As Tampa Bay grows and mom and pop shops are slowly replaced by corporate chains, many locals say the area struggles to keep its original charm.
It's a challenge all small cities face when growing quickly as developers move in. Add to that, the financial stressors of the coronavirus pandemic, and even more beloved places have been forced out of business for good this past year.
But one local artist, Stu the Painter, is working to help people remember the iconic original gems that created St Pete's character.
"It's called the Tampa Bay project," artist Stuart Andrews said, "There's 102 paintings of different areas that took me over a year to create."
From the State Theatre to the old pier, Daddy Kool Records to the Buccaneer Motel, it's interesting to see how many locations new transplants and even long-term locals can remember.
"The one people ask about most is Wilsons Sports Lounge. It's the bar they used to film the movie Magic Mike. It's an awesome bar, but because of COVID they didn't make it," Andrews said.
You'll notice his paintings in this collection lack people in them, but he says there's a reason for that. "When they started over-developing this area, it made it feel like a ghost town even though the population started growing. With all the high rises covering up the local scenery that sit half empty, the character of the area slowly died. That's the price of progress, I guess," Andrews said.
Having seen the area change drastically over the past 14 years, he remembers a simpler time when it cost $400 to rent an apartment in the popular Old Northeast neighborhood which would cost upwards of $1,500 now. He also posts phases of painting for those wanting to learn on his Instagram.
"I've done the Ponce de Leon and The Detroit was my very last painting which is where I lived when I first moved down here, which I suppose is a backwards thing," Andrews said.
We have reported on a few of the changes happening like losing the St Pete Tower on the Howard Franklin bridge due to expansion. And it's hard to forget when Daddy Kool Records was forced to move after decades because rent rates tripled to almost $10,000 a month. Andrews says seeing his collection of 102 St Pete classics is therapeutic for those who remember them and while happy with this collection wish he had painted a few more.
"At least 15% of people say thank you and that they were hoping someone would record these cool things and places before they were destroyed and turned into a modern generic wasteland," Andrews said.
You can see more of his work here.
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