Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 49,079 at the 2010 census. Originally home to northern transplants and vacationers, the hundred year old city has grown into the fourth largest city in Pinellas County, the most densely-populated county in Florida. The city and surrounding areas are almost completely urbanized. Pinellas Park contains a substantial portion of the "Gateway" area of the county, targeted for future infrastructure, residential, and commercial development as it sits roughly in the middle of the Tampa Bay area's over two million people. Though technically land-locked, its borders lie only a few miles from Tampa Bay to the east, and Boca Ciega Bay and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The city is known for its popular equestrian facilities and events, and many residents also participate in fishing and water activities in nearby venues. On Park Boulevard, the city's oldest street and primary thoroughfare, one can find anything from produce stalls and flea markets to high-end luxury vehicles.
History
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The city was founded by Philadelphia publisher F. A. Davis, who purchased 12,800 acres (52Â km2) of Hamilton Disston's land around 1911. Promotional brochures lured northerners, especially Pennsylvanians, to the town, noting the pleasant climate in the winter and the agreeable agricultural conditions. The Florida Association, a corporation, set up model farms and offered a free lot in the city with the purchase of ten acres of nearby farm land. The primary crop promoted was sugar cane. By 1912, lots in the city were being sold separately. The City of Pinellas Park was formally incorporated on October 14, 1914.
Though not on the original Orange Line Railway, Pinellas Park did have a train depot, razed in 1970, on the line between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. The city lay on the vehicle road from St. Petersburg to Tampa. Growth was moderate until after World War II, when the city's population more than tripled.
Geography
Pinellas Park is located at 27°51′08″N 82°42′26″W. Pinellas Park city limits are contiguous with those of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, Seminole, Kenneth City, and unincorporated areas of Pinellas County. Annexation into the city is voluntary by both the property owner and the City Council.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.2 square miles (41.9Â km2), of which 15.5 square miles (40.2Â km2) is land and 0.66 square miles (1.7Â km2) (4.14%) is water.
Because of the city's relatively low elevation between major bodies of water, and its generally flat topography, it has historically been subject to flooding. Through construction of a network of drainage canals and other measures by the Pinellas Park Water Management District, flooding in the city has been greatly mitigated.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,658 people, 19,444 households, and 12,152 families residing in the city. The estimated population in 2016 is just over 50,000. The population density was 3,095.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,195.2/km²). There were 21,843 housing units at an average density of 1,481.1 per square mile (571.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.04% White, 2.09% African American, 0.39% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.00% from other races, and 2.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.26% of the population.
There were 19,444 households out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city, the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males. Like many areas in Florida, the population of Pinellas Park swells temporarily, but substantially, for half the year as mostly-retired adults (called "snow birds"), who reside elsewhere in the northern states or Canada during the summer, come to Florida for its mild winter climate.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,048, and the median income for a family was $41,072. Males had a median income of $28,208 versus $24,505 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,701. About 6.5% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Pinellas Park has a Council-Manager form of government. The current Mayor is Sandra Bradbury, who is the daughter of former Mayor Cecil Bradbury. The current City Manager is Douglas Lewis. Various volunteer citizen boards are appointed by the City Council to advise the Council on normal governmental matters.
Police and fire departments
The City maintains its own Police Department of more than 150 employees. Police Chief Mike Haworth in 2015 assumed the position previously held by Dorene Thomas, the first female police chief in the county.
The Fire Department was established in 1912, when the City had only 50 residents. It serves the City and the surrounding areas.
Youth programs
The Police Department facilitates the Police Explorers, a youth education and service group. Likewise, the Fire Department facilitates the Fire Explorers. Youth in both programs are involved in community service as well as competitions among similar groups.
Community events
Pinellas Park is known throughout the Tampa Bay area for a series of community events held annually in a city-owned bandshell located behind City hall. The most popular of these events is "Country in the Park", a festival held every year generally on the third Saturday of March, but always after the Florida State Fair and Florida Strawberry Festival. The festival's popularity stems from its wide array of events, such as arts and crafts shows, NASCAR displays, popular amusement park rides, and multi-artist day-long concerts, and the fact that parking, entry to the festival, and attendance of the concert are all free of charge. As of 2011, the Country in the Park festival has been organized for 21 years straight. Another popular celebration among the locals is Pride in the Park. This celebration occurs during the week leading up to Country in the Park. Usually the night before Country in the Park, the firefighters' chili cookoff takes place at the bandshell.
Pinellas Park is home to a memorial to the Korean War, located in Freedom Lake Park.
Culture
Fine arts
The Pinellas Park Civic Orchestra and the Sunsation Show Chorus perform regularly in the City-owned 500-seat Performing Arts Center. Regular theatre organ concerts are given at the City Auditorium, home to a "Mighty Wurlitzer" restored by the local chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society. The Pinellas Park Arts Society holds monthly themed contests in the Park Station building, close to the Creative District. To encourage artists to live and work in the district, the City has established two facilities: Studios at 5663 and the Artist Live/Work building.
Automobile culture
The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum displays an extensive collection of historical automobiles with an emphasis on progressive engineering achievement, the personal interest of founder and benefactor Alain Cerf. The museum houses a unique working full-scale replica of the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle, the fardier of Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot. Luxury cars currently displayed and sold in Pinellas Park include Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Bentley, McLaren, and Aston Martin. These and a Maserati dealership are all located in the Gateway area near the Automobile Museum. The duPont Registry, a luxury car magazine trade publisher, is headquartered in Pinellas Park.
Car and truck aficionados display their prized vehicles nearly weekly on 49th Street and compete in the regularly scheduled shows. The Showtime Dragstrip provides a venue for drag racing fans. Nearby on the aptly-named Automobile Boulevard is Tampa Bay Grand Prix, where youth and young adults race high-speed go carts on an indoor track.
Education
The city is served by the Pinellas County Schools district. Most of the city's high school students attend Pinellas Park High School or Dixie M. Hollins High School.
St. Petersburg College's Caruth Health Education Center offers a wide array of Associate of Science degrees in the healthcare field and houses a simulated hospital where students can train to handle emergencies and other aspects of healthcare apart from treating actual patients.
Notable people
- Mike Cope, NASCAR driver
- Jesse Litsch, former MLB pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
- Browning Nagle, former NFL football player
- Terri Schiavo, resident at a hospice during the case surrounding her end-of-life case
- Melissa Ann Shepard, Canadian-born criminal
- Rachel Wade, an American woman who was convicted of murder in the second degree in the murder of Sarah Ludemann
- Fez Whatley, radio personality
Economy
With its easy access to the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, Pinellas Park is home to many marine businesses, from manufacturing to service and supplies. Large optical manufacturers, including Transitions Optical, are located either in Pinellas Park or nearby. Davidoff of Geneva, a cigar and luxury goods company, has its U.S. headquarters in the city.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' Pinellas Park facility specializes in metal forming, fabrication and assembly of components for military and civilian aircraft. Current and prior projects include the F/A-22, F-16, C-130J, C-5, U2, Northrop's E-2C Hawkeye, the Gulfstream G5, Goodrich Aerospace, Piper, the P-3, Atlas Launch Vehicle, Space Shuttle, and B-52 Bomber.
The C.W. Bill Young Armed Forces Reserve Center, a $47-million multi-facility training center for both U.S. Army Reserve and Florida Army National Guard units, opened in 2005 and serves thousands of soldiers yearly.
Several of the largest employers in Pinellas County occupy parcels contiguous with the city, including Raymond James Financial, Transamerica Financial, Cisco, FIS (credit card services), Valpak (advertising mailers), Orbital ATK (defense electronics), and Home Shopping Network.
The city has three concentrations of retail business all along Park Boulevard. At 49th Street, near the historic center of town, one finds traditional shops, small businesses, and restaurants. Just to the east, at U.S. 19, the Shoppes at Park Place anchor the city's second retail hub with big-box retailers and a large movie theater. At the western edge of the city, near 66th Street and Belcher Road, are more big box retailers, ethnic specialty shops and restaurants, and the enormous Wagon Wheel and Mustang flea markets.
Due to the significant Vietnamese, Laotian, Indian, and southeast Asian community, Pinellas Park is home to one of the largest concentrations of ethnic restaurants, businesses, and specialty vendors serving those communities in the southeast. The city's library maintains the county's only special collection of materials in Vietnamese. The population includes those with recent ancestors from Germany, Poland, Eastern Europe, Russia, Armenia, India, Lebanon, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.
The Pinellas Park Chamber of Commerce promotes the interests of local and nearby businesses, contributing to the overall vitality and cooperative nature of the mid-county economy.
References
External links
- Official website