St. Petersburg, Florida is situated within the Tampa Bay Area. This popular vacation resort area serves a huge population of roughly 245,314, making St. Petersburg the 4th most populous city within the whole state. The city of St. Petersburg is situated within the County of Pinellas, for which Clearwater serves the county seat. Then again, county services are available through county offices in St. Petersburg. There are 2.7 million people within the Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The founders of the city of St. Petersburg were John C. Williams and Peter Demens, who purchased the land in the year 1876. Demens helped to bring the railroad to the area during the year 1888. St. Petersburg officially became a city in the year 1892, with a population of 300 inhabitants.
Situated on Tampa Bay, the city of St. Petersburg enjoys a tropical weather, allowing the city to pack the year with lots of outdoor activities. More than 1,000 thousand outdoor events are held here each year, the majority taking place along the preserved downtown waterfront area. Festivals comprise the Cajun/Zydeco Crawfish Festival, American Stage in the Park, Earth Day's Green Thumb Festival, the Art Arbor Nature Crafts Festival, and plenty more. The art and music is almost constant as the streets and parks of the city fill with people. St. Petersburg is likewise the site of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, an Indycar series car race.
St. Petersburg's downtown Central Business District is full of office high rise buildings like the Bank of America Tower. Downtown dining is situated on Central Avenue and adjacent streets, as well as on Beach Drive. Several lounges, clubs and bars could be found around and along Central Avenue with the type of entertainment to suit whatever taste. Jannus Landing and the State Theatre are two well-known concert venues. The St. Petersburg Times newspaper has its head office in the Central Business District.
There are several fine galleries and theatres within the Central Business District, such as the Mahaffey Theater complex, that has a glass-enclosed atrium which overlooks the waterfront. The Coliseum, the multi-use facility, has the finest ballroom in the south. There are a number of renowned art collections: Chihuly Collection presented by the Morean Arts Center, Museum of Fine Arts, Salvador Dalà Museum, the Florida International Museum, and the Holocaust Museum. Dozens of other cultural venues and galleries could be found downtown and on the perimeter.