire.

Hold the Soap…What would you think if the guys from the City’s water department came to your street to repair a water leak but failed to tell affected residents on the street that they’d be turning off the H20? Not such a big deal, perhaps – unless maybe you were in the shower when the spigot went dry.

Who Knew?….Neighbor Peter Stanhope auditioned for and was selected as one of 10 local people paired with a professional

dancer to be the opening act for the “Dancing with the Stars” tour company that performed at the St. Pete Times Forum on Jan 22nd. In addition to dancing in front of 15,000 people he got to meet the cast of celebri-ties and professionals on tour. And it was only two years ago that Peter was hobbling around with a broken foot.

Over The Back Fence…is a collection of what we’ve heard exchanged in the aisles of the supermarkets,

shared waiting in line to pick up the kids from school, read in the papers, overheard in the pew behind us in church and, yes, even passed over the back fence. If you have something you’d like to share about a special recognition, award received, birth, graduation, good-deed-done or observation around the neighborhood please pass it along to the Editor. “Over the Back Fence” is only going to be interesting if we hear from you!

S S and by

Over The Back Fence is a

e-mail: [email protected]

“A city to love”…The January 25th edition of the Boston Globe featured an article, “Come for the game, stay for the fun in the cities by the bay,” which threw a spotlight on “the wide streets and casual glam of St. Petersburg.” Writer Patricia Borns sought out a “boutique hotel bargain,” the Ponce de Leon, and ticked off the many reasons – Ceviche, Mastry’s, Jannus Landing, the Martini Bar, the Globe Coffee Lounge, “leafy pocket parks, elegant mu-seums” — why she found St. Pete “a city to love.”

Real Christmas Cheer… Neighbors Amanda Taylor and Bill Moore really got into the holiday spirit by throwing a block party on 16th Avenue NE. They obtained a permit from the City, rented a tent, blocked off part of the street and supplied a grill, food and soft drinks for neighbors and friends. About 100 folks showed for the four hours of merriment. Definitely an idea worth repeating again and again across The Old NE this coming December.

$$ for Sunken Gardens…Bouquets to Robin Reed for being a key player in Sunk-en Gardens being awarded a $25,000 Preserve America grant from the U.S. Park Service. The dollars will be going to fund the long-awaited Master Plan for the Gardens. The

grant – one of 31 awarded nationally out of 619 applications and one of only two in the state – was brought to the Gardens’ attention by Robin, and then she worked many hours with City staff on the application and obtaining letters of support.

Neighbors in the News (and Newspaper)…Nice to run across the names of neighbors in the St. Petersburg Times, in addition to those we frequently see of Mayor Rick Baker and authors Dennis Lehane and Gary Mormino. Recently resident Marty Normile had a piece entitled, “B.S. in biology? Why, yes it was” in the 12/14 “”Sunday Journal,” a freelance forum for narrative storytelling. Family therapist Barbara Rhode, who writes a column for this newsletter, shared some tips for hosts/hostesses on surviving the Christmas holidays (12/20). In the 12/13 edition, Old NE resident Yvonne Swanson – the newspaper’s featured gardening correspon-dent who regularly writes a column for our newsletter – revealed the Christmas decorating philosophy of former HONNA president, Cathy Martin: anything and everything can be a decoration. Da-kota Eliason’s byline has also been observed in the senior section in Tuesday’s editions.

Hollywood on the Bay…A low-budget independent film, “Prime of Your Life,” used Coffee Pot Boulevard locations as a substitute for Manhattan sites. The St. Petersburg Times (12/14) reported ac-tors, cameras and crew along the bayou getting double takes from passing cars and joggers. Dan Robertson’s large Tudor mansion

Soapbox... STep On up

and leT’S hear FrOm yOu


Each issue of this newsletter introduces you to a neighbor-hood house which has recently or is presenting undergoing a major renovation. Perhaps some of the trials and tribulations (and joys!) experienced by these homeowners will give you ideas and inspiration as you consider a renovation or your present home. Maybe you’ll be motivated to bite the bullet and purchase that next house you’ve been thinking about.

If you’d like to share your renovation story or know of a neighbor with a good one, let us hear from you.

A Work In Progress

Peter and his life partner Marc have lived in The Historic Old Northeast neighborhood since November 2001, having relocated from Historic German Village in Columbus, OH. He can be con-tacted at PeterStanhope.com

In this installment of “A Work in Progress,” Peter looks not at a house under renovation or remodeling but how we as neighbors might consider ourselves “a work in progress” as part of our neigh-borhood community and how we can contribute to a transformation of the place we call home.

Life is What You Make Itby Peter Stanhope

When I was a child I was sure my father knew all the answers. He was patient and kind, always listened and directed me to find the right answer to whatever questions I had at the time. I was sure he was a saint.

When I grew up, I realized he was just a man. He made mis-takes but always tried to do his best. He was still patient and kind and always listened. He taught me the joy of public service. He always said we have to give something back for the gift of the air we breathe.

We were fortunate. As a kid you think everyone is the same as you: all families are alike, homes are alike and circumstances are the same. When it was evident that was not the case in our com-munity I would ask my folks why. Their response to me was, “Life is what you make it.” Everyone is not the same. Nowhere on earth is every circumstance or family the same. The joy we can gain as a person is what we do to make life better for ourselves… but more importantly for others. Whenever you are lifting someone else up you are helping yourself as well. Though my folks are now gone, the lessons they taught remain. I am still fortunate. I live in a community of people who do care for others.

The Historic Old Northeast Homeowners Association had the

most successful Candlelight Tour of Homes ever this past Decem-ber. Gracious homeowners opened their doors in support of the community goals and the year’s designated charities. Volunteers tirelessly gave volumes of man-hours to make this event happen. Committees worked together with a common goal. We also made time to have fun. New friendships were formed, recipes exchanged, sponsors stepped forward and gave what they could to help us achieve our goals. There was joy.

As in life, there were issues and circumstances that arose and were not pleasant. Here our challenge was overcoming those issues for the greater good. We did not want to be mired in the issues and lose sight of our goals. Another Tour has come and gone. Lessons were learned.

A new administration has come to our country. There are new lessons to be learned and a renewed call to serve our communities and rebuild America. There are several ways to serve right here in our neighborhood. I challenge you to make a commitment to be-come active in our community. Join the neighborhood association. Have a voice in its good works and volunteer for projects that help make this community special. Get to know your neighbors. Be a community that cares for each other and have a vested interest in the safety of all our neighborhood residents. Pay attention. Listen. Extend a hand to those in our community in need. Extend a hand to those who are new to our area. Be a community of people who do care for others. There will be joy.

What’s Wrong with This Picture?How many reasons for a

citation can you spot in this photo?

See page 17 for the answers and more.


As The Pages Turn...

Neighborhood Book Groupby Susan Coffey

The Old Northeast Book Club continues with more interesting and diverse book choices. Ellen Burkhardt (16th Avenue NE) hosted our November meeting. The book she chose was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

The novel grabs the reader from the first page and does not dis-appoint. Gruen’s novel centers on Jacob Jankowski who is in his early nineties, living out his remaining years in a nursing home. Sounds very uninteresting; however, Gruen takes us back to the Great Depression when Jacob was a 21 year old veterinarian stu-dent at Cornell University. Circumstances change very quickly for young Jacob when his parents die in a car crash one week before his finals. Overwhelmed and with no money Jacob does not sit for his finals and instead finds himself lost and runs from everything.

He winds up hopping a train which turns out to be the Bezini Brothers circus train. Because of his veterinarian skills he is put in charge of the “menagerie.” He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show’s star perform-ers — a romance complicated by Marlena’s husband, the sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Gruen does her homework. She has the circus lingo down pat as well as the feelings of the people of that time in small town America. Throughout the whole story

the reader feels great empathy and sympathy for his current circumstances in the nursing home and also all he had endured in his young life. Again, as in so many novels, love is found even in the most “seedy” of environments. This novel was a thumbs up from everyone in our group.

We met again in January at Susan Engler’s home (20th Avenue NE). Susan’s pick was The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Do-

minican-American author Junot Diaz. The novel centers around American-born Oscar and his family. Oscar is of Dominican de-scent who grows up in New Jersey. We are taken from New Jersey back to the Dominican Republic during the ‘50s under the brutal dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo to explain how Oscar and his rebel-lious sister came to be. The reading is not for the light-hearted with in-depth descriptions of Trujillo’s tortures and what his grandmother and mother endured. We learned a lot about Dominican history and culture which brought up great discussion. Overall, the group recommends the book.

We continue to have a waiting list for our original group; however, a “sister” (“brother”?) book club may be starting. You may contact me at [email protected] or if you are interested in the “sister/brother” group contact Colleen Grant at [email protected].

Men, you’re invited, too!

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Ponderings

Travelby John Gee

John and his wife Kathy moved to St. Pete from New Mexico six years ago, and he currently teaches history at a Sarasota high school. He has served on the HONNA Board where he co-chaired its Historic Preservation Committee. You can also read more from John in the Northeast Journal.

Most cocktail conversa tions around here cen ter on real estate,

weather, food and travel. Since I am a terrible listener and tend to tune out stuff around me, most of this shared information is wasted. When the talk turns to travel, however, my antennae goes up. Most Floridians ended up here by a circuitous route, and this wandering nature doesn’t just disappear once a person has settled in our neighborhood. There are seasoned travelers here, and since people have either visited or lived in many different parts of the globe it pays to listen to their expe-riences and gather some insight.

My wife and I like to travel, but our reasons to wander have changed. When we lived in the cold Northeast, the primary motive was to get away from the weather and find a warm beach somewhere. We don’t have to worry about this anymore so our options for destinations have opened. Sometimes we get a bit too cocky and end up in some really cold out-of-season

places. One Christmas in London almost gave me pneumonia and a winter trip to a far away desert nearly froze us to death. But realizing that we will return to the warmth of Florida made these experiences not just bearable but really like the adventure travel is supposed to be.

But I have a confession to make. There are some times while on some adventure when I think wistfully of our neighborhood. It’s not the trip is unpleasant — it’s just that we are living in a place where being home can be the destination you have been looking for. Although I always look forward to travel and enjoy myself when on the road, there are many times during the work week when just the thought of spending a weekend in St. Pete is quite enough, thank you very much.

Case in point: My wife is uncomfortable with routine and tries to stay away from it as much as possible. But if there is a routine in our life, it has to be the Saturday morning walks to the park with the dogs. To an outsider this must sound mundane, but for us this is a high point of the week. Since aging dogs make it necessary to drive to the park, once we arrive entire vistas of possibilities open up to us. We walk along the edge of the water looking at the boats and dolphins and avoiding the other dogs our little dog abhors. Ever so slowly, we look at people and meander past the Vinoy

where we either go left to sit and have some coffee and a pastry or go straight up to the Kahwa coffee shop or do the same thing but with a different view.

When we finish the coffee, we slowly meander through neighborhoods and work our way back to the car. The little dog loves the downtown area and at times we venture deep into the City’s belly to observe and comment of the changes. We never go to BayWalk because the one time we did an overzealous mall cop told us that dogs weren’t welcome. But all the other streets and alleys are open for us, and we explore and wonder what more changes are in store for our town.

This is not to say that a weekend in St. Pete is better than a week in Paris or a month on the Gobi. It’s just that

you get your pleasures where you find them…and this area is a pleasurable place to be. So if the economy or some lack of energy or desire keeps you here in our neighborhood, enjoy your stay. It certainly could be a lot worse and only occasionally much better.

126 11th Avenue NESt. Petersburg, FL33701727-822-5906

Ages 2 - VPKState ApprovedLIC. #C610108

APPLE ACCrEdItEd

Photo courtesy City of St. Petersburg


Preserving the Character of Old Northeast Houses

Start out at Bay Street between 5th-6th Avenues NE and head west. Note the large multi-tenant apartment building on the north side that dates from about 1905. (photo 1) The rus-ticated block foundation reveals a basement door accessible from the outside. The second and third floors still have their original shingle siding. Through the multiple windows facing the alley you can see the original railings of the back stairs and even some vintage light fixtures of the era.

At 2nd Street between 5th-6th, a whimsical salmon-colored

Out Back: Exploring Historic Old Northeast Alleys Part I of II

Confronted with a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing to do (or nothing you want to do)? Well, how about a nice walk through the neighborhood…but in the alleys. Back in March 2008, Jill McGrath wrote of “Hidden Gems in The Old Northeast” and some of the treasures she discovered beyond our back doors. John Gee, who writes our “Ponderings” column, has told of his joy being led by his dogs as they sniff their way from trash can to trash can. Here, Mike Daily leads you through some of the more interesting backways in the southern part of The Old NE.

Since moving here to The Old Northeast in 1995, I’ve been exploring the avenues and streets of our neighborhood, amazed at the variety and quality of the houses we have here. Although we are a National Register Historic District, too many of our contributing structures have been altered to the point that they should no longer be considered contributing. Fortunately, a

great many of the outbuildings of Historic Old Northeast retain their original character-defining features, and those details tell us much about the buildings’ long life.

This issue’s article explores alleys in the southernmost part of the neighborhood — between 5th Avenue and 9th Avenue N. It is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis of all alley architecture… just the ones I notice on my walks around the neighborhood. If you know of some exceptional examples you don’t see in here, please let me know at [email protected].

The alleys of the southern end of the neighborhood (the oldest dating from around 1900) hold a mixture of apartment buildings, garage apartments and garages placed shoulder-to-shoulder along the brick lanes. Following the design characteristics of that part of our neighborhood, the outbuildings are mostly vernacular or Craftsman style. Some sport details such as shingle siding, carved brackets, elaborate window trim, and wide bargeboards (those gable rafters that sit out from the wall of the house), some with carved ends. From the rear of the properties you can see a more informal side of the house, too (but don’t look too long or the police may pull up wondering what you’re doing). You can also see an important detail that sets historic buildings apart from most modern con-struction: four-sided design. Old buildings tend to use the same detailing on the back and sides as they do on the front — the same windows, trim, siding, brackets and hardware. New structures present one face to the street and usually a very different (inferior) face to the back and sides. I call this practice “facadeism” or “facademy.” Luckily, you’ll see very little of this wandering the alleys of The Old Northeast.

by Mike Daily

house hugs the alley. Although it has obviously been extensively modified from its original form, the renovations were done thought-fully and the house adds much to its corner. Walk around to the front and notice the entryway and belvedere crowning the hip roof. (photo 2)

Kahwa Coffee is just a half block south at the corner of 2nd Street and 5th Avenue N and makes for a nice refueling stop on the walk.

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Heading west along the alley again, notice that many garage apartments have large overhangs on their second floors facing the alley. The garage doors needed to be set back far enough from the alley to create a small driveway for a turning radius, and the second floor overhung the driveway. Oftentimes this overhang area was used to create a porch for the garage tenant, such as the outbuilding just west of 3rd Street on the alley at 316 6th Avenue N. (photo 3)

A curious new arrangement on the alleys in this part of the neighborhood is the arrival of townhouses that front the alley. Head north on 3rd Street and hang a right at the alley between 6th-7th Avenues. A little ways down you will see new stucco buildings, all with their front doors facing north. The rear loaded garages face the front doors of their neighbors across the alley. It is an unusual arrangement but one I think will be repeated in the future as land prices start to climb once more. Several historic houses and garage apartments were demolished to make way for these developments. (photo 4)

A couple of blocks east along this alley, at the corner of Bay Street, sits the Sunset Bay Inn with its bracketed outbuilding a perfect complement to the main house. This building was extensively remodeled about 10 years ago to incorporate two guest suites and offices and matches the style of the main house. (photo 5)

Proceed to the alley just north and check out the garage apart-ment behind the apartments at 125 7th Avenue NE. Here is the most nicely detailed outbuilding in this part of the neighborhood. Although it is designed in the Shingle Style, it uses asphalt roofing shingles instead of real wood shingles on its second floor — a common early 20th century practice here in Florida. Delicate balconies on either side, carved brackets and a beautiful brick base round out the list of features. (photo 6)

Heading east from Bay Street on the alley between 8th-9th Av-enues NE, a Japanese pagoda-style garage apartment sits behind its matching house on the north side of the alley at midblock. Notice the upswept barge rafters and pointed roof ridge at each end. The colors the owner selected help to highlight the archi-tectural features. (photo 7)

One block east of on the same alley, the garage behind the house at 305 8th Avenue NE (at the corner of Oak Street) is a fine example of Craftsman architecture and matches the house in its detailing, with heavy outrigger beams supporting the barge

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5

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rafters, unusual cypress shingle siding and a flared wall base visually tying the building to the ground. (photo 8)

Next door to that at 315 1/2 8th Avenue NE is an interesting garage apartment that defies rigid classification. It has shingled second floor walls that sweep out to form a broad overhang for the first floor. (photo 9)

If you started out the tour at Bay Street between 5th-6th and need to get back to your car, walk the rest of the way down the alley to Beach Drive and turn right. Walk two blocks down to 6th Avenue and make another right. Along the route are some of the oldest houses in the neighborhood, mostly Craftsman and Vernacular, but there is a Queen Anne Victorian-style house on 6th Avenue NE (photo 10) on the north side a couple of houses in from Beach Drive. Now housing a bed and breakfast, it formerly was used as a private home. At the end of this block is the starting point for the tour.

In the next installment I will tour the alleys in the middle of The Old Northeast and focus on some of the high-style outbuildings that grace that part of the neighborhood.

Mike, an Old Northeast resident since 1996, holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of South Florida.

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Almost 125 residents of our neighborhood gathered at the Old Northeast Tavern on Monday

evening, December 15th, to celebrate the annual all-neighborhood holiday party. A tasty spread of different kinds of pizzas and salads were offered by proprietors Bob and Mark, our hosts, and hundreds of cookies

Where Parking is Not Allowed• On the roadway side of another parked vehicle (double parking).• On crosswalks • On sidewalks.• In front of driveways.• By curbs painted yellow or where “No Parking” signs are posted.Within Intersections • Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.• Within 20 feet of an intersection.• Within 20 feet of the entrance to a fire, ambulance or rescue squad station.• Within 30 feet of any flashing signal, stop sign or traffic signal.• In such a way that you block or create a hazard for other vehicles.

Answers from

page 11

Always park on the right side of the roadway, unless it is a one-way street.

were home-baked by Cathy Leonard. Neighbors who joined in the festivities were asked to bring cans or boxes of non-perishable food, which were donated to the St. Pete Free Clinic, and/or un-wrapped children’s gifts which were contributed to needy kids. Cynthia Serra of Smith & Associates Real Estate coordinated this aspect of the party.

Many thanks to all who had a hand in organizing the get-together and to those who dropped by to spread holiday cheer.

Holiday Cheer

Photos by Susan Alderson

...Old NE Style


PORCH PARTIESPorch Parties are held the third Friday of the month from 7:30-10pm (except December). Porch Parties are strictly social and provide and informal and fun way to mix and mingle with your neighbors. Bring your own beverage. Cups, ice and light snacks are provided. Ask a neighbor to ride or walk over with you. For more info, contact Julie Feeley (822-4969; [email protected]).

You’reInvited

Property Transfers

Following is a listing of recent property transfers in our North Shore neighborhood. The individuals listed are new owners of the properties cited but not necessarily the residents of those properties. The properties are listed in chronological avenue and chronological and alphabetical street order. If any of these folks live near you, make sure you welcome them to the neighborhood.

Source: Compiled from public records by FNBR Inc. and printed in the St. Petersburg Times.

555 5th Avenue NE ....................... Mark and Mary Pat McLain254 7th Avenue N ................................Monte and Maura White262 9th Avenue N ........................................... David Weber145 10th Avenue N ............................................David Sideri225 11th Avenue NE ....... Douglas Michael and Amy DuPont145 13th Avenue NE ......................................... Toni Tallerino235 15th Avenue NE ...................... Kathleen Renee Kovack405 19th Avenue NE .....................Charles and ursula Hahn326 20th Avenue NE ..................Richard and Niela Eliason445 21st Avenue NE ................................. Dawn Greenidge240 26th Avenue N ..............................................David Hines1500 1st Street N ........................ Richard and Marion Arnold612 2nd Street N ................................. Spencer Dale Owens756 Bay Street NE ................................ John and Nancy Hill2002 Coffee Pot Boulevard NE James and Larissa Powers1132 Locust Street NE ................Daniel and Caroline Cope

March 20th Vicki Bennett and Rich Luker

130 16th Avenue N

April 17th Susan and Mark Williams

635 15th Avenue NE

May 15th Carol Hand and Al Ramirez

535 16th Avenue NE

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Household Chemical and Electronic Mobile Collection daySaturday, March 7th – 9am-2pm Home depot, 2300 22nd Avenue N

Mobile collections provide a way for citizens to safely dis-pose of unwanted household electronics and chemicals. Many citizens who are purchasing new digital televisions are wonder-ing what to do with their old units: bring it to the mobile collec-tion site. Items that need special disposal include: fluorescent lightbulbs, household cleaners, computers, TVs, printers, cell phones, household batteries, pesticides, paints, paint thinners, fertilizers and automotive fluids. For more information on the items that you can bring go to www.pinellascounty.org/utilities/mobile.htm or call 893-7398.

HONNA is considering scheduling a Haz-to-Go Trailer at a location right here in the neighborhood for later in the year. So if you miss disposing of hazardous items on March 7th, watch for notice of a one-day disposal site here in The Old Northeast in the coming months.


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In Case You Missed It: Updates and Follow Ups

Keeping You Current on Some Neighborhood Stories That Have Been in the News

“Dr. Delay,” who writes a column in the St. Petersburg Times which covers traffic-related concerns in south Pinellas, re-cently looked back at what readers most complain about and she came up with one biggie: “Man, oh man, do we hate roundabouts.” After setting forth the pluses and minuses of the concept of the roundabout, she summed it all up by quoting one reader: “I travel 30th Avenue NE a lot. Often I can’t get into the circle due to speeders coming up or down First Street. The other day, I had to sit (almost started out since it was my turn) when two speeders came south on First Street. They never slowed, and apparently never planned to yield. This happens all the time. Why can’t something be done? I prefer a stop sign on 30th; at least it would be safer.” [source: St. Petersburg Times, 11/16]

Westminster Communities of Flor-ida, owners of West-minster Palms retire-ment community at 830 North Shore Drive NE, is hoping to increase its presence in the neigh-borhood by purchasing the now-vacant North Shore senior housing apartment high rise a block away at 10th Av-enue and Beach Drive NE. Westminster has asked the City for assis-tance to issue a $16 mil-lion tax-exempt bond to purchase the 14-story building, an unsuccess-

ful venture recently slated to be the Overvue condos. [source: St. Petersburg Times, 1/25]

Along the 4th Street Garden district The once-bus-

tling Cocoanut Grove shopping center at 4th Street N and 30th Av-enue “now resembles a ghost town.” Some of the previous tenants claim they were “essentially forced out” by the company managing the site because they were offered only month-to-m o n t h leases in-s t ead o f long-term leases they had previ-ously had. [ s o u r c e : S t . P e -t e r sburg T i m e s , 11/19]

Artist Ron Hutchinson has transformed “the ugliest build-ing in the city” (according to its owner) into one large DeKooning

and Pollock-inspired mural. He’s calling it The Coco Flow. Because Florida Bi-cycle Sports will be leasing some of the groundfloor retail space at 2000 4th Street N, the paint-ing contains bike tires. [source: St. Petersburg Times, 11/23]

Being, the popular home furnishings and accessories shop in BayWalk, has moved into the old Deco auto dealership building (former Corner Antique Mall) at 1575 4th. Owner Amy Bromley says Old Northeast residents already make up a good portion of her client base and she hopes to use the new location to expand her interior design con-sulting business. The addition of Being to 4th Street complements offerings at other businesses such as Marion’s (1301 4th), Last-ing Impressions Home Gallery (1425 4th), Gal-lery of Cabinets (2600 4 th) and Kitchen Center Plus (2900 4th). [source: St. Pe-tersburg Times, 1/28] Please Support the Advertisers

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Be forewarned: when you live in the Sunshine State, deal ing with a termite infestation is a necessary evil.

A homeowner pays dearly for providing the termites their feasts. When termites get the upper hand, and attack your house from many different angles, you have to continually call in the experts. And that usually means that the entire abode must be treated. The experience, although gratifying that they will have been kept at bay (for a few years, anyway), is not fun. We have just survived our first “tenting.”

When we bought our 1910 wooden nest here in The Old Northeast, we were informed that one of the most important responsibilities (beside all the lists created for restoration) was keeping the annual termite protection warranty in place. This insures the homeowner that localized termite eradication will be assured when required. A renewable annual fee keeps the warranty in place. We were advised

to look for little piles o f d a r k red gran-ules which signify the presence of termites i n t h a t area. And we were to look for detached “wings.”

Since the house was last treated as a whole by the tent fumigation process the year before we bought it, we concentrated on the res-toration chores before us, and never gave a termite threat a single thought. We had been warned that we’d probably have to tent the house every five-seven years, but we had every homeowner’s wish, “It won’t have to happen that often to us” — or so we reasoned.

Two years after we moved in, we discovered our first evidence of “droppings,” a more pleasant word than excrement. The “col-lection” lay on the floor under a window, but we could not find the origin. We called the termite company we use and we were prompted to trace our fingers at the base of the sill, the area next

to the wall, and sure enough we could feel the slightly splintered surface which was the exit port. The initial termite war was begun. Termidor, a chemical used for local, spot treatment, was applied for several years but it was a constant search operation for us because the hungry termites left many traces from holes which were halfway up walls to obscure corners behind furniture. After a house guest found the bathtub full of wings, we admitted defeat and we agreed with our termite company that it was time for all-out warfare — the tenting process.

Not all pest/termite control companies utilize the process of tenting, preferring to continue to spot-treat obvious termite nest locations. Next-block neighbors have reported that they have had excellent termite control using just the localized treatments from their chosen termite company. Both houses, on either side of us, were tented during the past 18 months, so we suspect that swarming termites spotted a new banquet table and moved right into our home.

After a long list of preparations is completed, an all-encom-passing canvas encases the house for 48 hours. The procedure list for tenting is a time-consuming invasion, just like the termites themselves. Among the duties required: gas sources must be turned off, heating and cooling units must be turned off and all electron-ics unplugged. Certain kinds of mattresses have to be removed from the house. All foods and medicines — anything that can be ingested — has to be either carefully wrapped in special bags or removed from the house, except those in sealed, never-opened cans and glass jars. Anything living has to be removed, including house plants. It was time for an early spring house cleaning and all food and medicines were safely prepared for the state of remaining or leaving. Refrigerator and freezer contents could be double-bagged in the special bags provided by the pest control company and remain in their usual spaces. It is a thorough exorcism and the food and medicine cabinet content sorting and removal took more hours than expected. All cabinets and closet doors must be left open. If there is a safe, the contents must be removed and the door also left open.

Before the tenting, all shrubbery must be pulled away from the side of the house (we used twine) and 12 inches out from the exterior walls must be thoroughly watered for several days in advance. The watering process will keep the active ingredient of

TENTING Not Your Happy Campingby Jill McGrath


Old Northeast

CuriOSiTieSWalking Tour

A peek into some of the oddities and unusual history of our neighborhood.

Sunday, April 26th, 1:30pmMeet at the corner of Lo-

cust and 13th Avenue NE. Our guides will be Rob Wertz and Mike Dailey.

Check www.honna.org for any changes or update info.

Have you been to a

See page 18 for the upcoming schedule

Porch Party

yet?Jill and Ed McGrath (who grew up together in the Hudson River

Valley of New York) are restoring a 1910 cottage on the corner of Bay Street and 6th Avenue NE. This is Jill’s fifth (Ed’s third) complete house restoration project and they have promised each other that it will be their last.

the tenting gas (sulfuryl fluoride) from destroying the vegetation. After the process was complete, only two small shrubs were af-fected and, surprisingly, they have come back to life. When we bought the house, it was perched on a sand lot so it was of para-mount importance to us to save every stem, branch and leaf of our extensive landscaping.

The tent covered our house in a blue and orange pattern, remind-ing us of our old hometown’s Denver Broncos. The edge of the tent, along the ground, was firmly sand-bagged. The appearance was both frightening and strange. We were able to find two night accommodations close by at a neighbor’s bed and breakfast and with our dogs and cats we were very comfortable. Despite knowing that the house was locked by a special pest control company key, we still walked the block around our house many times each day, trying to remain confident that nothing had penetrated the death chamber. Termites experience a quiet demise…we heard no cries from within. When the tent was removed, and the interior meter-reading by the expert was deemed safe, we gratefully moved back in and resettled all the storage spaces.

It wasn’t a time we wish to repeat any time soon. We automati-cally keep half an eye on the nooks and crannies, but hopefully we have a number of years ahead without having to deal with an orange and blue dress on our house.

With thanks to “Photo Ed.”

See you at the Neighborhood Potluck

on March 16th


Thinking in

by Barbara Rhode, LMFT

Purple

Barbara Rhode is a Licensed Marriage and Family Thera-pist who provides trainings and workshops to corporations and non-profits on wellness and life balance. She lives in a very purple house in The Old Northeast, a place where she contemplates in shades of “purple.”


Required Reading for Women (..and Guys, Too)

Reasons to Reach Out of Your Comfort zone

Stressed out women and stressed out men have some very different basic needs that are not being adequately met in today’s society. As long as we refuse to embrace that

reality, we are essentially headed in the wrong direction. Accord-ing to a study out of UCLA in 1998, women typically respond to danger or threat in some very unique ways. Although many will also experience the fight or flight response to something threatening like their male counterparts, most women also instinctively feel the need to “Tend & Befriend.”

Essentially, women are physiologically wired to reach out to each other, communicating and connecting in ways that make them feel more secure and less afraid. The problem is that today’s society inhibits this fundamental life process. For most of us, there is liter-ally no time left in already busy days for any meaningful “tending and befriending.” As a consequence, everyone suffers including the men in our lives, our children and, of course, each of us women. Even corporate America feels the side effects of denying women ample time and opportunity to connect, especially when stress levels rise. According to Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, “…nearly 1/3 of all US work-

ers have jobs that discourage social connections, and that fraction is rising.”

When you consider that most women were gatherers just a few thousand years ago, you begin to understand where this natural drive comes from. As gatherers, we were often left to fend for ourselves while the hunters went off to kill and find meat for the family or village. Left alone, situations would naturally arise that would leave women feeling threatened or compromised. In order to protect themselves, their young and the aged, they would group together and assist each other, instinctively knowing that there is safety in numbers. They just naturally pulled together to handle whatever threat or stressor presented itself.

Even during the gathering process, women were able to find ways to connect with each other. Children were towed along as women sought out roots, berries and herbs for sustenance and heal-ing. A good day for one might also mean a bad day for another, so sharing became a way of increasing everyone’s chances of survival. Information was passed around concerning the best spots for gathering as women naturally learned that group-gathering yielded the best results. Elderly members might be guaranteed their share of the yield by monitoring the young while the heartier females could focus on the task at hand and obtain roots and nuts needed for survival.

According to neurological findings, women who allow them-selves to group, discuss and connect release an essential brain chemical called oxytocin, which ultimately makes them feel more safe and secure. This is a profound way women have always handled stress and taken care of themselves. Until now…

One quick glance into most homes or businesses today depicts a culture or environment that does not promote and oftentimes even actively prevents this phenomenon from taking place.

The reasons are complicated. Evidence indicates that we have become a fear-based culture, built now on principles of isolation instead of grouped connectedness. Retired women report spend-ing countless hours tucked out-of-the-way, safe and sound behind double- or triple-locked doors. Young mothers are left to feel the stress and loneliness that comes from having to raise children in solitary environments. Young children participate in organized sports so parents can monitor their every move in an attempt to limit any possible danger or threat. Working women juggle the extreme demands of a career and family, leaving no time or energy for social connecting or deep friendships.

As a society, we are in-undated with messages that repeat over and over again that it is not safe out there, leaving most of us to spend our free time locked inside our homes or busy transporting children to and from arranged activi-ties. Mothers who congregate outside gymnastic lessons or by the edge of community pools while waiting for their

young to finish lessons, sit alone, texting or attending to the endless pile of tasks. The superficial chatter going on around them does not typically have the emotional depth their brains require in order to de-stress and sufficiently relax.

Evidence indicates that we have become a fear-based

culture, built now on principles of isolation instead

of grouped connectedness… As a society, we are

inundated with messages that repeat over and over

again that it is not safe out there…


Thinking in


Purple

Barbara Rhode is a Licensed Marriage and Family Thera-pist who provides trainings and workshops to corporations and non-profits on wellness and life balance. She lives in a very purple house in The Old Northeast, a place where she contemplates in shades of “purple.”


As primary caretakers, women tend to give the most in their relationships, leaving little time or energy for self nurturing (79% of all care-giving in our society is given by women, according to Shelly Taylor, PhD.) At a conference recently, I sat in the back so I could leave a few minutes early to get ready for my presentation. I looked around at the couples seated in the auditorium there on a Saturday to learn about relationships. It was no surprise that most of the attendees were women, but the men who had bravely ac-companied wives or girlfriends sat listening to the speaker while the female next to him rubbed his back or rested a reassuring arm on his. No wonder a man’s rate of longevity increases while married. In a healthy relationship they just naturally receive the benefits of the female’s nurturing ways.

Marriage improves the male’s chance for a longer life, but not necessarily the female’s. She is too exhausted from all that caretak-ing and juggling while also deprived of the tending and befriending she requires to refuel and rejuvenate. Even the women who have risen to the top of the ladder in their chosen fields demonstrate worsened health statistics because, for most of them, it really is lonely at the top. Chances are that after her day ends, she faces a continuation of tasks trying to meet the needs of her family and her home.

Shelly Taylor in The Tending Instinct states that “a decline in the sense of social connectedness and a perception that the social landscape has become more dangerous are chiefly responsible for

the epidemic of distress” in this country. We are starving from a lack of social connectedness. If we cannot invest the time or energy in forming and feeding intimate social relationships, how do we possibly think our technologically entrenched children will ever have a fair shot at learning, too? What kind of social role models are we becoming when we are too afraid or too busy to spend time getting to know our neighbors and maintaining ongoing relationships?

So why not spend some time this spring getting to know your neighbors beyond a short and sweet, “Hello, how are you doing?” while you both jump into your cars to head in opposite directions? It just might payoff in more ways than you could know.


March 1 Sunday Afternoon Fun The Pier; 821-6443. March 6 Get downtown Music Series Central b/w 2nd-3rd; 393-3597March 7 Human Rights Walkathon North Straub Park and waterfront; 657-7026 March 7 Household Chemical and Electronic Mobile Collection day 22nd Ave. Home Depot; 893-7398. (See page 18) March 11 Oldies But Goodies dance The Pier; 821-6443 March 13-15 St. Pete Cajun Zydeco Crawfish Festival vinoy Park; www.cajunconnection.org March 13-15 Tampa Bay Boat Sale The Trop; 893-8523 March 13-15 Antiquarian Book Fair Coliseum; 892-5202 March 14 Special Olympics Area 6 Summer Games Lakewood High School; 462-1556 March 14 Walking Tour of downtown St. Petersburg Historic district Central at 2nd; 824-7802 March 14 St. Petersburg Self-guided Gallery/Studio Tour Downtown locations; www.spstudiotour.com March 14 drum Circle Facilitation The Pier; 821-6443 March 14 Gallery Walk Downtown galleries; 821-6767March 15 Bay to Bay Road Race Through St. Pete; 367-RACE March 15 Sunday Afternoon Fun the Pier; 821-6443

MARCH 16 NEIGHBORHOOd MEETING POTLUCK dINNER

(see page 1)MARCH 20 PORCH PARTY (see p. 18)

March 20-22 Tampa Bay Blues Festival vinoy Park; 502-5000 March 21 FISH-ful Saturday: The Study of Fish The Pier; 895-7437 March 22 - Orchid Festival Sunken Gardens; 551-3102 March 25 Oldies But Goodies dance The Pier; 821-6443March 27 Last Friday Concert Series Williams Park; www.lastfridayconcerts.com. March 27-29 SPIFFS, St. Petersburg international Folk Fair Society vinoy Park; 552-1896 March 28 Festivals of Speed display North Straub Park; 352/385-9450. March 28 “Westward Ho from the Waterfront” walking tour + bus to Historic Kenwood Central Avenue and 2nd; 824-7802 April 2 St. Petersburg Festival of States Honda Grand Prix illuminated Night Parade and Fireworks Downtown locations; 821-9888 April 3 Get downtown Music Series: Fast Friday Night Central b/w 2nd-3rd; 393-3597April 3-5 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Downtown; 898-iNDY.April 5 Sunday Afternoon Fun The Pier; 821-6443. April 10 Relay for Life St. Petersburg (benefitting American Cancer Society) North Straub Park; 546-9822

ON THE dOCKET:Some Upcoming Events In

and Nearby Our Neighborhood

For a current and more detailed listing go to the City’s website at

www.stpete.org

APRIL 11 NEIGHBORHOOd EASTER EGG HUNT (see p. 9) April 11 Walking Tour of downtown St. Petersburg Historic district Central at 2nd; 824-7802April 11 drum Circle Facilitation The Pier; 821-6443 April 11 Gallery Walk Downtown galleries; 821-6767 April 17- American Stage in the Park presents “Altar Boy” May 10 Demens Landings; 823-7529

APRIL 17 PORCH PARTY (see p. 18)

April 18 Festival of States Harvey’s 5K Run North Straub Park; 821-9888April 18 Festival of States day Parade and Family FunFest Downtown, North Straub Park and waterfront; 821-9888 April 18 Festival of States Motorcycle Show and Competition South Straub Park; 821-9888.April 18-19 34th Annual Mainsail Arts Festival vinoy Park; 892-5885 April 19 Sunday Afternoon Fun The Pier; 821-6443

APRIL 20 NEIGHBORHOOd MEETING

April 22 Oldies But Goodies dance The Pier; 821-6443 April 24 Regata del Sol al Sol From The Pier; www.regatadelsolalsol.org April 24 Last Friday Concert Series Williams Park; www.lastfridayconcerts.com April 24 Grand Central Evening Stroll Grand Central District; 328-7086 April 24-25 St. Anthony’s Sports and Fitness Expo North Straub Park; 825-1521. April 25 Meek & Mighty Triathlon vinoy Park and North Shore Pool; 825-1521 April 26 St. Anthony’s Triathlon vinoy, North Straub and Spa Beach parks; 825-1521 April 25 MarineQuest Open House 2009 FWC Fish & Wildlife Research institute; 896-8626 April 25 “Westward Ho from the Waterfront” walking tour + bus to Historic Kenwood Central Avenue and 2nd; 824-7802 April 25-26 Green Thumb Festival Walter Fuller Park; 893-7335 May 1 Get downtown Music Series Central b/w 2nd-3rd; 393-3597 May 1-2 International Cinco de Mayo Men’s Open Water Polo Tournament North Shore Aquatic Complex; 459-7688May 3 Sunday Afternoon Fun The Pier; 821-6443May 9 drum Circle Facilitation The Pier; 821-6443May 9 Gallery Walk downtown locations; 821-6767 May 13 Oldies But Goodies dance The Pier; 821-6443

MAY 15 PORCH PARTY (see p. 18)

May 17 Sunday Afternoon Fun The Pier; 821-6443

MAY 18 NEIGHBORHOOd MEETING

May 27 Oldies But Goodies dance The Pier; 821-6443 May 29 Last Friday Concert Series Williams Park; www.lastfridayconcerts.com

Source: City of St. Petersburg


Florida Orchestra vinoy Concert in Jeopardyby Jillian Alpert, Director of DevelopmentThe Florida Orchestra

It was 15 years ago that Helen Torres, an Old Northeast resident and lover of the arts, decided to bring The Florida Orchestra to the St. Petersburg community by founding and personally financially underwriting an outdoor concert in Straub Park for free. Yes, free. The original audience of 1,200 grew quickly to 8,000 and had to be moved to Vinoy Park, and by 2008 the number of at-tendees totaled nearly 20,000.

The Florida Orchestra and Tampa Bay Harvest joined in a partnership 1995 to feed thousands of St. Petersburg area resi-dents. The collection bins that dotted the Vinoy Park last October received over 5,300 pounds of food. And last year a special feature was added. The VSA Arts of Florida, part of a national group help-ing young artists with disabilities, had some finalists in a national competition perform pre-concert solos.

This wonderful free Vinoy Park concert, which has become a tradition, is now in jeopardy and needs community support and involvement. Why? In these precarious times, The Florida Orchestra-Vinoy Park Fund needs your financial support to offset the expenses incurred by this event. In 2009 Helen will be in the 16th year of a 20 year gift to our community. While she will be continu-ing her commitment, the fact that overall expenses are outpacing

the financial support coming from other major sponsors means the current shortfall needs to be made up somehow.

You! can help to keep the music playing. We need enthusi-astic volunteers to assist with fundraising efforts and generate ideas on how to make this a grassroots effort that will involve

large numbers of residents in the community. A brainstorming session is being scheduled for mid-March at The Florida Orchestra administra-tive office in St. Petersburg (the date and time will be determined and will be posted on the HONNA web site, www.HONNA.org).

You can help now by making a tax deductible contribution to The Florida Orchestra–Vinoy Park Fund. Please mail your check to 244 2nd Avenue N, Suite 420, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, or visit their web site at www.florida orchestra.org for more information.

Contact Old Northeast residents Julie Feeley ([email protected], 642-0484) or Anne-Marie Stephenson (petalstitch@ tampabay.rr.com, 897-9398) to get involved and let them know your support availability.

Let’s keep the music playing!

Helen Torres and Mayor Rick Baker (center) with guest conduc-tor Andrew Grahams (left ) and Michael Pastreich, President and CEO of The Florida Orchestra (right)

Not a member of The Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association?

Your annual dues of $30 (tax deductable) will go toward helping fund many of the beautification projects you see around the neighborhood.

Think the City does all these projects and maintenance? Think again. Your neighbors, through HONNA, make it happen.

See page 4 for application.


Wow – our most successful Candlelight Tour of Homes yet, thanks to over 100 dedicated volunteers and nearly 1,000 attendees! The 2008 Candlelight Tour, which

took place on December 7th, was a rousing feat in so many ways, including that the tour generated record-setting revenues of $23,159.

All eight homes were stunning — each one unique, so magical in its holiday finery. It is an enormous task to open one’s home and heart in support of our community. Our homeowners are heroes! Thank you, Sandra Gacio and Michael Kotler, Sharon and Rick Kantner, Tracey and Kenny Locke, Barbara and Jay Marshall, Tara and Drew Newsom, Linda and Lou Santoro, Maureen Stafford/John and Nancy Hill and Leslie and Brian Waechter.

At our September Tour Committee meeting members voted unanimously to contribute a portion of the profit to two charities. Thus, St. Petersburg Free Clinic and Big Brothers Big Sisters each received a donation in the amount of $3,450, with the balance of

Candlelight Tour a Winner

Okay, so there was a lot of cleaning…in our case, tuck ing things away in closets. But the preparation that went into getting our home ready for the Candlelight

Tour of Homes was well worth it. First of all, it gave me the extra incentive I needed to get my decorating done early this year. When my in-laws were just venturing into the attic to take inventory at Thanksgiving, I was done. The only work I had left was flipping on the switch to the outdoor lights.

Leading up to the Tour, the committee was kind enough to include our family in the planning of the event. We had input as to which charities would receive proceeds this year. I was thrilled that Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as the St. Petersburg Free Clinic benefited greatly from our little neighborhood soiree.

Of course, it’s not so little. Nearly 1,000 visitors attended the Tour and more than 100 people gathered on the night before the tour for a preview party. All the participating homeowners as well as the many volunteers who handled the advertising, publicity, transportation and other planning details got a “sneak peak” at the homes.

For the day of the event, we had rounded up a few friends to help us keep the crowd moving. One of my friends who volunteered said it was a wonderful kickoff to the holiday season. She had enjoyed the preview festivities, but she really raved about all the people she met at the Tour. People traveled from far and wide to our little historic corner of St Pete. One family on vacation from

Minnesota made The Old Northeast part of their travel itinerary. A gentleman who is a tour guide at the Frank Lloyd Wright com-munity of homes in Spring Green, Wisconsin, also paid a visit.

The out-of-town guests were a treat. But the real highlight for me was meeting the family that had lived in our home for more than 50 years. We are the fifth family to live here. The man who built the house in 1925 only stayed a few years. The Major-Yon family purchased it in the 1930s and passed it down through three generations. The grandchildren are all grown up and some still live in Pinellas County. One sister came on the tour specifically to see her childhood home. The other sister happened to be on the Tour and was completely taken by surprise to see the familiar address on the map. I reunited the family with their grandfather’s well-worn walking cane from the 1933 Chicago’s World Fair which we had unearthed during a major garage cleaning last year. In exchange, they shared some wonderful memories about this place that we now call home. We have a window seat in the master bedroom that we use for linens which my son has made into a hide-and-seek haven. Ap-parently, great minds think alike — our visitors from the past used to hide in the very same spot! They also confirmed what I already knew. This is a house filled with happy memories of first steps, first kisses and family milestones shared together. And no ghosts!

$6,900 being retained by The Historic Old Northeast Neighbor-hood Association.

Another record achievement was the all time high in adver-tising revenue ($6,800) and a new program this year which intro-duced the support of Sponsorship ($750). No numbers to prove it, but many claim the preview party – the night-before “thank you” celebration for volunteers and home-owners hosted by Bob and Linda Dobbs — was our most festive and delicious ever.

We are indeed blessed to be able to live and raise our families in such a generous, gracious community. If you have not yet had the opportunity to participate in a Candlelight Tour, please consider getting involved in the 2009 Tour. Your talents, energy and ideas are welcome! Contact Julia Brazier at 895-4443 or [email protected].

Homeowner Confidential: An Insider’s Storyby Tracey Locke

by Julia BrazierChair, Candlelight Tour of Homes 2008 & 2009

Tour Chair Julia Brazier presenting check to Jane Ar-nett of Big Broth-ers Big Sisters


Permit requirements helps insure the safety, workmanship, and quality of any construction, installations and repairs. Compliance with various development and building codes is monitored through-out the process. These measures also help to protect property values and contribute to the appearance and

livability of our City. In order to build, alter or demolish any structures, a permit is required. When you obtain a permit for work and have the work inspected by the City, several good things happen:

1) The proposed work or plan is reviewed by certified people to ensure code compliance and life safety before any work is actually done.

2) A permanent record is created about the property so that anyone who is interested can see that improvements have been done accord-ing to code.

3) The actual work is inspected by certified people who are concerned with code compliance and life safety.

4) The community is assured that building setbacks and minimum standards for design and construction are met.

Whenever you obtain a permit for any type of work, it is im-portant to remember to call and schedule the required inspections with the City 24 hours in advance. If, after 180 days, you have not had the work inspected, the permit is considered invalid. For property that is not owner-occupied, a licensed contractor must obtain permits and perform work. A homeowner (owner/occupant of a single-family home or duplex) may obtain their own permit and perform work themselves, but only under strict conditions. The homeowner must submit a signed, notarized owner’s affidavit which states that they are acting as their own contractor and are taking full responsibility for these actions.

To get a permit for work on a small residential project, you will need to pay the required fee and provide personal identification to prove you can legally obtain the permit. Drawings prepared by a licensed professional may be required.

Codes Compliance Assistance – City of St. Petersburg

For any size project, it is a good idea to call ahead and check for requirements so that you can be prepared when you apply for your permit. Call the Construction Services and Permitting Department for more information at 893-7231.

Codes Compliance AssistanceMunicipal Services Center Building—

3rd FloorOne 4th Street North

St. Petersburg, FL 33701Phone: 727-893-7373Fax: 727-893-5558

Visit www.stpete.org/codes.htm

Examples of Work That Require Per-mits:

• House Moving• Building Construction and Repair• Demolition of Structures• Roofing and Repair

• Building Accessory Structures• Sheds with larger than 10’ x 10’ Area• Pool and Spa Installation (Above and In-

Ground)• Electrical Work• Plumbing (water heater, piping, etc.)• Mechanical (air-conditioners, heaters, duct-

work, etc.)• Gas (piping and appliance relocation or

addition)

Old Northeast

CuriOSiTieSWalking Tour

After the Fact PermitsIf work was completed at your property without a permit,

even if it was done before you owned the property, you must still obtain a permit and have the work inspected “after-the-fact.” If work is in progress without the proper permits, additional pen-alty fees may apply for attempting to complete work without the permits. In many cases, a licensed contractor will be required to obtain the permits. If you have received a violation notice from the City for work without a permit, you should take the violation notice along with your other paperwork to:

Construction Services and Permitting1st Floor

Municipal Services CenterOne 4th Street North

Downtown St. PetersburgIf you have questions about whether a licensed contractor,

plans, or drawings are required, call ahead at 893-7231.

See page 23


How does Your Garden Grow?

Yard Maintenance

Standards

City of St. PetersburgYard Maintenance Standards

Private property owners are responsible for routine maintenance of plant material on their property and in abutting right-of-way areas. Yard maintenance standards were adopted in the City Code:

• for public safety purposes• to maintain visibility along streets and intersections• to improve the general appearance of the City’s neighbor-

hoods• to protect the environment• to preserve sewer and other utility systems

RequirementsHome owners can use this checklist to perform yard maintenance

that will comply with the City Code:• Mow the lawn so that grass is ten (10) inches or less in overall

height and maintain ground cover plants at an overall height of twenty-four (24) inches or less.

• Edge or remove growth from driveways, sidewalks, curb lines, and gutters.

• Trim hedge heights to 5 feet or less in front yards on residential property (hedges on private property are only regulated within 5 feet of the property line). Contact the department for more details on hedge

regulations in side yards, rear yards, non-residential property or waterfront property.

• Shrubs and trees over the public sidewalks must be trimmed up to a height of eight feet to allow motorists to see past them and to allow pedestrians to walk under them.

• Remove vegetation which is a hazard to public safety, such as vegetation with thorns, from the right-of-way area.

• Trim trees over the street or alley to a height of fourteen feet above the street or alley surface.

• Provide vegetative ground cover, such as grass, for all exposed sand or soil areas. Grass helps hold

soil in place that might otherwise wash away. This erosion harms the property and can block City storm

water sewers.• Take grass clippings, tree trimmings and other vegetative

material to the City brush sites. Disposing of such material on streets, right-of-ways, waterways, other people’s property, or in the City storm water system is prohibited. The use of mulching lawn equipment is encouraged.

• If a tree must be removed, acquire a permit. This applies to any tree of two inches or more trunk diameter at breast height, whether it is on the private property or the right-of-way. A few exotic or invasive tree species are exempt from permit requirements.

Codes Compliance AssistanceMunicipal Services Center Building—3rd Floor

One 4th Street NorthSt. Petersburg, FL 33701

Phone: 727-893-7373Fax: 727-893-5558

Visit www.stpete.org/codes.htm


Annette Reiter, M.A. LMFT 1896

40 Beach Drive NESt. Petersburg, FL 33701(727) 826-6807 Ext 1

Individual, Couples & Group Therapy

Trainings & Professional Consultation

Worship Service: Sundays 10:30am

This ad courtesy of HONNA in appreciation of Westminster’s gen-erous support of the Association

“Custom work my specialty”

Resident of Old Southeast

727.895.2272

Grady The

Historic Home Handyman

Street Light Out?Do yourself and your neighbors a favor and phone Progress Energy

at 800/228-8485 to report it (provide them the location and the iD number

on the pole’s base). Don’t make things easy for the burglars and car thieves.


Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood AssociationP.O. Box 76324St. Petersburg, FL 33734www.honna.org

PRSRT STdU.S. POSTAGE PAIdST. PETERSBURG FL

PERMIT #1020

Next Neighborhood Meeting: Monday, March 16th, at 7pmAll Neighborhood Potluck (see p.1)

All neighborhood residents invited

IN THIS ISSUE

• All Neighborhood

Potluck

• Myakka State Park

• Touring Our Alleys

• Candlelight Tour

Wrap Up

...and much more

Portfolio: Old Northeast

www.AlonaDishy.comTop Award Winning Producer: Chairman’s Awards, Diamond and Double Diamond Awards

(727) 458-8037 (727)823-8000 ext 129 Realty Executives

Old NE has charisma, style & a unique charm, and history unequalled in popular hotspots in Florida. It has staying power!

Most homes differ from one another in their varied styles & eras, unique locations, their proximity to the park or waterfront, their renovations, not to mention quirky details often found in this area. Last week I spoke to a couple who reminded me how difficult it was to move to Old NE a few years ago because of the limited availability of notable homes in Old NE. Now they wish they could sell their home on the beach to return here, as there is a large selection of quality homes in the area. Take a look at my portfolio of listings as an example.

Available today are some of the most prestigious landmark estates near the waterfront in Old NE: Namely the Gracious Mediterranean Estate, built by Flora Wylie

at 1400 Beach Dr. NE & the Italianate Estate built by Ambassador Averill Harriman at 1730 Beach Dr NE. The signature home on Cherry with 54ft pool, the cottage gem on 1801 Beach Dr NE, the Tudor on 18th Ave NE, the Colonials on 16th & 18th Ave. NE the Mediterranean with guest home on 16th Ave NE, & the Mediterranean on 15th Ave NE with large lot.

All elegant vintage restored beauties with great layouts, design & details. In addition to the vintage restorations, there is the beautiful Cambridge home at 819 15th Ave NE & the completely renovated ( to new in 2006) home at 2320 Coffee Pot Blvd. NE (neither has a sign in the yard) These historic homes, plus more in Old NE & the varied listings on Snell Isle and surrounding areas provide a wealth of choices for the buyer and at reason-able prices.

Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood News - March 2009

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Transcript of Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood News - March 2009