A Short History of Historic Kenwood
The housing in Historic Kenwood is typical of St. Petersburg development from the 1920s through the 1950s. The Kenwood Historic District is a 375-acre residential area best known for its historic bungalows. It contains a variety of residential architectural styles including Frame and Masonry Vernacular, Craftsman Bungalow, Minimal Traditional, Tudor Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, Ranch, Prairie, American Foursquare, Dutch Colonial Revival, Mission, and International. However, while many styles are evident, bungalows of some sort (typically Craftsman) constitute over 50 percent of the homes.
St. Petersburg High School (1926), listed on the National Register of Historic Places, sits in the heart of Historic Kenwood along 5th Avenue North.
When the first housing survey was completed in 1995, during the process of applying for historic status, there were 1104 structures in Historic Kenwood. Interestingly, not all of these homes were built on their current sites. Approximately 170 bungalows were relocated to Historic Kenwood during the 1930's, helping to cement its bungalow identity.
As was the case with many inner city areas, the neighborhood fell into neglect beginning in the 1950s. Interstate 275 was built in the 1970s, forming Historic Kenwood's eastern boundary. U.S. 19 or 34th Street, the western boundary, became more commercial during this time. The traditional "mom and pop" businesses on the southern boundary along Central Avenue declined.
In the early 1990s urban pioneers began a neighborhood revival in both Historic Kenwood and the Grand Central District which continues full steam today, during which many beautiful restorations to these historic homes and businesses have been made. (See them in the Photo Gallery.) These efforts reached a milestone when Historic Kenwood received its historic status from the National Register on August 4, 2003.
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ST. PETERSBURG NEIGHBOROOD SURVEY, PHASE III
KENWOOD
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA
Judith L. Kitchen, Architectural Historian
May, 1995
This project was undertaken to identify, research and prepare all pre—1945 properties in the neighborhood of the City of St. Petersburg known as Kenwood, specifically the area of the city bounded by InteIstate I-275 on the east, 1st Avenue N on the south, 34th Street N on the East and 9th Avenue N on the north. This neighborhood is known as one of the historic residential areas of the city, and specific information was needed about it's properties prior to making any decisions regarding Kenwood's eligibility for local listing, or listing on the National Register of Histoic Places, possibly as a historic district, or as individual buildings orgroups of buildings within the boundaries. What is now know as Hstoric Kenwood was since added to the National Register of Historic places. Please click the following link to read the entire report. One very interesting note: check out how many homes were moved into the area.
Final Kenwood_Survey.pdf
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To see a list of the officers of Historic Kenwood
from 1997 thru 2010 click here.
