Walking around historic downtown Tarpon Springs I couldn't help but be drawn to this vintage…read morepostcard style mural on the outside of the Chamber of Commerce Welcome Center. This is a 25-by-4 1/2-foot digitally printed mural by Eagle Photographics in Tampa. It was unveiled in 2020 and is a reproduction of a 1994 painting, called Changing Tides by North Pinellas based artist Christopher M. Still. The mural depicts Tarpon Springs sponge diving heyday around the Anclote Key Lighthouse. The original painting was donated to the Tarpon Springs Public Library by Elizabeth Coachman, an artist and former head of the medical laboratory at AdventHealth North Pinellas. Elizabeth and her husband Michael wanted to keep Changing Tides in the City of Tarpon Springs. Artist Christopher M. Still is known for his paintings of Florida's wildlife, people and landscapes. He works out of Dunedin, Florida and has a gallery in Tarpon Springs. In 2010 he was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Of the mural he has said "It's a big honor to do this, to have an entryway sign for Tarpon Springs. It's neat having it as an entryway sign out here and you can walk over and see the original indoors nearby." Today the Changing Tides mural serves as a welcome to the City of Tarpon Springs. People love to have their photos taken in front of it and it preserves the rich history of this town as a sponge diving village.

We were in tampa exploring the parks and public art and came across this mural. I am a big fan of…read morepublic art and landmarks so I had to add it to Yelp for others to see. When I got back home I looked up what the story was about this mural. According to the tampa website for public art. In their initial concept, artists Edgar Sanchez Cumbas and Guillermo Portieles wanted to represent the hard working individuals in West Tampa "who embraced a thriving a social and cultural community through its broad mix of nationalities and religions." From this concept and through much input from community leaders and historians, the mural "Kaleidoscope: a Heritage of Color" was created. " Cool piece of public art to check out

I discovered this sculpture while exploring Tarpon Springs. Storybook Time depicts a mother reading…read moreto her daughter from a book as they sit on a bench. I was immediately drawn to this charming sculpture because it brought all of the wonderful memories of reading to my daughter as a child. You can find Storybook Time in front of Tarpon Springs Old City Hall which is now the Cultural Center. Storybook Time was created by Texas born artist, Glenna Goodacre in 1988. She also created the four statues of Greek nymphs called Naiads in the roundabout near the Sponge Docks. Goodacre graduated from Colorado College and studied at the Art Students League in New York. After her marriage she lived part time in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in Dallas, Texas where her husband practiced law. Her favorite subject matter was portrait busts and figures and sculptural compositions of active children. Goodacre is most well known for creating the Vietnam Women's Memorial at the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. in 1993. Goodacre passed away in April 2020 at the age of 80. I love how this sculpture captures the feeling of joy of intimacy that reading together brings. Besides encouraging sharing reading the sculpture also commemorates the first library in Tarpon Springs that was established 1916.

I discovered this beautiful 17 feet high by 22 feet wide mosaic mural in historic downtown Tarpon…read moreSprings. The brightly colored mosaic is on the side of the Meres building adjacent to the parking lot that was once Mother Meres garden. The mural was a gift to the city from the Garden Fairies of Tampa Bay, a group of civic, artistic gardeners who have spent seven months creating the massive multimedia art piece. The Garden Fairies received no public funds for the $60,000 mural. It was created through their fundraising efforts and a benefit party by the Chamber of Commerce. It took 2,000 hours to complete the installation of 46 panels over Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 2010. Even the concrete walls surrounding the nearby dumpster also were decorated with 86 smaller panels. The mural commemorates Amelia Petzold Meres, a city pioneer and amateur horticulturist from the early 20th century. Mother Meres loved plants and people. She was born in Germany in 1845 and emigrated to the United States with her family when she was 5. In 1882, she moved to Tarpon Springs with her husband, Walter to run the Ferns Hotel on the corner of Tarpon and Pinellas avenues. Amelia Meres and her husband had a home east of the hotel and on their land she created a lush jungle garden that fed the hotel guests fresh fruits and vegetables and honey produced in the garden. Eventually she was bestowed the nickname of "Mother Meres." In addition to the garden she also planted the cycads that gave Tarpon Springs' Cycadia Cemetery its name later replacing them with oleander after the cycads dies off in a freeze. She held the town's first Christmas party, brought plants to the sick, and helped plant trees to beautify city. With a kapok seed giver to her by her friend botanist David Fairchild of Miami, she planted the famous kapok tree at the former Kapok Tree Inn on McMullen-Booth Road. Mother Meres died at the age of 78 on Oct. 20, 1923. After her death the garden became a city park with benches and a band shell. In the 1950's the park was turned into a parking lot. The parking lot is also the site of the Sunday Tarpon Springs Farmers Market. It is so nice to see Mother Meres love of gardening and generous spirit is still honored and thriving 100 years later.

The design is colorful, unique, and full of intricate details that you do not usually see anywhere…read moreelse. Every corner has something interesting to look at, from the flowing shapes to the mosaic style elements that really capture that Gaudí inspired feel. It is one of those places where you keep stopping just to take everything in. The atmosphere is peaceful and artistic, making it a great spot for photos, inspiration, or just appreciating something truly different from your typical attraction. You can tell a lot of care and creativity went into every part of it. Overall, it is a must visit if you appreciate art, architecture, or just cool unique places. Easy 5 stars and a truly memorable experience.

Love this mosaic art installation in Safety Harbor, FL. There's so much cool public art in the…read morearea. They even have a cool list of them. This was the first time I saw Ode to Gaudi. It's a 40 ft bench decked out in mosaic art. Ode to Gaudi is named after a Spanish architect named Antoni Gaudi. The mosaic artists created this bench as a tribute to life in Spain - tradition, culture, and cuisine. It's so colorful with lots of fun designs all through out. Many of which you can find in Florida, like sunshine, sea, shore, & flowers. This is located on the back side of what is now Bicycle Boutique which use to be Tupelo on 4th. What a beautiful site to see.

This war memorial stands in the front plaza of the Hillsborough County Courthouse at Pierce Street…read moreand Madison Street, a solid rectangular structure about ten to twelve feet tall with plaques honoring service members from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and those engaged in future conflicts. Each face carries a pair of bronze panels, and the inscriptions move from specific battles like Belleau Wood, Meuse‑Argonne, Normandy, Guadalcanal, and the Bulge to broader reflections on freedom, justice, and equality. The memorial sits opposite the Hydria installation, whose tall cistern‑columns frame the courthouse entrance and give the plaza a distinctive civic feel. I visited in the late afternoon into early evening, after the courthouse had closed for the day, which made it easy to walk the plaza without the usual weekday flow of people heading in and out of the building. The quiet made the inscriptions easier to take in, and the setting felt more contemplative than it probably does during business hours. Metered street parking is available along the surrounding blocks, making it simple to stop for a short visit. [Review 133 of 2026 - 2244 in Florida - 25323 overall]

I prefer Tampa Fingers, but these will do…read more Really nice brand new neighbourhood in Tampa which is near the colleges and has plenty of boba shops and lots of living space. It's one of the better places in the Tampa area to live in terms of food and desserts and I like it and it has a young energy about it.

I found this cool piece of public art right before you enter the pier in St. Petersburg, Florida…read more This large free flowing net sculpture is very eye catching. The piece was made by internationally known, Tampa Bay native Janet Echelman. The title of the piece, Bending Arc is taken from Dr. Martin Luther King's words "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Echelman decided to honor the civil rights movement because the site where the sculpture hangs was a location where local citizens protested segregation in the 1950's. The protests led to the 1957 US Supreme Court ruling that allowed people of all races to use the city beach and pool. According to the artist the new pier was designed to be welcoming to everyone. She has said "When I look at the piece moving in the wind you see these arcs move across as the wind blows through. It's a moment to contemplate the interconnectedness of the entire human race. And it's a reminder for us to be grateful for and celebrate the courage of the people who came before us. Who brought us to where we are and the job that we have to do bring ourselves forward again." The art installation was created to coincide with the open of the new 26 acre St. Petersburg Pier. Echelman has created several other net sculptures that are located all around the world. She took inspiration for this piece from historical postcards that had blue and white striped beach parasols and combined the colors with the geometric forms made by colonies of barnacles growing on the underside of the pier. When the wind blows it changes the shape of the soft sculpture. Bending arc is made of 1,662,528 light weight fiber knots and 180 miles of twine. It is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), an engineered fiber which has been turned into a thread like textile. The strands are braided together and wrapped around sewing bobbins to form the mesh netting that is knotted by hand. The sculpture is 424 feet long and it is 72 feet at its tallest point. It covers 47,500 square feet and weighs a total of 5,330 pounds. The sculpture was paid for by private donors and its infrastructure was part of the new Pier District project. Echelman's contract for the piece with St. Petersburg was for $1.47 million dollars. During the day Bending Arc is blue and white. At night it is illuminated with LED lights so that it appears purple and magenta. You can see it across the water from the parks lining the bay. There are some chairs set up under the sculpture so you can sit and watch the wind blow the netting overhead. I love public art and this is just one of many interesting elements that have been added to the new pier.