Monday, November 12, 2012

YMCA - St. Petersburg, Florida

116 5th Street South - Almost two years ago I happened across this fantastic building while exploring downtown St. Petersburg and posted photos of it here, here, and here.  At the time I really wished I could see inside.  Imagine my glee when I found out that it would be open for tours this past Sunday.  Most of the interior has been gutted but there were still a few incredible artistic elements remaining.  We'll begin with some pictures of the exterior.

















Fireplace detail.  Much of the interior details that remain have a native central American motif.






A lovely doorway that was somehow spared demolition.



Railing.




Detail on the kickplates of the staircase to the second floor.



Plaques in the courtyard highlight organizations that contributed to the YMCA.





Doorway from the courtyard back into the lobby.







Hard to see in the picture but more native images in the floor tile.



Little bits of art everywhere, even under the roof tiles.










Gymnasium (or what's left of it).


A gaping hole in the floor where a staircase used to lead down to the pool (which we sadly didn't get to see).

Another fireplace.






Ceiling in the lobby.  Much of the art has disappeared with time but there is still enough there to give a hint as to the craftsmanship that went into the construction of the building.

Wall sconce in the lobby.

Detail on the ceiling beams in the lobby.


3 comments:

  1. How lovely it must have been to go swim and congregate at this place! I wonder if this was also a YMCA where people could stay, 'cause that would have been great, too.

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  2. I believe our guide did say that the upper floors were dormitories. On one of my other posts there's a link in the comments to some pictures that show the pool and other areas that I didn't get to see.

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  3. Very cool seeing the pool. I wonder if anyone has pictures of how it looked back in the day.

    On another somewhat related note, I recently heard on the news that the local government is taking control of the Belleview in order to protect it from more potential havoc. Hopefully, it will be preserved and restored rather than destroyed. It's been a drawn out struggle in recent years.

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