Central Plaza Shopping Center (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Abstract:

Materials in this series document commercial activities and plans to redevelop Central Plaza, a shopping complex opened in 1952 in central St. Petersburg. Located on a site once known as the "Goose Pond," the marshy agricultural region near the intersection of Central Avenue and 34th Street (U.S. Highway 19) was transformed into concrete shopping facilities and an asphalt parking lot large enough to accommodate nearly 2000 cars. Many historians believe that the opening of Central Plaza, Tyrone Gardens, and other suburban shopping centers moved the focus of commercial activities away from downtown merchants. By the early 1970s, with the opening of Tyrone Square Mall and the shopping centers at Crossroads, the focus changed once again. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, many merchants left the Central Plaza shopping center and many of the structures were demolished by the 1990s.

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