As the city was contemplating whether it should buy the site, a series of Save Sunken Gardens days were held to collect signatures on a petition and build support. Ride the Friendship Trail, visit Sunken Gardens and take in a play at the Palladium. You can because some dreamers among us had the idea that these old structures had some life left in them.
History is nothing new.
But mainstream interest in preserving local history is, or at least in preserving tangible pieces of it. And sometimes, it happens because one person, or a few, doggedly pursue a vision in the early stages when they are often dismissed as dreamers. The old Gandy Bridge span, which connects Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, became the Friendship Trail Bridge, a recreational path that opened in December after commissioners in both counties brokered a deal with the Department of Transportation to save it. Sunken Gardens, which closed after 64 years as a privately owned local attraction and was a candidate for commercial or residential development, was purchased by the city of St. Petersburg and reopened as a public park in January. On opening day in December for the newly rechristened Friendship Trail Bridge, hundreds of people headed out to take part in a Hands Across the Bay ceremony.