Pt. Two and A Half

In 1899 Henry W. Hibbs, a native of Newport, North Carolina, established his wholesale fish business at the end of Peter Demens’ railroad pier, thusly establishing one of the first real industries in St. Petersburg next to the agricultural and tourist industry. It stands to reason after all, there are miles and miles of water surrounding the area. Arguably, that was the turning point for St. Petersburg. Sure, the city could have sustained itself as a tourist destination, as it has in some way shape or form since its inception. But what would the tourists have to entertain themselves with? Miles of swamp? Roaches the size of small dogs? Two hotels, a train, and a wholesale fishing business? As with any other city, with the visitors came the prospectors, and with the prospectors came the businesses.

Eventually, more and more businesses set up shop in and around what would become downtown. More so, a good amount of those businesses were founded on Central Avenue, the main east-west thoroughfare of the time. It’s still one of the main thoroughfare’s today, separating the city into north and south and traversing the city from bay to gulf.

Now obviously I am oversimplifying the evolution of St. Petersburg more than just a tad. I mean come on I’ve gone from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s in a few mere paragraphs. The point is not to tell the whole story of St. Petersburg, especially when there is already a ton of academic study and documentation on the subject matter. Rather the point is something else. What exactly? I guess you’ll have to keep reading, after all, half of the thrill comes from the journey.