The Morning Show goes to Old Northeast
St. Petersburg's Old Northeast neighborhood wasn't always "old." So what did they call it when it was new?
We took The Morning Show LIVE to Old Northeast in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, February 16th!
Thank you to the Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association, the City of St. Petersburg, Renaissance Vinoy Resort, Sunken Gardens, Great Explorations Children's Museum, The Melting Pot restaurant, Old Northeast Tavern, Old Northeast Pizza, Suncoast Electric Vehicles, Northeast Cycles, Beach Drive Inn Bed & Breakfast, Larelle House Bed & Breakfast, Reno Beach Surf Shop, Kahwa Coffee Roasting, and many others for their support!
Why do they call it Old Northeast?
"It was the Northeast Subdivision, originally, when it was established in the 1910's. And now... it's old," came the straightforward explanation from Rodney Kite-Powell, curator of history at the Tampa Bay History Center.
How old? Exactly one hundred years. Back in 1911, when St. Petersburg had just a few hundred people in it, two developers owned 600 acres of farmland and wilderness northeast of the small city. They had a bold new idea.
"Perry Snell and J.C. Hamlett were the leaders behind the establishment of the Northeast Subdivision... and it's called that because it's northeast of Downtown St. Petersburg," Kite-Powell said.
"And it really was designed as the premiere neighborhood for St. Petersburg. And Snell, of course, is a very familiar name to folks in St. Petersburg, with Snell Isle and other subdivisions like that."
Old Northeast still holds charming signs of its long history. With beautiful arching oak trees, original brick streets, and tall granite curbs -- it may seem like nothing ever changes here. But a new technology transformed the neighborhood early in its history: the automobile.
"Really you can tell, a lot of parts of the neighborhood are kind of 'pre-car,' because everything is addressed towards the street for walking," Kite-Powell said. "And you get these big front porches, of course, before air conditioning."
Another big thing has changed here -- and that's where "here" is. Through a hundred years of growing, St. Pete has changed shape, so adding "old" to the neighborhood's name makes a lot of sense.
"It's now no longer the northeast section of St. Petersburg. It's now pretty much right in the center of St. Petersburg. So that's where you have... to put the word 'old' there," Kite-Powell said.
Why do they call it that? Now you know.
If you want to ask "Why do they call it that?" send an e-mail with a name that has you curious to Grayson Kamm using this link.
We'll be featuring new places and stories each Wednesday on 10 News at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m..
Check out previous editions of "Why do they call it that?" plus links to photos and maps from Tampa Bay's past at our "Why do they call it that?" website: wtsp.com/callitthat.
Connect with 10 News multi-media journalist Grayson Kamm
twitter @graysonkamm | e-mail at this link | or on Facebook
Grayson Kamm, 10 News