Matthew Bane

Long Before Demens, A Pinellas Railroad Plan

The longstanding and often repeated story of the first train chugging into the nascent village [...]

The 1972 Karen Jolley Tragedy In-Depth

On October 28, 1972 Jimmy Powell murdered 19-year-old Karen Jolley at the Casa Marina Motel [...]

1970s Marijuana Smuggler Tommy Powell: Outtakes

History of Smuggling Series Historian Matthew Bane and notorious former marijuana smuggler Tommy Powell teamed [...]

Video: Vinoy Tower Climb

Matt from St. Pete Wiki had the opportunity to climb the Vinoy tower and get [...]

Ghosts of Egmont Key

Lying at the mouth of Tampa Bay where it meets the Gulf is an island [...]

Oral History: Mike Hubbard Sails PAG Channel

Mike Hubbard, prominent and notorious figure throughout the late 20th century lower Gulf beaches, shares [...]

Coffee Pot Park – Location Found!

Historian Matthew Bane has located the location of the lost "Coffee Pot Park," the first [...]

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Cuban Rebels, Tampa Bay, and a Bunch of Rough Riders

The passion of the Cuban people led to the Tampa Bay region becoming what we [...]

The Most Horrible Ordeal of Juan Ortiz

A remarkable true tale of agony, of love, resolution, torture, and of death during the [...]

Best Frenemies: The St. Pete – Tampa Rivalry

The rivalry between the two cities on Tampa Bay started over a hundred years ago [...]

Bayou Castle: The Asylum of Eccentricity

A mysterious house in St. Pete as eccentric and unsettling as it is historic - [...]

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Johnny Green: St. Pete’s Forgotten Flier

Johnny Green was a notorious pilot, smuggler, and barnstormer for a decade in the Golden [...]

The Vinoy: The Hotel That Almost Wasn’t

The impressive Vinoy Hotel is loved in St. Pete but has a dramatic and rocky [...]

St. Pete’s Famed Festival of States: Part I

Read about the early days of St. Pete's most loved event, the Festival of States. [...]

Freaks and Geeks: Tampa Bay’s Sideshow Town

The town of Gibsonton, Florida is falling from the radar but was once well known [...]

The Flying Thunderbird of Treasure Island

In 1973 four Golden Girls got to ride their Thunderbird to new heights while crossing [...]

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The Oddly Unsuccessful History of Madeira Beach

I’ve always kind of wondered about the history of Madeira Beach. Traveling the beach road [...]

The Don Ce-Sar: A Castle Made of Sand Pt. 2

Part 2 of a history of the iconic Don Ce-Sar Hotel near St. Petersburg, Florida

The Don Ce-Sar: A Castle Made of Sand Pt. 1

The hidden history behind the iconic and beautiful Don CeSar hotel on St. Pete Beach.

The Rolyat – “America’s Most Distinctive Hotel”

Part I in a series: Grand Hotels of St. Pete Author’s note: The mid 1920s [...]

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Passes, Pirates, and Treasure: The Story of John Leviche

A fun look at the pirate turned turtle farmer whose name lives on at John's [...]

Pass-a-Grille: The Name Mystery Solved?

New research and findings might point to how the unusual and romantic name Pass-a-Grille located [...]

The Princess and the Castle

Eccentric outcast royal builds amazing 1920s home in Pinellas Point, in St. Pete Florida: the [...]

Frank Pulver: St. Pete’s Most Eccentric Mayor

In the early to mid 1920s, the heyday of the Golden Age of St. Pete, [...]

St. Pete in the 1930s: Tan Lines Optional

Did you know that back in 1930 the city of St. Pete, in its never [...]

Reeling in the Sun Seekers – 1920s Style

In the heyday of the 1920s, St. Petersburg marketed itself effectively with marketing pamphlets like [...]

Jack Kerouac: The End of the Road

Jack Kerouac, iconic author and Beat Movement protagonist, died at 5:45 am on Oct. 21, [...]

Benoist, Jannus, and the Flying Boats of St. Pete

The story and rare details about the first regular commercial air service in the country [...]

Into the Jungle

A single St. Pete location with remnants of ancient tribes, Spanish explorations, a Speakeasy, bootleggers, [...]

Hurricanes of the Pinellas Peninsula

History of the known hurricanes of Pinellas County and St. Petersburg area from stpetewiki.com.

Treasure Island’s Golden Name

An interesting tale connected to an eccentric fellow named William D. McAdoo and Treasure Island [...]

Let’s Bowl St. Pete Style

Check out the fascinating, healthful, clean sport called lawn bowling that was brought to the [...]

The Whimsical Shell Fence of Owen Albright

Read about the marvelous shell fence of Owen Albright, an early Florida roadside attraction that [...]

Florida Crackers: Here’s the Beef

Just about everybody has heard the nickname "Florida Cracker." What's the origin? Find out on [...]

Before the Train: The Pinellas Frontier

When you read about the history of St. Pete it is not uncommon to assume [...]

Noel Mitchell, The Huckster With Heart

Noel Mitchell is without question one of the most colorful personalities to have left a [...]

Planes, Trains, Boats & Cars – Part I

Researching early St. Pete from it’s inception through the 1940s has shown me, perhaps in [...]

Peter Demens: Building Railroads is Hard, Part 2

In the first part of this series (found here) things were going fairly well for [...]

Peter Demens: Building Railroads is Hard, Part I

Peter Demens is often referred to as one of the founding fathers of St. Pete. [...]

The Eccentric Works of Edwin Tomlinson, Part 2

This is part 2/2 about St. Petersburg benefactor Edwin Tomlinson. Part 1 can be found [...]

The Eccentric Works of Edwin Tomlinson, Part I

Background Edwin H. Tomlinson was a northern industrialist from Connecticut who had made a significant [...]

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St. Pete’s Oldest Street

The oldest road in St. Pete has an interesting history and predates the current city.

George Lizotte and Early Pass-a-Grille

I think most of us would agree that of the St. Pete area beaches, one [...]

Urban Myth: Classy Haunted Downtown Potty

With certainty you have at some point stumbled upon, or in fact thanked someone above [...]

Baseball Parks of St. Pete

Summer is upon us, and that means baseball season. You may or may not be [...]

The Curious Case of St. Pete’s First Mayor

Way back in the 1890’s the young village that would become St. Petersburg only had [...]

Shifting Architecture into the Golden Era

St. Pete (before it was known as that!) was an agrarian community that primarily raised [...]

The Sunshine City Nickname

Ever wonder how the “Sunshine City” got it’s title? Starting in about 1910 St. Pete’s [...]

Coffee Pot Bayou Name

If you, like me, have wondered at some point why someone named Coffee Pot Bayou [...]

Pasadena Estates Downtown Office

The Pasadena Estates field office was in the building that is now the Alesia restaurant [...]