St. Pete Beach (formerly known as St. Petersburg Beach until 1994) is a coastal city in

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Known as a tourist destination, St. Pete Beach was formed from the towns of

Pass-a-Grille Pass-a-Grille is a small beach neighborhood and former town at the south end of St. Pete Beach, FL, St. Pete Beach in Pinellas County, Florida. The community includes the Pass-a-Grille Historic District, Gulf Beaches Historical Museum, and Pass- ...

, Belle Vista, St. Petersburg Beach, and unincorporated Pinellas County. It is part of the

Tampa Bay area The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, Florida, Clea ...

. The population was 8,879 at the 2020 census. St. Pete Beach's downtown is centered on Corey Avenue. This district contains bars, restaurants and shopping and retail outlets. The Pass-a-Grille Historic District and the historic Don CeSar beach resort are located at the southern end of the beach. In 2021,

TripAdvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...

named St. Pete Beach the number one beach in the US, and the number five best beach in the entire world.

History

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

Geography

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

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

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

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Three bridges lead into the city, connecting it to

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

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

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,879 people, 4,933 households, and 2,938 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 9,346 people, 4,844 households, and 2,512 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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

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

, 0.66%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

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

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.51% of the population. In the 2000 census, St. Pete Beach had the largest proportion of residents who were

Lithuanian-American Lithuanian Americans refer to Americans, American citizens and residents of Lithuanians, Lithuanian descent or were born in Lithuania. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in its population ...

in Florida (3.3 percent). In 2000, there were 5,294 households, out of which 10.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were

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

living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.5% were non-families. 40.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.82 and the average family size was 2.40. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 9.7% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 33.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $47,574, and the median income for a family was $61,434. Males had a median income of $40,938 versus $30,532 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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

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

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

Education

Residents are zoned to Pinellas County Schools, specifically the schools of Azalea Elementary School, Madeira Beach Middle School, and Boca Ciega High School. In 1915 Sunshine Elementary School opened in Pass-a-Grille. Gulf Beaches Elementary opened in 1950. The ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

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

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

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

Library

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

Tourism

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

Notable people

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

External links

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