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Author Series: Dr. Bruce Stephenson
“Cultivating the Brotherhood of Man in Nature”
John Nolen’s Vision of a New South
Friday, February 20, 2026 at 6 PM
Bruce Stephenson is dedicated to the art of city planning. The former Pinellas County land use planner earned a PhD at Emory University and wrote a dissertation that unveiled John Nolen’s 1923 plan for St. Petersburg, Florida’s first comprehensive city plan. Nolen, a disciple of Fredrick Law Olmsted, designed a timeless blueprint to promote “the brotherhood of man in nature” that centered Stephenson's first book, Visions of Eden. His follow up work, John Nolen: Landscape Architect and City Planner, earned the JB Jackson book award.
Stephenson coupled a desire to live without a car, and service on sustainability committees in Orlando and Portland to write, Portland’s Good Life: Sustainability and Hope in an American City. He is completing his latest book, The Clansman and the City Plan: Thomas Dixon and John Nolen’s Competing Visions for a Faustian Nation, and recently partnered with Dover Kohl on the Seaboard Plan for Venice, Florida, a Nolen designed new town listed on the National Register.
Stephenson is the recipient of the John Nolen Medal, Graham Frey Award, and Addison Mizner Medal.
Space is limited; reservations are required.
Historic Kenwood Walking Tour
Saturday, February 21, 2026 at 10 AM
Join Preserve the Burg and the Historic Kenwood Neighborhood Association on a tour of St. Pete's first suburb.
Attendees will be led on a pleasant stroll through the neighborhood that has one of the largest concentrations of bungalow homes in the country.
The tour will focus on the history of the neighborhood, its revitalization and current activities & events. We will end in the Grand Central District on Central Ave, a great area for lunch at one of St. Pete’s many small local businesses.
Tickets are $10 for PTB & HKNA members or $20 for any non-members.
Tour reservations are strongly recommended, space is limited.
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2026 PTB Walking Tours Sponsored By
PlaceMattersSP & Florida Talks
Sea Level Rise and Heritage Sites in Florida
Uzi Baram, Professor Emeritus at New College of Florida
Thursday, February 26, 2026, 6 PM
New weather patterns, larger storms, and rising sea levels are challenging communities and transforming conventional thinking. Archaeologists document the shifting seascape’s destruction of archaeological and historical sites and offer long-term perspectives on human adaptation and maladaptation to environmental changes. This presentation is global in scope and includes Floridian archaeological perspectives.
After 25 years of teaching at New College of Florida and creating its Public Archaeology Lab, Uzi Baram continues to engage in community-based archaeology and heritage interpretation through his consulting firm UBHeritage. For over twenty years Dr. Baram has partnered with community organizations and engaged a wide range of individuals and groups in using archaeology as heritage to animate the past and to offer positive possibilities for the future.
PlaceMattersSP is presented by Preserve the ‘Burg and USF's Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, and the February program is funded in partnership with Florida Humanities as part of their Florida Talks program. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities.
Lecture takes place at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, located on the USFSP campus.
Campus Map Detail:
Purple Rectangles = Parking areas
Red Circled Building (POY) = Nelson Poynter Memorial Library
Old Northeast & Coffee Pot Bayou Walking Tour
Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 10 AM
Old Northeast resident, historic preservationist and PTB Board member Emily Elwyn, leads this stroll starting at the Elwyn's beautifully restored 1924 craftsman/colonial home. From there you'll head to Coffee Pot Bayou, learning about the Snell Isle bridge, the development of Snell Isle and the surrounding community.
Don't miss this special guided walk with an Old Northeast insider!
PTB members are $10; Guests and non-members are $20/person.
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Cade Allen House at Mirror Lake Porch Party
Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 6 PM
Join Preserve the ‘Burg and Backstreets Capital for a tour and talk at the historic Cade Allen home on Mirror Lake that is currently undergoing a complete restoration.
Most recently used as an office space, the restoration team is returning the structure’s intended residential purpose while highlighting its historical and architectural significance. Cade Allen, for whom the Allendale neighborhood is named, built the family home at Mirror Lake in 1937.
This project showcases the possibilities of new development working hand in hand with historic preservation. Backstreets Capital’s founder and president Will Conroy stated, “Our aim is to maintain and enhance the craftsmanship of the original interiors and exteriors while incorporating the modern amenities that today’s luxury homeowners expect. This home will be truly one-of-a-kind, offering its future owner a unique chance to own a piece of St. Pete history.”
The community conversation will be led by PTB Executive Director Manny Leto and include insights from Will Conroy (Backstreets Capital Founder and president), local architect Elizabeth Hallock (EDAD Studio), Cassie Gardner (CEO, ALL Trades Historical Restoration), and leading general contractor Mike Fox (Fox Building Company).
Light refreshments provided and a donation bar is available courtesy of Backstreets Capital
$25 for PTB members and $30 for non-members
Hidden & Historic Driftwood Walking Tour
Saturday, March 7, 2026 at 10 AM
Driftwood, located on Big Bayou just south of 22nd Avenue South, is a unique neighborhood with an incredible sense of place that can be felt immediately.
The homes within the neighborhood include original homes designed during the 1930s to 1940s by nationally known artist, Mark Dixon Dodd and Archie Parish, an important local architect. The neighborhood plan is an early example of designing with nature. This concept visually unites all of its homes located within a coastal sub-tropical hammock, and yet still retains a dense tree canopy with an understory of lush jungle-like garden landscaping.
Driftwood was once a site used by Native Americans. There may still be prehistoric features and artifacts from the native settlement whose large shell mounds were destroyed in the early 20th century. Driftwood is also the site of archaeological features from the 1800s pioneer homesteads of Abel Miranda and John Bethell who were the first permanent European settlers in lower Pinellas County. It is also the only area in Pinellas County to see armed military conflict during the Civil War with engagement between the U.S. Navy and the settlement of alleged blockade-runners occurring in February of 1862.
The beauty of Driftwood is unmatched and its historical legacy unrivaled in the city.
Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 10 AM
Twilight Walking Tour: Old Northeast
Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 6 PM
This special installment of our Twilight Tour will take attendees around the Old Northeast neighborhood.
Old Northeast resident, historic preservationist and PTB Board member Emily Elwyn, leads this evening stroll starting at the Elwyn's beautifully restored 1924 craftsman/colonial home and will visit historically significant styles represented in the Old Northeast.
PTB members - $10 per person.
Guests and non-members are $20 per person.
PlaceMattersSP
Harboring Resilience: the Past, Present, and Future of Bayboro Harbor
Oliver Laczko
Thursday, March 26, 2026, 6 PM
For over a century, Bayboro Harbor has fueled St. Pete’s growth and economy. But behind its concrete seawalls lies a fragile ecosystem — and a changing climate is pushing us to rethink how we protect our harbor and, by extension, our community. Join Oliver Laczko as he reveals the hidden history and environmental science of Bayboro Harbor, and makes the case for ecological restoration and resilience as key to our region’s future. Discover how restoring Bayboro Harbor can safeguard our city, strengthen Tampa Bay, and inspire action in the face of rising challenges in this interdisciplinary talk.
Oliver Laczko is a fourth year University of South Florida St. Petersburg Judy Genshaft Honors College Student majoring in Environmental Science and Policy, B.S., with minors in Biology and GIS. He serves as the Vice Chair for the Student Green Energy Fund, which directly involves students with sustainability initiatives and alternative energy projects that benefit the campus and the community. Utilizing USF's special collections as well as the archive at SPMOH, Laczko wrote his senior thesis on the human and environmental history of Bayboro Harbor.
Introduction by Dr. Catherine Wilkins, an interdisciplinary educator whose work explores how art, culture, and history shape the stories we tell about ourselves and the world we inhabit. As a faculty member in the Judy Genshaft Honors College at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, she bridges academic research with community engagement.
Millionaires & Bootleggers
Old Southeast Walking Tour
Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 10 AM
Back by popular demand, our all-new "Millionaires and Bootleggers" tour of Old Southeast returns.
We'll gather on the north side of Lassing Park for this special tour before setting off down the brick streets of this historic waterfront neighborhood.
In addition to streets lined with historic homes, stops include the Bayboro House, the Polish American Club, and the Coast Guard Station.
Tour meets at 15th Ave SE and Lassing Park, on the northern end of the park.
Attendance is limited; advance registration required.
Author Series: Monica Kile
Monday, March 30, 2026 at 6 PM
Join local historian Monica Kile for an inside look at the hidden stories behind the grand jewel of St. Petersburg’s waterfront. She’ll unravel everything from the fantastic - if largely fabricated - tale of the golf ball and the pocket watch, to the world‑renowned contributing architect who somehow slipped through the cracks of history. She’ll also explore the complicated truth of who was welcomed at the hotel over the past century—and who was not.
All of these discoveries emerged during her research for the hotel’s 100th‑anniversary book, a project that also seems destined to be lost to history.
Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 10 AM
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