Go to preservetheburg.org
PlaceMattersSP Lecture Series
See All Events
PlaceMattersSP - Forty Years of Preserving the 'Burg
Thursday, February 20, 2025, 6 p.m.
Join us for a very special evening with Preserve the ‘Burg founder Peter Belmont and University of South Florida Professor Emeritus, Dr. Gary Mormino, Thursday, February 20 at 6 p.m. at the USF St. Petersburg’s Nelson Poynter Memorial Library.
Belmont and Mormino are St. Petersburg icons – one a tireless community activist known for both his historic preservation and environmental activism, the other a celebrated historian, professor and author.
Dr. Mormino will lead this special one-on-one talk, looking at Peter’s years-long work to preserve and celebrate St. Petersburg’s historic neighborhoods and landmarks.
Peter’s advocacy work in St. Petersburg dates back more than 4 decades.
While living in St. Petersburg’s Roser Park, Peter was a founding member of Booker Creek Preservation, which succeeded in having Roser Park declared the city’s first local historic district.
In 1977, spurred by the impending demolition of several downtown landmarks, he helped form St. Petersburg Preservation, Inc, where he is still an active board member. He also helped create ‘Save our St. Petersburg’ in the early 1980s, an organization which advocated for the preservation of both the Vinoy and Soreno Hotels. In the early 2000s, Peter worked to save the historic Crislip Arcade, the anchor of the 600 Block of Central Avenue.
In 2022, Preserve the ‘Burg donated Peter’s files–a 40-year archive documenting his work –to USF St. Petersburg’s Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, where they are being preserved and archived for future generations.
Dr. Mormino is the Frank E. Duckwall professor emeritus at USF St. Petersburg. He holds a doctorate in history from the University of North Carolina and has taught at USF since 1977. His books include The Immigrant World of Ybor City (1977), Land of Sunshine State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida (2006), and Dreams in a New Century: Florida’s Turning Point (May 2022). He received the Lifetime Achievement in Writing award from Florida Humanities in 2012.
Join Preserve the ‘Burg at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library on the USF St. Petersburg Campus for the next PlaceMattersSP Lecture, Thursday, February 20 at 6 p.m.
PlaceMattersSP is presented by Preserve the ‘Burg and USF's Nelson Poynter Memorial Library.
Lecture takes place at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, located on the USFSP campus.
Contact Us
Visit Preserve the 'Burg
