Parking is cheap Walk across the street to beach…read moreaccess..very easy Bathrooms are clean....for a beach

Unusually configured Beach Park with parking and restrooms on the opposite side of the street from…read morethe beach. Crossing is not difficult, however, because there is a crosswalk button that doesn't activate just a yellow flashing light, but rather activates a regular stop light. The path to the beach is paved and bordered by trees which makes it pretty. The are two multi head beach showers. The beach is wide enough not to feel crowded but not so wide that the walk to the water seems like an excessive distance. The water is shallow for a considerable distance from the shoreline (Note: as of the date of the review but may change the next time a tropical storm comes by). Most people seem not to know this is here. Just driving by, and from the name, people might assume it's a picnic area or playground that faces the intracoastal rather than a beach access park. Anyway, the parking lot never fills and the beach area is decently populated (mostly people from the motels) without feeling crowded. Nice place. Parking price is only a dollar an hour. This is a tie for the lowest price pay lot on the barrier islands.

There are two bridges that provide access to and from Davis Islands. This is the one for getting…read moreback to Tampa, where the Columbia Drive Bridge is for getting onto the islands. Yes, the bridges are one way. The bridge's origins trace back to the early twentieth century, when the area around the Tampa Bay Hotel was transforming from a remote outpost into a connected urban district. Henry Plant had already insisted that Lafayette Street be extended and bridged to support his hotel, and that same logic of connectivity carried southward along the river. This bridge takes you directly past Tampa General Hospital. The design is restrained and businesslike, low concrete railings, rhythmic balusters, and a profile that sits lightly on the water. The structure's is on durability and continuity rather than spectacle and while it's been reinforced and updated in the decades since construction, the basic form remains consistent with the city's early twentieth century approach to river infrastructure, where even the quieter bridges were designed to harmonize with the riverfront rather than dominate it. There is no toll to cross the simple and steady link across the river. [Review 140 of 2026 - 2247 in Florida - 25330 overall]

Known locally as a place to go airborne in your speeding car, this unique piece of local flavor in…read moreSt Petersburg has a history that dates back more than 100 years! It's a humpback bridge over Salt Creek that was created to enable the first trolley line to be established. However, the current bridge has 1931 engraved in the concrete so apparently it is not the original. Do you know where to learn more? The man who introduced electricity to St Pete, F. A. Davis, founded the St. Petersburg and Gulf Railway Company in 1901. He created a light rail trolly system when there were fewer than 2,000 residents! It debuted in 1911. Sometimes, passengers and/or the conductor would have to get out and push to get the trolley over the bridge! There are stories of naughty kids greasing the rails which would prevent the trolly from being able to cross. Kids will be kids! Now, it's a launch pad for zooming cars. Unfortunately, multiple people were killed in crashes so please, please... be careful! Life is good with unique hidden history! Thank you Nick for telling me about this local flavor!

It was a thrill to go over the hill. Lots of scrapes where people left their under carriage behind…read more Don't overdo it in your Lexus. And don't losse your lunch..

This post office is the first Open Air Post Office in the United States…read more It's a beautiful building! The first corner stone was laid in October of 1916 and the building was completed almost a year later in September 1917.

Well I thought I would pop off a review for the very architecturally cool Open Air Post Office, the…read morefirst of its kind. I once worked near here, actually at a few places, all walking distance, and this is the post office I would use. I can't comment on how it functions as a post office now, but as a bit of "local flavor" it's pretty cool. I say this for two reasons. One is the obvious cool factor. Built in the Mediterranean Revival style and completed on September 27, 1917, it's a throwback to a different era. The lines and curves of this building are like no other post office that I know of. Sam H. uploaded a good series of pictures showing off the beauty of this post office. The other reason it has a bit of local flavor is for the rather seedy crowd that seems to gather. A sign warns that if you are not here on post office business, the police are authorized to act as agents for the post office and remove trespassers. I can't imagine what led to the need for that sign (proximity to Williams Park maybe?), but since it's open air, it's means access to the PO boxes is also pretty easy, and 24 hours. No other 24 services exist though. In the north west corner of the open air part a flight of stairs leads up to the historic museum. I did not have a chance to confirm that it's still in operation, but if you are a post office aficionado, it may be worth a look. On April 4, 1975, this post office was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. [update] Here's a little extra reading I found if you want more history: http://www.stpete.org/historic_preservation/historic_landmarks/local_landmarks/docs/Open_Air_Post_Office.pdf

I came across this marker tucked into a small parklet, the kind of quiet corner where Tampa's older…read morelayers still surface if you slow down long enough to notice them. The text focuses on William Benton Henderson, and even in its brief form you can feel how deeply he shaped the city during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He arrived here in 1847, long before Tampa was anything more than a scattered settlement on the edge of a wide bay, and his life ends up tracing the city's transformation from frontier outpost to a regional hub with real economic muscle. The marker reads, "William Benton Henderson was a leading figure in the development of Tampa and Hillsborough County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A Georgia native, Henderson arrived in Tampa in 1847 and served as a lieutenant in the Confederate army. After the Civil War, he joined in partnership with Captain John Miller and established a mercantile and shipping empire. Henderson was active in the real estate business, helped bring the telegraph to Tampa and was a major factor in the establishment of Tampa's cigar industry. An active Methodist and Mason, he was also a noted philanthropist. A leader in the cattle industry, he drove his herds down present-day Henderson Boulevard en route to Port Tampa to be shipped to various ports." There's no marker number, but it does note that it was erected in 1998 by the Tampa Historical Society in cooperation with Henderson's descendants. It's a fitting tribute, because even in a city full of big personalities and rapid change, Henderson stands out as one of the people who helped turn Tampa from a remote settlement into a place with ambition, infrastructure, and a sense of its own future. According to the Wikipedia article, he is the namesake of Henderson Boulevard and Henderson Avenue. [Review 123 of 2026 - 2234 in Florida - 25313 overall]

The Columbia Drive Bridge on Davis Islands works as a quiet little gateway that still carries the…read moreimprint of its 1920s origins, and because it serves as a one way entrance onto the island it shapes the daily flow in a way that feels intentional rather than accidental, almost like the planners wanted visitors to slow down and understand they were crossing into a distinct neighborhood. The bridge came out of that early land‑boom moment when Tampa was reshaping its shoreline and selling the idea of Mediterranean‑inspired living on newly created land, and even though the bridge is modest it reflects the architectural language of the period with its low concrete profile, simple railings, and proportions that match the residential scale around it. Nothing about it is flashy, but that restraint is part of the charm because it ties directly back to the original Davis Islands vision where the architecture was meant to feel cohesive and quietly elegant, and the bridge still reads as part of that early fabric today, a small structure with a long memory that continues to guide people onto the island in the same steady pattern it has followed for generations. [Review 134 of 2026 - 2245 in Florida - 25324 overall]

Lots of great books at reasonable prices. Post office is a plus…read more .......................,.,,,,,,,,,,,

As a local I previously couldn't recommend this little gem enough. I loved supporting Mom and Pop…read moreshops and often donated my used books & encouraged friends to do the same. Went in today with a handful of books to donate and noticed the owner was helping another customer and not wearing a mask. Very irresponsible considering the number of tourists and old people in TI. It's a mask, not a straight jacket. Wear one to protect your customers (like me). Sad to see I had to choose between donating or potentially contracting COVID. I chose to donate my books elsewhere. Bummer.

It's a very small facility. Mr Galen Johnston is a very informative lecturer and has a ton of…read morewisdom about boating safety and common sense. He puts on a great class and is thorough in answering questions. I have attended classes here for boating and seamanship for 7 weeks now and have 5 more to go.