St. Pete Beach was first counted by the census in 1950, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #127 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of St. Pete Beach was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 451 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1950.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Pete Beach is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #127 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Pete Beach’s overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so St. Pete Beach’s 513 sits above most of its state (99% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 452 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about St. Pete Beach’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town of St. Pete Beach was consolidated from the municipalities of Pass-a-Grille, Don CeSar Place, Belle Vista, and St. Petersburg Beach in a 1957 referendum, in which consolidation won by a five-vote margin. At the time of its incorporation in 1957, its name was St. Petersburg Beach. On March 9, 1994, locals voted to change the official name to the shorter version of St. Pete Beach, to distinguish it from the city of St. Petersburg a few miles to the east.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Pete Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949Pass-A-Grille sheet · 1:25,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of St. Pete Beach.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewThe Call-Collins House, The Grove- Tallahassee, Florida (7157983334) (2), 1948
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on St. Pete Beach’s page.
The St. Pete Beach post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1957.
How does St. Pete Beach rank for history?
St. Pete Beach is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #127 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in St. Pete Beach?
Two places: the Don Ce Sar Hotel (listed 1975) and the Pass-a-Grille Historic District (1989).
How old are the homes in St. Pete Beach?
4% of St. Pete Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1971.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2011
2011
2010
2004
