Our History
The St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation has a long standing tradition of providing residents and visitors with quality of life amenities.
Waterfront parks emerged one hundred years ago with the preservation of our waterfront by our forefathers, William Straub, Peter Demens and Perry Snell. They wanted every resident and visitor to have access to the waterfront. In the 1950s, the first recreation center began with a lawn bowling and shuffleboard club at Mirror Lake. Soon after St. Petersburg became known for its many beautiful parks and recreation facilities. As the city grows, so do the opportunities for activities in all its' neighborhoods. The legacy continues today with 17 recreation facilities, nine swimming pools, over 150 parks, over 70 athletic fields and programming for all ages and abilities.