In candor, I have not closely followed the controversy surrounding The Pier in downtown St. Petersburg. As a taxpaying, Pinellas County resident, I could claim some small standing, but I don’t live within the city limits and cannot vote in what is sure to be a heated referendum election. I largely trust our representative form of government to make these kinds of decisions. At the same time, I respect that there are many who feel differently.
I left here for college in August, 1972 and, as you might expect of a young man anxious to enjoy his first taste of freedom, paid little attention to the construction of The Pier. Upon returning home shortly after it opened, I was impressed with it’s design and that Marriott was operating the facility. My earliest memory was a short trip by boat from the municipal marina, tying up beneath the massive structure, and enjoying a prime rib dinner while looking south toward the airport. Alas, it would be many years before I visited again.
I have observed downtown St. Petersburg for all of The Pier’s life. In the summer of 1975, I spent time on that same boat while taking classes at USF St. Petersburg. It would be a gross understatement to say the campus has come a long way from when classrooms were housed in old military barracks. Downtown was a particularly sleepy place I have little recollection of. I don’t remember returning to The Pier either.
In the mid-eighties, I volunteered for two years with the GTE St. Petersburg Grand Prix and then, for an additional two years, served as the event’s Director of Communications. It was a time at the dawn of the city’s recent renaissance, just before The Vinoy Resort would reopen or ground was broken for The Florida Suncoast Dome. Those early years the race course ran down the pier’s approach, through a hairpin turn, and then back to Bayshore Drive. The drivers didn’t like it, but it made an extraordinary camera angle for the race.
On the other hand, the ambitious Pier Park referendum had just failed and a new idea called Bay Plaza wasn’t going anywhere. Once the race was over, downtown was not a very exciting place to be. There were few restaurant choices at the time. I used to frequent what I affectionately called The Three Os: Ollie-O’s, Tangelos and Appropos. My office was at the corner of 2nd Avenue NE and Bayshore Drive NE. You really couldn’t work any closer to The Pier, but I rarely patronized the restaurants there. When I opened my own business in northern St. Petersburg, my awareness of The Pier faded.
Sure, I would see The Pier in the distance when I attended concerts at Straub or Vinoy Park, or from the windows of offices overlooking Tampa Bay. There was certainly something comforting about its presence, but nothing that actually lured me out there. That remained true as I grew active with organizations that met downtown. When I was president of Suncoast Tiger Bay Club in 1999, I purposely utilized several different venues for the club’s twice-monthly meetings to keep things fresh. It never occurred to me to try The Pier. I regret that now.
As I think about it, my history living in Pinellas County coincides closely with the life of The Pier. In that span of 40 years, I can’t say with certainty that I visited the Pier much more than a couple dozen times. Until this past week, I really can’t remember when I was last there.
That’s the question I want to ask you: Just how often do you visit The Pier?
Thinking that we should visit one more time, my wife and I dined at Cha Cha Coconuts last week. We wandered the largely empty building for a while and were surprised by how few people we found on the roof to watch an outstanding sunset. Living on the beach as we do, I know the look and sound of tourists. I’m confident that most of the people up there with us were not from St. Petersburg.
Do you know where I found throngs of locals? Beach Drive. It’s no secret that the bar and restaurant scene there has exploded in recent years. I suspect they even threaten the viability of food service at the venerable St. Petersburg Yacht Club! The old Lantern Lane apartment building was recently renovated and just reopened to rave reviews as The Birchwood, a trendy hotel, bar and restaurant. And there were even more people to be found watching an old movie at the north end of Straub Park. I dare say that on that single weeknight in mid-May, there were more people on Beach Drive than The Pier had seen all week!
To say The Pier had a head start to establish itself as an iconic location frequented by locals would be more than generous. And after 40 years, it would be nice if they had weaned themselves off taxpayer subsidies for operating expenses. Maybe smarter management and marketing could have saved The Pier if they had started a decade ago. In addition to all the technical reasons the city has identified, and in light of the intense competition that is thriving along the city’s waterfront, I simply don’t see a business model for The Pier that warrants keeping it open.
To say The Pier had a head start to establish itself as an iconic location frequented by locals would be more than generous. And after 40 years, it would be nice if they had weaned themselves off taxpayer subsidies for operating expenses. Maybe smarter management and marketing could have saved The Pier if they had started a decade ago. In addition to all the technical reasons the city has identified, and in light of the intense competition that is thriving along the city’s waterfront, I simply don’t see a business model for The Pier that warrants keeping it open.
I recently read an article in the Tampa Bay Times sharing the personal disappointment of the family behind the architecture of The Pier. I think their feelings are understandable and justified. It was an ingenious design that answered a number of unique needs. I really do wish the current structure could be saved, but I don’t see throwing more good money after bad.
Though I believe I will miss the higher vantage point from which to see the sun set over downtown St. Petersburg, I have no real objection to the proposed and chosen design known as The Lens, nor the process that is bringing it to fruition. I won’t fight it, nor will I go out of my way to support it (unless I’m hired to, of course). I am certain The Lens will be a stunning, iconic structure to symbolize a bright future for this city.
There will always be people who resist and bitterly oppose change. They may win a small battle this August when the referendum is held, holding back this city from its destiny, but they cannot prevail. Change will eventually happen, whether they like it or not.
Since the city’s founding, there was always a pier on St. Petersburg’s waterfront that, in some way large or small, served as a tourist attraction. But no one can argue that tastes and preferences have evolved over the past century, just as the various pier designs evolved. Given how people have changed, have we overlooked one choice in this whole, complicated matter? I really don’t mean to be provocative, but is it so unfair to ask if any pier, whether repaired or new, is still warranted?
$50-million (or more) is a lot of money that could be used in other ways to improve the quality of life we enjoy here. The waterfront and its beautiful parks we treasure could certainly be well-maintained. Maybe additional land could be purchased to add to the city’s admirable park system. How about a new park on the current site of Tropicana Field, for example (oh yeah, I was trying not to be provocative)? Perhaps a modest, shorter pier and an iconic observation tower might serve our needs just fine.
That’s why I asked how often do you visit The Pier?
Will either pier, whether old or new, really improve your quality of life? Will it improve your experience when visiting downtown or our waterfront? If it wasn’t there, would future tourists miss it, given how much more downtown St. Petersburg now has to offer?
Forget all of the facts and figures for a moment, as well as the vitriol that opponents and proponents will soon hurl as the election draws near. Now ask yourself if you will really walk to the end of a new pier, look back at the city and say, yes, it was right to spend $50-million dollars to build?
Or will you wait for visiting family from out-of-town and, like so many of us, take them to see what you rarely visit and so easily take for granted?
It could be that neither side in this battle has it right.
