Historic St. Petersburg Neighborhoods

Old Southeast

Old Southeast was established in the mid 1950s by developer C.A. Harvey. It’s bordered on the east by Lassing Park, a 12.5-acre park on Tampa Bay that runs from 16th to 22nd Avenues. This residential park offers fishing, games, walking, and a spectacular view of Tampa Bay. The original land for the park was donated to the city by Judge Robert B. Lassing in 1924, with the condition that all structures erected in the park be for park use. The neighborhood is famous for its colored hexagon-block sidewalks. The blocks are arranged in patterns and run throughout the neighborhood. Old Southeast is a hex block preservation district that involves homeowners in the maintenance and upkeep of its historic walkways.

Historic Roser Park

The first designated historic district in St. Petersburg, Historic Roser Park has Roser Park at its center and Booker Creek meandering throughout. Mature plantings of royal palms and old oaks mix with lush native vegetation. The streets are made of Augusta brick and the sidewalks of hex block. The neighborhood is known as “The Neighborhood a Cookie Built after Charles M. Roser sold his Fig Newtons to the National Biscuit Company and settled in St. Petersburg, where he developed this neighborhood. Each home is unique and reflects the northern influences of the residents who flocked to St. Petersburg in the teens and 1920s. The houses are an architectural mix of colonial, Mediterranean, Spanish, prairie style, bungalow, and Florida cracker. Historic Roser Park is home to the State Geological Department, the Studebaker Building, which appears on the National Register, and the Old Florida Power Plant.