ST. PETERSBURG CITY COUNCIL
Meeting of October 4, 2001
TO
The Honorable Rene Flowers, Chair and Members of City Council
SUBJECT
1-listoric Landmark Designation of the Royal Theater, 1011
South (HPC Case No. 00-03)
RECOMMENDATION
Administration recommends APPROVAL of the attached Ordinance on
second reading.
nd
22
Street
BACKGROUND
On August 7, 2001, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) conducted a public hearing on HPC Case
No. 00-03, a staff-initiated and owner-supported request to designate the Royal Theater, located at 1011 22’
Street South, a local historic landmark and landmark site. The HPC voted unanimously, 7-0, to recommend
approval of the application and specify the landmark site.
On September 20, 2001, the St. Petersburg City Council held first reading and set the second reading and
public hearing for October 4, 2001.
DISCUSSION
In order to consider a property eligible for listing on the local register it must meet a minimum of one of the
nine criteria specified in Section 16-525(d) of the City of St. Petersburg Code of Ordinances. The Royal
Theater meets one of the nine criteria. The applicable criterion is:
(2)
Its location is a site ofa szgnficant loca.4 state, or national event.
SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (See Photos in Nomination Report)
The Royal Theater is eligible for listing as a historic landmark under one of the nine criteria listed in Section
15-525 of the City Code of Ordinances. The Theater’s eligibility will be evaluated below relative to the
applicable criterion. For more detailed information on the hotel please refer to the attached designation
report.
Site of a Significant Local. State. or National Event
Under Criterion 2, the Royal Theater is significant for its association with development of the AfricanAmerican community along 22t1 Street South in St. Petersburg. The Royal Theater operated for eighteen years
from 1948 to 1966. During these nearly two decades it was one of only two movie theaters serving solely
African-Americans in St. Petersburg during the era of segregation; the other being the Harlem Theater, located
at 1019 Third Avenue South which has been demolished. Meanwhile, of the remaining ten to twelve theaters
outside of the African-American community, all but LaPlaza Theater were segregated facilities.
Built in circa 1948, the Royal Theater was designed by Philip F. Kennard for the Gulf Coast Entertainment
Company.’ Kennard was born in Orlando, Florida on December 29, 1890, the son of Francis J. and Annie
The Giaif Coast Entertainment Company was incorporated on June 5, 1948 and dissolved by proclamation on
June 10, 1968.
McCloud Kennard. He worked as an architect with his father in the rm of Francis J. Kennard and Son
located in Tampa, which was responsible for the design of West Coast Title Company headquarters (now the
Municipal Services Building) in downtown St Petersburg in 1926. In an article announcing the opening of
the building the St. Petersbxa Times noted the firm’s 35 years of experience and lauded them as “pioneer
architects of the west coast of Florida” (SPT, July 10, 1926).
In 1938 Philip Kennard established an independent architectural practice in downtown St. Petersburg at 302
CentralAvenue. Among the projects he designed in the 1930s and 1940s are the Carleve Hotel, the Nautical
Apartments and the Royal Theater. During the mid-1950s he was the architect for numerous schools for
Pinellas County. Among these were Northeast High School, Boca Ciega High School, ‘&reet Elementary
th
StreetJunior High School. He died in St. Petersburg on September 18, 1956 and is buried at
School and 16
the Royal Palm Cemetery.
Ownership records are incomplete for the Royal Theater. The earliest records indicate the land on which the
Theater now resides was owned by George Prather, the subdivider for the property, and his wife Laura.
Although no biographical records could be found for Prather, he was a large developer/landowner in the
African-American community of 22 Street South as is borne out by his platting of at least six other
subdivisions in the vicinity of the Royal Theater. The Prathers sold the property to Thomas and Phyllis
Williams on October 27, 1913 who, in turn, sold the property on August 15, 1922 to the H. Kent and C.A.
Nation for a one-third and two-thirds interest respectively. After this transaction no ownership records could
be found untilJuly 21, 1977, when the Landmark Union Trust Bank of St. Petersburg (formerly Union Trust
National Bank of St. Petersburg) sold the property to its present owner, the Boys and Girls Club of the
Suncoast.
With the passage of the Civil Rights Act 19642, African Americans and other minority groups were provided
judicial relief from discrimination in places of public accommodation, including theaters. Ironically, the Act
may have led to the demise of the Royal and Harlem Theaters since neither were in business by 1967,
although movie theaters had expanded their number in St. Petersburg to seventeen. By 1975, the Royal
Theater had been converted to a youth center. Integration in the sixties and seventies combined with the
destruction of wide areas of the African-American community during the construction of Interstate 275 has
dispersed the 22t( Street South community to other areas of the city. The change in population base and the
competition from newer multiplex theaters also undermined the market for historically black theaters as it
was to the older, formerly segregated white theaters. The only movie theater older than the 1 970s still
functioning (although as a concert venue) is the State Theater at 687 Central Avenue, but the State is itself
a 1949 renovation of a 1 920s bank building.
During the nine year period before it was occupied by the Southside Boys and Girls Club, it was either vacant
or used as a laundromat. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Theater “anchored a vibrant black business
district...which included an eye doctor, a photography studio, restaurants, clothing stores and doctor’s offices”
(SPT, 3/5/97, p.
1 9) Stated one resident of the neighborhood at the time: “it was a place where people in the
black community came together. It was live and dynamic” (ibid).
The Royal Theater is one of the few remaining “Quonset Huts” within St. Petersburg. As a lightweight,
portable, and economic building type, these huts are inherently rare pieces of architecture. The huts were
designed by the George A. Fuller construction company of New York which used a British prototype from
242 U.S.C.A., 2000a-1(b)
the First World War called a “Nissan” hut. The Fuller company put designers Peter Dejongh and Otto
Brandenberger to work. Within a month they had set up a production facility near Quonset Rhode Island,
and started producing two basic models. The smaller model was 20 feet wide and 48 feet long. The larger
was 40 feet by 100 feet. Using these basic modules, around 170,000 Quonset huts were produced during the
war. These basic units were used singly and in combination to accommodate everything from barracks and
M.A.S.H. units to warehouses and airstrip facilities.
After the war the surplus Quonset huts were sold to civilians for around a thousand dollars to become
housing for returning veterans. The structural components of the basic Quonset could be adapted by
designers for a variety of purposes. Many businesses found the Quonset was a perfect solution for storage
and garage needs. Architects used the basic arched elements in the design of churches or theaters. The Royal
Theater likely had its origins as just such an adaptation. Another example of Quonset hut construction on
22 Street South is the Soft Water Laundry in the 500 block, the dimensions for which are nearly identical
3
to the Royal.
RECOMMENDATION
Administration recommends APPROVAJon second reading of the attached Ordinance designating the Royal
Theater (HPC Case No. 00-03) a historic landmark and landmark site.
Staff Designation Report (including map, aerial, photographs, and exhibits) and
Ordinance
Attachments:
the corner of
other examples can be found at the Neelds-Gould garden center on
th
Street South in Gulfport
Avenue and 49
th
15
th
13
Avenue North and another at
ORDINANCE NO.____
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG,
FLORiDA, DESIGNATING THE ROYAL THEATER (LOCATED
ND
AT 1011 22
STREET) AS A LOCAL LANDMARK AND AS A
LANDMARK SITE, AND ADDING THE PROPERTY TO THE
LOCAL REGISTER PURSUANT TO ARTICLE VIII OF
CHAPTER 16, CITY CODE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG DOES ORDAIN:
SECTION 1. The City Council finds that the Royal Theater, which was constructed
in 1948 upon the property described in Section 2 below, meets one of the nine criteria listed in
Section 16-525(d), City Code, for designating historic properties. More specifically, the property
meets the following criterion:
The location is a site of a significant local, state, or national event
(2)
SECTION 2. The Royal Theater, located upon the following described property, is
hereby designated as a local landmark and as a landmark site, and shall be added to the local
register listing of designated landmarks, landmark sites, and historic and thematic districts which
is maintained in the office of the City Clerk:
Lot 16 of George C. Prather’s Royal Subdivision
SECTION 3. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its adoption.
Approved as to Form and Substance:
A
City Attorney (or a esig
Date:
1’(-Vi
Devpment Services Department
Date:
—
‘2 Cf J
PARK
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
CASE NUMBER:
HPC-OO-03
AREA TO BE APPROVED
SHOWN IN
r--D
— — —
LANDMARK DESlGNATON:
1011 22nd Street South
a
Union St. S.
I
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I—
— —
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i———I’
•
22nd St. S.
Inter-Office
Memorandum
CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG
TO
Members of the Historic Preservation Commission
FROM
Bob Jeffrey, Manager
Urban Design and Historic Preservation Division
DATE
July 10, 2001
RE
Landmark Designation Report for the Royal Theater (1011 22’’ Street South)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the Royal Theater, located at 1011 22’ Street South, for listing as a local
historic landmark. The Theater meets one of the nine criteria for designating historic properties listed
in Section 16-525(d) of the City of St. Petersburg Code of Ordinances. This criterion is:
(2)
Its location is a site ofa significant local, state, or national event.
PROPERTY OWNER CONSENT AND IMPACT OF DESIGNATION
The Board for the Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast, as represented by Mr. Carl Lavender, Jr.,
Executive Director, is in favor of the designation.
SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE (see Photos in Nomination Report)
The Royal Theater is eligible for listing as a historic landmark under one of the nine criteria listed in
Section 15-525 ofthe City Code ofOrdinances. The Theater’s eligibility will be evaluated below relative
to the applicable criterion. For more detailed information on the hotel please refer to the attached
designation report.
Site of a Significant Local, State, or National Event
Under Criterion 2, the Royal Theater is significant for its association with development of the Africanh1C
American community along 22
Street South in St. Petersburg. The Royal Theater operated for eighteen
years from 1948 to 1966. During these nearly two decades it was one of only two movie theaters serving
solely African-Americans in St. Petersburg during the era of segregation; the other being the Harlem
Theater, located at 1019 Third Avenue South which has been demolished. Meanwhile, of the remaining
ten to twelve theaters outside of the African-American community, all but LaPlaza Theater were
segregated facilities.
Built in circa 1948, the Royal Theater was designed by Philip F. Kennard for the Gulf Coast
Entertainment Company.
1 Kennard was born in Orlando, Florida on December 29, 1890, the son of
Francis J. and Annie McCloud Kennard. Reworked as an architect with his father in the firm of Francis
J. Kennard and Son located in Tampa, which was responsible for the design of West Coast Title
Company headquarters (now the Municipal Services Building) in downtown St. Petersburg in 1926.
In an article announcing the opening of the building the St. Petersburg Times noted the firm’s 35 years
of experience and lauded them as “pioneer architects of the west coast of Florida (SPT, July 10, 1926).
In 1938 Philip Kennard established an independent architectural practice in downtown St. Petersburg
at 302 Central Avenue. Among the projects he designed in the 1 930s and 1 9
0s are the Carleve Hotel,
4
the Nautical Apartments and the Royal Theater. During the mid-1950s he was the architect for
numerous schools for Pinellas County. Among these were Northeast High School, Boca Ciega High
th
th
School, 74
Street Elementary School and 16
Street Junior High School. He died in St. Petersburg on
September 18, 1956 and is buried at the Royal Palm Cemetery.
Ownership records are incomplete for the Royal Theater. The earliest records indicate the land on which
the Theater now resides was owned by George Prather, the subdivider for the property, and his wife
Laura. Although no biographical records could be found for Prather, he was a large developer/landowner
nd
in the African-American community of 22
Street South as is borne out by his platting of at least six
other subdivisions in the vicinity of the Royal Theater. The Prathers sold the property to Thomas and
Phyllis Williams on October 27, 1913 who, in turn, sold the property on August 15, 1922 to the H.
Kent and CA. Nation for a one-third and two-thirds interest respectively. After this transaction no
ownership records could be found until July 21, 1977, when the Landmark Union Trust Bank of St.
Petersburg (formerly Union Trust National Bank of St. Petersburg) sold the property to its present
owner, the Boys and Girls Club of the Suncoast.
With the passage of the Civil Rights Act 19642, African Americans and other minority groups were
provided judicial relief from discrimination in places of public accommodation, including theaters.
Ironically, the Act may have led to the demise of the Royal and Harlem Theaters since neither were in
business by 1967, although movie theaters had expanded their number in St. Petersburg to seventeen.
By 1975, the Royal Theater had been converted to a youth center. Integration in the sixties and seventies
combined with the destruction of wide areas of the African-American community during the
construction of Interstate 275 has dispersed the 22I Street South community to other areas of the city.
The change in population base and the competition from newer multiplex theaters also undermined the
market for historically black theaters as it was to the older, formerly segregated white theaters. The only
movie theater older than the 1 970s still functioning (although as a concert venue) is the State Theater
at 687 Central Avenue, but the State is itself a 1949 renovation of a 1 920s bank building.
During the nine year period before it was occupied by the Southside Boys and Girls Club, it was either
vacant or used as a laundromat. During the 1950s and 19
0s, the Theater “anchored a vibrant black
6
The Gulf Coast Entertainment Company was incorporated on June 5, 1948 and dissolved by proclamation
on June 10, 1968.
242
U.S.C.A., 2000a-1(b)
business district.. .which included an eye doctor, a photography studio, restaurants, clothing stores and
doctor’s offices” (SPT, 3/5/97, p.l9) Stated one resident ofthe neighborhood at the time, “it was a place
where people in the black community came together. It was live and dynamic” (ibid).
The Royal Theater is one of the few remaining “Quonset Huts” within St. Petersburg. As a lightweight,
portable, and economic building type, these huts are inherently rare pieces ofarchitecture. The huts were
designed by the George A. Fuller construction company of New York which used a British prototype
from the First World War called a “Nissan” hut. The Fuller company put designers Peter Dejongh and
Otto Brandenberger to work. Within a month they had set up a production facility near Quonset Rhode
Island, and started producing two basic models. The smaller model was 20 feet wide and 48 feet long.
The larger was 40 feet by 100 feet. Using these basic modules, around 170,000 Quonset huts were
produced during the war. These basic units were used singly and in combination to accommodate
everything from barracks and M.A.S.H. units to warehouses and airstrip facilities.
After the war the surplus Quonset huts were sold to civilians for around a thousand dollars to become
housing for returning veterans. The structural components of the basic Quonset could be adapted by
designers for a variety ofpurposes. Many businesses found the Quonset was a perfect solution for storage
and garage needs. Architects used the basic arched elements in the design of churches or theaters. The
Royal Theater likely had its origins as just such an adaptation. Another example of Quonset hut
construction on 22” Street South is the Soft Water Laundry in the 500 block, the dimensions for which
are nearly identical to the Royal.
3
Two other exampies can be found at the Neelds-Gould garden center on 13” Avenue North and another at
th
th
the corner of 1 5
Street South in Guifport.
Avenue and 49
w
I
C)
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4t,
S3AV HI! I
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________________
City of St. Petersburg
Division of Urban Design
and Historic Preservation
Local Landmark
Designation Application
of pro ilyno natd(f.r tueo!y
bull i g Jst cture
site obje
r di
lJmulI.e
1. NA EiNI
o
TI NOFPR PER
The Royal Theater
historic name
other names/site number
address
o
1011
nd
22
Southside Boys and Girls Club
Street South
historic address
a
PROPERTY OWNER S NAME A D ADDRESS
name
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Suncoast
street and number
city or town
5111
th
66
do
Carl Lavender, Jr., Executive Director
Street North
St. Petersburg
state FL
phone number (h)
3.
OINA
name/title
(w)
ONRE
zip code 33709
(727)546-5563
e-mail
DY
Rick D. Smith, Historic Preservation Planner (City-initiated application)
organization City of St. Petersburg Urban Design and Historic Preservation Division
street and number Box 2842
city or town
St. Petersburg
phone number (h)
date prepared
4.
state
FL
(w)
(727)893-7153
zip
e-mail
code
3373 1-2842
rdsmith(stpete.org
signature
June 2001
BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION AND USTIF A ION
Describe boundary line encompassing all man-made and natural resources to be included in designation (general
legal description or survey). Attach map delimiting proposed boundary. (Use continuation sheet if necessary.)
The Royal Theater lies on Lot 16 of George C. Prather’s Royal Subdivision.
5 GEQRMLHIP 1A
acreage of property
.17 acres
property identification number
26/31/16/72864/000/0160
The Royal Theater
Name of Property
CTIoNO USE
@ F
Historic Functions
Current Functions
Recreation and Culture/Theater
Recreation and Culture/Sports Facility
7.
DESCRI TION
Architectural Classification
Materials
(See Appendix A for list)
Other/Quonset Hut
Walls: Concrete Block
Windows: Infilled
Roof: Corrugated Metal
Narrative Description
On one or more continuation sheets describe the historic and existing condition of the property use conveying the
following information: original location and setting; natural features; pre-historic man-made features; subdivision
design; description of surrounding buildings; major alterations and present appearance; interior appearance;
8. NU BER OF RESOU CES WITH N
ROPERTY
Resource Type
Contributing resources previously listed on
the National Register or Local Register
0
Buildings
None
0
0
Sites
0
0
Structures
0
0
Objects
Number of multiple property listings
1
0
Total
None
Contributing
Noncontributing
1
The Royal Theater
Name of Property
• STAT MENT @ SIGNIFIC N E
Criteria for Significance
Areas of Significance
(mark one or more boxes for the appropriate criteria)
(see Attachment B for detailed list of categories)
Its value is a significant reminder of the cultural or
archaeological heritage of the City, state or
nation.
U
.
Its location is the site of a significant local, state,
or national event.
.
.
.
Social History!Segregation
Ethnic Heritage!Black
.
It is. identified with a person or persons who
significantly contributed to the development of the
City, state, or nation.
Period of Significance
1948-1966
It is identified as the work of a master builder,
designer, or architect whose work has influenced
the development of the City, state, or nation.
Its value as a building is recognized for the quality
of its architecture, and it retains sufficient
elements showing its architectural significance.
Significant Dates (date constructed & altered)
1948; ca. 1975 (alterations)
Significant Person(s)
It has distinguishing characteristics of an
architectural style valuable for the study of a
period, method of construction, or use of
indigenous materials.
Its character is a geographically definable area
L..J possessing a significant concentration, or
continuity of sites, buildings, objects or structures
united in past events or aesthetically by plan or
physical development.
U
Its character is an established and geographically
definable neighborhood, united in culture,
architectural style or physical plan and
development.
It has contributed or is likely to contribute
information important to the prehistory or history
of the City, state, or nation.
Cultural Affiliation/Historic Period
Post Second World War
Builder
Unknown
Architect
Philip F. Kennard, AlA
Narrative Statement of Significance
(Explain the significance of the property as it relates to the above criterial and information on one or more
continuation sheets. Include biographical data on significant person(s), builder and architect, if known.)
10. M JOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
(Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.)
See Attachment
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 1
SUMMARY OF PROPERTY
The Royal Theater, located at 1011 2211 Street South, meets one of the nine criteria for designating historic
properties listed in Section 16-525(d) of the City of St. Petersburg Code of Ordinances. This criterion is:
(2)
Its location is a site ofa signf1cant local, state, or national event.
Under Criterion 2, the Royal Theater is significant for its association with development of the AfricanAmerican community along 22”’ Street South in St. Petersburg. The Royal Theater operated for eighteen years
from 1948 to 1966. During these nearly two decades it was one of oniy two movie theaters serving solely
African-Americans in St. Petersburg during the era ofsegregation; the other being the Harlem Theater, located
at 1019 Third Avenue South which has been demolished. Meanwhile, of the remaining ten to twelve theaters
outside of the African-American community, all but LaPlaza Theater were segregated facilities.
SETTING
C
The Royal Theater was constructed at a time when 22
Street was the “Main Street” of St. Petersburg’s
African-American community. The area along 22” Street South that stretches from Fifth Avenue South to
Eighteenth Avenue South contained stores, restaurants, The Manhattan Casino, and Mercy Hospital along
with numerous residences. The federally subsidized Jordan Park housing project had just been constructed
immediately to the west of the theater site. The neighborhood surrounding the theater was a mix of small
commercial properties and residential structures. The neighborhood was fairly densely packed, with fewvacant
parcels. The Sanborn insurance maps of the period indicated that the residential properties were a mix ofsmall
single family residences, duplexes and small multi-family buildings. The maps show that a number of the
buildings were of the “shotgun” form.
The neighborhood surrounding the Royal Theater building today shows the long term effects of economic
decline, urban renewal and interstate construction. The majority of the Jordan Park housing complex located
to the west of the theater has been razed. The large number of small multi-family and single-family properties
located to the east of the theater have also been demolished with much of the land now belonging to the St.
Petersburg Housing Authority. The commercial properties along 22’”’ Street are in a state ofdecline with many
of them vacant, and the city-owned Mercy Hospital is in poor condition.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The Royal Theater is a type of a construction type commonly known as a “Quonset Hut.” This building type
of arched metal ribs covered by interlocking corrugated metal panels was developed by the United States Navy
prior to WWII as a means of enclosing space in a quick and economical manner. The Navy was looking for
a cheap, lightweight, portable structure that could be erected by untrained personnel.
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 2
The Royal Theater is approximately 5,000 sq.ft. in size and has a rectangular ground plan with the long axis
running in an east-west direction with the main (entry) facade facing to the east on 22111 Street South. The
“Quonset hut” form of the building (see history below) orients the arched ends at the east and west elevations
with the ribbed metal vaults running in a north-south orientation. The east elevation still retains a hint ofArt
Moderne which was more pronounced in its original form with casement windows. The foundation is a
continuous slab on grade while the walls are concrete block.
East Facade
The east facade is the principal entry of the theater. It is dominated by the sweep of the arched roof reflected
in the line of the building’s parapet. The parapet follows the curve of the roof form to a point approximately
twenty feet above grade where it extends in a horizontal line to the limits of the wall plane. This element
extends from the bearing point of the roofpanels at the side walls. The recessed entry is centered in this facade.
A set of stairs rising approximately five feet with a central handrail lead up to two pairs of flush panel doors
at the top landing. This recessed area is now enclosed by a set of non-original metal mesh gates. Above the
entry is a projected concrete eyebrow canopy with rounded corners, approximately three feet in width, that
extends approximately eight feet beyond the ends of the entry recess. Below the eyebrow at either side of the
entry is a pair of closed in window openings with concrete sill and head details that project in a shallow radius.
These openings are arranged symmetrically between the entry and the side walls. Centered above the canopy
is a recessed panel approximately six feet wide by three feet high. At either side of this panel are a pair of metal
louvers approximately three feet square with 10-12 inches of masonry between each pair. These louvers have
rectilinear projecting concrete sills that align with the parapet. Taken as a whole composition the entry facade
has a very simplified “Deco” feel to the design elements.
West Facade
The west, or rear facade, mirrors the shape of the east facade, but lack any of the details. It is a solid masonry
wall punctuated only by two six feet square metal louvers located at opposite ends of the wall approximately
twelve feet above grade. There is evidence of blocked doorways located below these louvers.
North and South Facades
These two facades are the bearing walls for the arched metal roofstructure. They are built with concrete block
and arc approximately nine feet high with projecting masonry pilasters at regular intervals providing stiffening
to the vaulted structure. The pilasters serve a structural function, in a minimal modern form, similar to what
the flying buttresses are to a medieval cathedral.
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 3
Alterations
The Royal Theater building has seen numerous alterations made to accommodate the change in use from
theater to Boys and Girls Club. The most dramatic change occurred in 1974 when the original raked floor
was leveled.
East Facade
The east facade of the theater, while it still maintains its original form has been altered to reflect the changing
needs of the occupants. A set of stairs rising approximately five feet with a central handrail lead up to two pairs
of flush panel doors at the top landing. This recessed area is now enclosed by a set of non-original metal mesh
gates and the original ticket window has been closed. Above the entry the projected concrete eyebrow canopy
remains. Below the eyebrow at either side of the entry is a pair of closed in window openings with concrete
sill and head details that project in a shallow radius. Old photographs show that these openings were originally
filled with glass blocks. Centered above the canopy is a recessed panel approximately six feet wide by three feet
high that was also filled with glass blocks. At either side of this panel are a pair of metal louvers that have
replaced the original steel casement windows. No evidence remains of the projecting neon sign permitted in
1949. As a whole composition the entry facade still has a “Deco” feel to the design elements, but not as strong
as the old photographs indicate it once had.
West Facade
Two original exit doors have been closed with concrete block. This change probably dates to 1974 when the
raked or sloped floor was leveled.
HISTORIC OVERVIEW
Built in circa 1948, the Royal Theater was designed by Philip F. Kennard for the Gulf Coast Entertainment
Company.’ Kennard was born in Orlando, Florida on December 29, 1890, the son of Francis J. and Annie
McCloud Kennard. He worked as an architect with his father in the firm of Francis J. Kennard and Son
located in Tampa, which was responsible for the design of West Coast Title Company headquarters (now the
Municipal Services Building) in downtown St. Petersburg in 1926. In an article announcing the opening of
the building the St. Petersburg Times noted the firm’s 35 years of experience and lauded them as “pioneer
architects of the west coast of Florida (SPT, July 10, 1926).
In 1938 Philip Kennard established an independent architectural practice in downtown St. Petersburg at 302
Central Avenue. Among the projects he designed in the 1 930s and 1 940s are the Carleve Hotel, the Nautical
The Gulf Coast Entertainment Company was incorporated on June 5, 1948 and dissolved by proclamation
on June 10, 1968.
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 4
Apartments and the Royal Theater. During the mid 1950s he was the architect for numerous schools for
th
Pinellas County. Among these were Northeast High School, Boca Ciega High School, 74
Street Elementary
School and 16t1 Street Junior High School. He died in St. Petersburg on September 18, 1956 and is buried
at the Royal Palm Cemetery.
Ownership records are incomplete for the Royal Theater. The earliest records indicate the land on which the
Theater now resides was owned by George Prather, the subdivider for the property, and his wife Laura.
Although no biographical records could be found for Prather, he was a large developer/landowner in the
African-American community of 22I Street South as is borne out by his platting of at least six other
subdivisions in the vicinity of the Royal Theater. The Prathers sold the property to Thomas and Phyllis
Williams on October 27, 1913 who, in turn, sold the property on August 15, 1922 to the H. Kent and C.A.
Nation for a one-third and two-thirds interest respectively. After this transaction no ownership records could
be found until July 21, 1977, when the Landmark Union Trust Bank ofSt. Petersburg (formerly Union Trust
National Bank of St. Petersburg) sold the property to its present owner, the Boys and Girls Club of the
Suncoast.
The Royal Theater building operated as a theater for eighteen years from 1948 to 1966. During these nearly
two decades it was in operation, the Royal was one of only two movie theaters catering solely to AfricanAmericans in St. Petersburg during the era of segregation; the other being the Harlem Theater, located at 1019
Third Avenue South the building for which is no longer in existence. Meanwhile, of the remaining ten to
twelve theaters located outside of the African-American community, all but one were segregated facilities
th
serving only white patrons.
2 Only LaPlaza Theater at 5
Street and Central Avenue allowed African Americans
to attend movies, although only in the segregated balcony area of the building (SPT, 9/6/93, p.l). With the
passage of the Civil Rights Act 1964, African Americans and other minority groups were provided judicial
relief from discrimination in places of public accommodation, including theaters.
Ironically, the Act may have led to the demise of the Royal and Harlem Theaters since neither were in business
by 1967, although movie theaters had expanded their number in St. Petersburg to seventeen. By 1975, the
Royal Theater had been converted to a youth center. Integration in the sixties and seventies combined with
the destruction of wide areas of the African-American community during the construction of Interstate 275
has dispersed the 22” Street South community to other areas of the city. The change in population base and
the competition from newer multiplex theaters also undermined the market for historically black theaters as
it was to the older, formerly segregated white theaters. The only movie theater older than the 1970s still
functioning (although as a concert venue) is the State Theater at 687 Central Avenue, but the State is itself a
1949 renovation of a 1 920s bank building.
2
This information is based on surveys of the R.L. Polk Directories for the City of St. Petersburg in 1947,
1955 and 1967.
42 U.S.C.A., 2000a-1(b)
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 5
During the nine year period before it was occupied by the Southside Boys and Girls Club, the Royal Theater
was either vacant or used as alaundromat. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Theater “anchored a vibrant black
business district.. .which included an eye doctor, a photography studio, restaurants, clothing stores and doctor’s
offices” (SPT, 3/5/97, p.
9) Stated one resident of the neighborhood at the time, “it was a place where people
1
in the black community came together. It was live and dynamic” (ibid).
The Royal Theater is one of the few remaining “Quonset Huts” within St. Petersburg. As a lightweight,
portable, and economic building type, these huts are inherently rare pieces of architecture. The huts were
designed by the George A. Fuller construction company of New York which used a British prototype from the
First World War called a “Nissan” hut. The Fuller company put designers Peter Dejongh and Otto
Brandenberger to work. Within a month they had set up a production facility near Quonset Rhode Island,
and started producing two basic models. The smaller model was 20 feet wide and 48 feet long. The larger was
40 feet by 100 feet. Using these basic modules, around 170,000 Quonset huts were produced during the war.
These basic units were used singly and in combination to accommodate everything from barracks and
M.A.S.H. units to warehouses and airstrip facilities.
After the war the surplus Quonset huts were sold to civilians for approximately one-thousand dollars to become
housing for returning veterans. The structural components of the basic Quonset could be adapted by designers
for a variety of purposes. Many businesses found the Quonset was a perfect solution for storage and garage
needs. Architects used the basic arched elements in the design of churches or theaters. The Royal Theater
likely had its origins in just such an adaptation. Another example of Quonset hut construction on 22” Street
South is the Soft Water Laundry in the 500 block, the dimensions for which are nearly identical to the Royal.
The African-American Community in St. Petersburg
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries African Americans formed communities in three areas in
St. Petersburg, with their locations first established by informal methods ofsegregation that later hardened into
th
the proscriptions ofJim Crow law. “Pepper Town,” located along what is now 2” Avenue South between 7
th
9
and Streets, was formed first in 1889 by hundreds ofAfrican-American laborers working on the final stages
of the Orange Belt line in St. Petersburg. In the 1890s as more African Americans immigrated to the city
seeking employment as day laborers, artisans and fisherman, the area was expanded to include a cluster of
th
Street just south of the railroad tracks, known as Cooper’s Quarters after owner Leon
shacks located on 9
Cooper, a local white merchant.
By 1910 African Americans comprised twenty-six percent of the city’s population of4,127. After 1910, there
were two large influxes ofAfrican Americans into St. Petersburg one between 1912 and 1914 and the other
-
Two other examples can be found at the Neelds-Gould garden center on
the corner of 15dl Avenue and
Street South in Gu1fort.
‘
t1
49
th
13
Avenue North and another at
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 6
between 1921 and 1926, the latter period corresponding with St. Petersburg’s “boom era.” Practically all
African Americans coming to St. Petersburg during this time settled in either Methodist Town (located
th
th
th
between 9
Street North and 12
Street North from 21( Avenue to 5
Avenue) or the 22’’ Street South
neighborhood. Methodist Town received its moniker from the landmark Bethel African Methodist Episcopal
Church first built in 1894 which remains the city’s first and oldest continuing African-American church and
has served a key social, civic and religious role in the life of that community.
These neighborhoods would remain the heart of the African-American community in St. Petersburg until well
into the 1 960s; they would also delimit the community’s extent as segregation became fastened into place by
law and charter, making St. Petersburg “one of the most segregated cities in the country in terms ofresidential
separation” (Arsenault, 205). Ironically, population growth which enlivened the African-American community
during the 1 920s also triggered a hardening ofjim Crow laws by whites, perhaps threatened by the burgeoning
minority population (Arsenault, 207). This hardening is made apparent by the adoption ofa new City Charter
in 1931 which prohibited
any white person from taking up or establishing a place of residence or business within the territorial
limits of said city so set apart and established for the residence of negroes, and to prohibit any negro
from taking up or establishing a place of residence or business within the territorial limits of said city
so set apart and established for the residence of white persons (Arsenault, 265).
‘Whites not only delimited where African Americans could live but also devised a comprehensive set of Jim
Crow laws which admitted blacks to the white world “at prescribed times for prescribed reasons” (Arsenault,
265 etseq). These laws affected not only where African Americans could live, but also what buses and wherein
they could ride, recreational facilities they could use, restaurants at which they could eat, in effect a whole series
ofsocial proscriptions that shaded interaction between the races in St. Petersburg to the considerable detriment
of African Americans.
Of course segregation was not unique to St. Petersburg but was an all encompassing social system devised in
the late nineteenth-century South to replace”black codes” erected after emancipation. “These laws went far
beyond the earlier black codes separating the races,” writes one historian, “but they did little more than legalize
existing conditions” (Shoffner, 289). Beginning in the late 1 880s the Florida legislature passed Jim Crow laws
giving legal sanction to segregation. Over the succeeding twenty years, the legislature would pass a series of
laws erecting Florida’s institution of apartheid: in 1887, a statute devising first a color line in first-class railroad
cars, later in all railway coaches and stations around the turn of the century; in 1895, the races were barred
from attending the same classes; in 1903, legislation forbidding intermarriage between whites and persons with
a least 1/8 black lineage; and in 1905, segregation of streetcars (Shoffner, 297).
Given the proscriptions against them by the legislature and the local community, African Americans were
deeply distrustful of the “legal” system. Every aspect of the legal system in St. Petersburg policemen, judges,
juries, jail guards and prison wardens was administered by whites and when African Americans were arrested
or were victims of crimes, their rights were routinely ignored; when the victim was white the police reaction
—
—
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
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was prompt and harsh. Frequently more dangerous to African Americans were their dealings with the white
community at large. Although sanctioned by law, Jim Crow was enforced throughout the South and in St.
Petersburg by extralegal violence designed to intimidate African Americans. ‘While extralegal violence was
primarily used by whites in rural areas ofthe black belt South, St. Petersburg whites lynched African Americans
on at least two occasions in 1905 and 1914 to enforce the racial norms of the community (Wilson, 6).
The ability of African Americans to vote early on in St. Petersburg was noteworthy compared with their
experience in other southern cities, but nevertheless fell far short of the ideal. After the failure of
Reconstruction in the mid 1 870s, white Floridians suppressed African American voting through legislative
means. In 1889 a poll tax and multiple ballot box reduced the number of African-American voters and
rendered the Republican Party powerless in the state, while the adoption of the Democratic white primary in
1897 further ensured the exclusion ofthe majority ofAfrican Americans from state politics. Before the United
States Supreme Court outlawed the white Democratic primary in 1944, approximately twenty thousand
African-American Floridians (out ofmore than one-half million) were registered to vote and all were registered
Republican (Jones, 374).
In the early years of St. Petersburg however, many African Americans still voted making their votes essential
in contested elections among white candidates. In fact, in 1913 approximately five hundred African Americans
were registered to vote, and a number ofwhite candidates “openly courted” them in elections (Arsenault, 128).
As an antidote to African-American political power officials for the Democratic Party demanded an all-white
primary that year and with the help of the St. Petersburglndependentwere successful. The “white primary” was
not tried again until 1921, and African Americans continued to vote in the general elections and nearly onethird ofthe eligible African-American voters were registered. African-American voters provided Noel Mitchell
with solid support in the mayoral elections in 1921 and 1922 and they continued to vote in large numbers
throughout the decade. Nevertheless, “widespread intimidation gradually reduced African-American
participation and influence in local Democratic politics the only politics that mattered in early twentiethcentury St. Petersburg” (Arsenault, 128).
--
Although hampered by Jim Crow, the African-American community in St. Petersburg managed to thrive by
developing institutions which sustained it. One vital foundation ofthe community was the school system albeit
segregated. The educational needs of African-American children, long ignored by city leaders, were first met
th
by the Davis Academy (later known as Davis Elementary School) which opened in 1920. Located on 1 6
Street South, near 5 Avenue the school was used until 1967 (Arsenault, 123).
Another educational pillar of the community was the Jordan School, which served elementary aged students
opened in 1925 to double sessions for 1100 students and twelve teachers in twelve classrooms. Many of the
pupils in the early years were between the ages of fifteen to seventeen having never before received formal
education. The Jordan School is estimated to have educated over seventy percent of the African-American
community prior to its closing in 1975 (St. Petersburg Times, 12/12/55, p
7). Gibbs High School, originally
2
th
Street Colored Elementary School, began as an eight classroom unit in 1927. Under the leadership
built as 34
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 8
of G.W. Perkins, the community established a library and an auditorium gymnasium just south of the school
across Ninth Avenue.
The African-American church has played an important social and political role in the African-American
community for centuries and would fulfill that role in St. Petersburg as well. By 1920 local African Americans
supported seven large congregations and numerous storefront facilities. The churches were comprehensive
institutions which provided not only spiritual inspiration and comfort, but also social support, cultural
enrichment and entertainment. As the one African-American institution allowed some freedom to develop
independent ofthe dominant white culture, churches served not only as beacons ofhope in a benighted system
of oppression, but also provided a forum for African-American political dissent and training. Although
excluded from the public political process, “black people voted and chose their leaders in their churches,
selecting pastors, bishops, trustees” and thus the church was the one area of social life where leadership skills
and talents could be honed and tested (Lincoln and Mamiya, 205). As a rule, African-American preachers
would become the community’s most powerful leaders, often serving as both internal power brokers and
external liaisons with the white community (Arsenault, 127; Davis, 56).
During segregation social clubs also provided substance to African-American civic life and sponsored civic and
social activities such as bid whist parties, teas, balls, plays and cabaret (Phillips, 115). Seven such civic
organizations were in existence in St. Petersburg during the 1930s and 19
0s. These included the Sojourner
4
Truth Federated Club, the Non-Panels, the Modernistics, the Socialites Federated Club and the Margaret
Washington Federated Club. Each club operated as an independent member of the local chapter of the
National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, setting its own agenda but occasionally joining forces on
major projects like the creation of a common Meirose Clubhouse in 1942 (Babb, 41). Located at 1801
Meirose Avenue South, the clubhouse not only served as a meeting house for women’s clubs but also served
the community as the Lauffer branch of the YMCA, a recreation center for boys and girls, and as a social
meeting place. During World War ii, it was designated along with Jordan School as a war nursery for AfricanAmerican children. Much of the planning for local chapters of organizations such as the NAACP and the
National Council of Negro Women occurred in the clubhouse.
One of the civic leaders in St. Petersburg who helped develop the Clubhouse was Fannye A. Ponder who
established a local affiliate and served as vice-president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW),
the purpose of which was to effect the integration of African Americans into the political, educational,
economic, social and cultural life of St. Petersburg. Ms. Ponder came to St. Petersburg in 1925 with her
husband Dr. James Ponder who was appointed city physician for the African-American community the
following year. Ms. Ponder was a close friend of Mary McCleod Bethune, founder of the NCNW. A graduate
of Florida A&M, Ponder taught locally for twenty years, organized the St. Petersburg Metropolitan Council
of Negro Women, organized the City Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, worked as a Republican
committee woman and sold thousands of U.S. Savings Bonds during World War II, including a total of
$85,000 in one single night in Miami.
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Signfficance
Page 9
Aside from educational, religious and civic institutions the African—American community also had a vibrant
commercial and social life during Jim Crow. These businesses formed the backbone ofa “nascent” middle class
in the African—American community (approximately seven percent of the population) that may have been
wealthier than the remainder of the community but chose to live in similar material fashion (Arsenault, 125).
In Methodist Town alone sixty-eight businesses were in existence from the 1920s to 1960s, while many other
businesses operated in the Gas Plant andJordan Park neighborhoods; these included hotels, dry cleaning plants,
shoe repair shops, tailoring shops, auto repair shop, a publishing company, ice cream parlors, restaurants,
lawyers, dentists and other services reducing the need for African Americans to go downtown (Phillips, 116).
South of Central Avenue by the Atlantic Coastline railroad tracks the 22’ Street neighborhood was a thriving
community which included shopping, recreational areas and residential development. Reverend Enoch Davis
recalls dressing up after dinner and walking up and down the street, taking in the night life and socializing
with his fellows (Davis, 22). The main corridor remains home to the Seaboard Coastline Building and Mercy
Hospital, the primary medical facility for the City’s African-American community during Jim Crow. Many
of the commercial buildings were vernacular in design and two-stories tall with stores on the ground level and
apartments above. Interspersed among these commercial buildings were single-family residences with large
overhanging porches.
The Jordan family played a key role in developing businesses in the 22” Street neighborhood that catered to
African-American patrons. Elder Jordan, Sr. and his five sons settled in St. Petersburg in 1904 and were
prominent African American builders, businessmen and developers in the community. They owned acres of
real estate, Jordan Beach, the Jordan Bus line and nightclubs. The Jordan Bus Line carried African-American
passengers to Tampa, Clearwater, Bradenton and Sarasota long before there were bridges. Both the former
th
th
Jordan Elementary School (located on 9
Avenue South and 24
Street South) and the Jordan Park Housing
d
22
th
25
th
9
th
Project (located between
Street and
Street from Avenue South to 13
Avenue) are named after the
family’s patriarch.
nd
An important social landmark in 22
Street was the Manhattan Casino which began business in the early
1930s and would become the focal point of entertainment and culture in the African-American community
for more than forty years. The two-story building, which eventually contained the Casino, was constructed
in 1925 by Elder Jordan, Sr. In 1931, the Jordan Dance Hall was opened for business later to be renamed the
Manhattan Casino. The Casino served a similar function to the African-American community as the Coliseum
did for the white community. To some, going to the Manhattan Casino was like going to the Harlem or the
Savoy Ballroom in New York City. Entertainers who came to perform at the Casino had to find lodging in
the African-American community since they were not allowed in the downtown hotels. Over the years, many
nationally known musicians and vocalists performed at the Manhattan Casino, including Louis Armstrong,
Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Fats Wailer, Duke Ellington,
Sarah Vaughn, Fats Domino, the Ink Spots, James Brown, and many others (Manhattan Casino, HPC #9405).
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 10
Another important landmark to the 22’ Street South community was the Jordan Park housing project located
th
in the 2200 block of 9
Avenue South. Jordan Park was built to ameliorate horrible housing conditions for
African Americans in the city. As late as 1940, 59.2 percent of the city’s African-American households had
no electricity (as compared with 2 percent of the white households) and 17.6 percent had no running water
(.5 percent whites). Only 18.5 percent of the city’s African Americans owned homes and these were modest
dwellings on small lots (Arsenault, 270). Built in two phases and finally completed in 1942, the 446-unit
complex was constructed with federal monies requiring a ten-percent match from the city, which at first balked
but finally relented under pressure from the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Merchant’s Association.
‘While some would later associate Jordan Park with blight, its history has both positive and negative aspects.
Arsenualt claims the
construction of an all-black public housing project posed no challenge to segregation; indeed, it probably
enhanced the notion that ‘separate but equal’ was an achievable and acceptable goal. And yet, within the confines
of a fundamentally inhumane caste system, decent housing did bring an added measure of human dignity and
material improvement to men and women who had been systematically deprived of both (272).
After the Second World War African Americans embarked on a sustained and heightened struggle for civil
rights in St. Petersburg. This activism reflected the emergence ofa middle class who served as leaders and made
it difficult for whites to ignore their demands (Arsenault, 267). Many of these leaders were doctors or
ministers and thus insulated from economic retaliation from whites hostile to integration. The first challenge
to the dominant white culture involved the informal “color line,” established by a joint committee ofAfrican
th
Americans and whites who agreed that African Americans would not move south of 1 5
Avenue between 22
th
34
and
Street (Davis, 46). In 1952 Dr. Robert Swain, an African-American dentist, was denied a permit to
build his office just outside the proscribed boundaries. He filed suit against the city and the permit was
granted. (Dr. Ralph Wimbish, a practicing physician born in St. Petersburg, was prohibited from building
a home on the north “correct” side of l5 Avenue because it faced the houses of whites. His permit was
th
issued under the condition that it be set back further from 15
Avenue than required by City Code and face
either north or west. Having been burned out of his home in a white neighborhood in Tampa, Wimbish
complied with the requirement [Davis, 47]).
--
--
Because they promoted “intimate” contact between the races, beaches and pools provided another flashpoint
in black-white relations and would be the scene of the civil rights struggle in the late 1 950s (Pauslon, 6). Unlike
most communities in the South, St. Petersburg had no law segregating swimming facilities during its early Jim
Crow period. Instead, in the 1 920s local “tradition” had African Americans swimming at the South Mole, an
unattractive location on the east end of First Avenue South (now Demens Landing), that according to
Councilman Ray Chase, looked like a “dump” (Paulson, 6). Even with its location amid the freight and
passenger cars of the Atlantic Coast Line, whites still resisted African American use ofthe South Mole, and took
particular umbrage at their passing through downtown on the way to the waterfront. Repeated attempts over
the years to relocate the swimming area led to objections from both whites and African Americans.
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Signfficance
Page 11
With the United States Supreme Court overturning Plessy v. Ferguson c principal of “separate but equal” in its
1954 Brown decision, civil rights groups began to challenge the legality of segregated recreational facilities in
the South. In 1955, after failing in their attempt to swim at Spa Pool in downtown St. Petersburg, six AfricanAmericans filed suit contending violation of their constitutional rights. One of the plaintiffs was Dr. Fred
Alsup, an African-American physician who established his practice in St. Petersburg in 1950. Alsup v. St.
Petersburg worked its way through the judicial system until Federal District Judge George Whitehurst ordered
the city to allow African Americans use of Spa Pool and Beach. He suspended the decree pending the city’s
appeal which was eventually rejected by the United States Supreme Court in April 1957. After repeatedly
opening and closing the pool, ostensibly for “repairs,” afterAfrican Americans attempted to swim in it, the city
reopened Spa Pool and Beach in January 1959 for good under pressure from hotel and business interests as well
as its begrudging recognition that it did not have a legal leg on which to stand (Paulson, 17).
Health care facilities became the next battleground in African Americans’ struggle for civil rights in St.
Petersburg. Mercy Hospital in the 22” Street South neighborhood served as the primary care facility for the
African-American population from 1923 to 1966. By the late 1950’s the City’s rapid population growth ofthe
City was overcrowding both Mound Park and Mercy Hospitals; in particular, theAfrican-American population
grew by 73 percent during the 1950s, adding more than 10,000 persons to the community. Even with the
population growth a proposed $1.7 million addition to Mercy was rejected by City Council. Consultants to
the City urged the integration of the two hospitals, but staffphysicians and the administration ofMound Park
strongly opposed this plan to City Council. In June 1960, a new City staff report advised the expansion of
Mercy Hospital before integration, provoking a strong negative response from the African-American
community. The bond issue for the expansion of Mercy was delayed in July 1960, creating further tension.
The NAACP became publicly involved in the hospital integration controversy in November 1960 and AfricanAmerican physicians at Mercy boycotted the hospital. The Mercy expansion was voted down by City Council
on November 21, 1960. A plan for devoting one wing to African Americans at Mound Park was suggested
by the City Manager’s office in December, 1960; this infuriated many in the white community and
approximately three hundred people protested at a rally in January 1961. City Council still favored the plan
for an addition at Mercy and whites started a petition drive to oppose the integration of Mound Park and to
force the issue to a public referendum. The doctors on staff at Mound Park also publicly criticized the plan
for an African-American wing, the idea for which was later dropped.
Maintaining the racial segregation of the City’s hospitals solved the City Council’s political problems, but it
did little to solve the critical lack of health care facilities in the City. The duplication of expensive modern
equipment was too costly for a city struggling to meet the demands of an exploding population. Mercy
Hospital tried to meet state accreditation in 1965, but failed. The lack of funding for personnel was one of
a number of major problems, which in August of 1965 turned into a crisis. An infant boy was badly burned
when an incubator malfunctioned. The parents of the boy brought suit against the City, and Mercy’s quality
of patient care became a legal issue. The City requested Pinellas County to take over operation of Mercy
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
Page 12
Hospital. When they refused, the City closed the hospital on April 1, 1966. The county delayed purchase and
ultimately refused to buy the Mercy Hospital property.
By the 1 960s when civil rights leaders turned their attention to it the school system remained the most
significant segregated institution in Pinellas County. It would also prove the most difficult fight in the local
civil rights struggle. Since 1885 Pinellas County and the State of Florida had segregated schools with the
approval ofArticle XII of the state constitution in that year which stated that “white and colored children shall
not be taught in the same school, but impartial provision shall be made for both.” In the mid-1890s, the
United States Supreme Court upheld separate facilities in Plessy v. Ferguson which became the foundation for
institutionalized Jim Crow in southern (and other) states.
While Plessy implied equality of public facilities for each race, the standard was honored only in its breach.
African-American schools throughout the South were woefully understaffed, overcrowded and underfunded
relative to white schools. In St. Petersburg, a 1943 City Planning Board study found that of the twenty white
elementary schools ten had enrollments below the recommended 240 to 280 students while two were closed
for lack ofstudents. At the same time the two African-American elementary schools had enrollments exceeding
the required numbers of the Office of Education: Davis had 610 students in a building constructed for 455,
while Jordan had 690 students in a structure designed for 595. Conditions at Gibbs High were even worse
with 781 pupils in a building designated for 350 students (Fleming, 20). Furthermore, while the school district
funded nine-month terms and offered instruction through the high school level to white pupils, African
Americans attended school only six months annually and could not progress beyond the eighth grade.
Coursework was also centered manual training and domestic science by emphasizing industrial skills such as
broom making, sewing, mending and laundering. “Thus, in terms of curriculum, funding, facilities and
transportation, the Pinellas Board of Public Instruction maintained two inherently unequal school systems”
(Schnur, 27).
Relying on the substantial evidence of educational disparity between the races, in 1954 the United States
Supreme Court concluded that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no
place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal” (Paulson and St. Julien, 30). While Brown
Board ofEducation did overthrow”separate but equal,” it was the second Brown decision rendered in 1955 that
failed to establish the time frame for desegregation, instead admonishing government to “prompt and
reasonable compliance...with all deliberate speed” (Schnur, 29). Because the court left open the questions of
when segregation should begin and how school systems should abide, the die was cast for a protracted battle
for compliance, a battle that would rage for seventeen years before Pinellas County schools would achieve
integration.
Believing the courts would permit Pinellas County to remain segregated if African-American schools were
upgraded, the Board of Public Instruction embarked on an aggressive building program which added Gibbs
Junior College and nine new African-American schools to the existing plant. By September 1956,
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Summary of Physical Description and Historic Significance
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13
Superintendent Floyd T. Christian would boast that such improvements made schools “separate but really
equal” (Schur, 29).
Although attempts were made to integrate the schools in the late 1 950s and the school district did admit some
African-American students to white schools that bordered African-American neighborhoods the schools
remained fundamentally segregated in the early 1 9
0s. The legal attack on Pinellas County’s segregated school
6
system began with a class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa in May 1965 by the NAACP
represented by James Sanderlin, an African-American attorney from Boston sent to represent the group
(Schnur, 28). After years of submitting noncompliant integration plans complicated by the issues of singleschool neighborhoods and busing, in 1971 the Pinellas County School Board finally adopted an effective
countywide desegregation plan becoming the first system in Florida to do so (Schnur, 30). Although some
racial discord was stirred up by white organizations opposed to busing and at several of the schools, the
sustained strife feared by residents of Pinellas County never materialized (Schnur, 30).
The 1968 sanitation workers strike represents a watershed event in the civil rights movement in St. Petersburg.
After being denied a wage hike promised by city administration, sanitation workers struck in May 1968 for
increase in pay of approximately fifty cents an hour (Paulson and Stiff, 433). Two-hundred and eleven of the
235 workers were fired by the administration and replaced with white workers. Through a tense summer first
marked by nonviolent than violent protests with a series of arson attacks and riots, the strike was settled in
August with all the striking workers hired back but without the terms they sought and with lost accumulated
retirement and sick leave. Although the strikers did not win their demands, the unrest led to the creation of
the Community Alliance, a biracial organization created by Mayor Don Jones and the Chamber ofCommerce,
which “paved the way for integration of the schools, a fair housing ordinance, the redistricting of the city” as
well as an amended charter striking references to racial segregation and white primaries that aggrieved the
African-American community (Paulson and Stiff, 432).
Soon after the strike African American participation in politics increased substantially. C. Bette Wimbish
became the city’s first African-American elected official eight months after the strike’s conclusion and James
Sanderlin, who was the strikers’ attorney and litigated the eventually successful school desegregation suit, was
the first African American elected to countywide office in Pinellas County when he won a county judgeship
in 1972. Sanderlin was later appointed to the Florida Second District Court of Appeals by Governor Bob
Graham in 1985 (Goodden, 4). These pioneers paved the way for even greater participation in city
government by African Americans who would later rise to high ranking offices within city government
including chief of staff, police chief and chairperson for the St. Petersburg City Council.
St. Petersburg Landmark Designation Application
Name of property The Royal Theater
Bibliography
Page 1
Arsenault, Raymond. St. Petersburg and the Florida Dream, 1888-1950. Gainesville: University Press of
Florida, 1996.
Babb, Ellen J. “‘A Community within a Community’: African American Women in St. Petersburg during
World War II,” Tampa Bay History l7(Spring 1997): 34-47.
Colburn, David R. “Rosewood and America in the Early Twentieth Century” Florida Historical Quarteriy
LXXVI(Spring 1998): 175-192
Davis, Enoch Douglas. On the Bethel Trail. St. Petersburg, Fl: Valkyrie Press, Inc., 1979.
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