The Washington times., 1930-12-11
ST.PETERSBURG|
PREPARED FOR
TOURIST TRADE
Sunshine City Ready to Take
Care Of 800, 600 Visitors;
Most Hotels Now Are Open
BY JOHN LODWICK

BY JOHN LODWTCK
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, Dec.
u.-With an all-year-around tenn
perature average Of $50 days OF
warm sunshine out Of 365, st.
Petersburg has built up the
greatest winter colony Of outdoor
sport lovers to be found.
More than SOC, 900 tourists will
be entertained in the Sunshine
City this winter.
Social Events
st. Petersburg's calendar of
social and sporting events sur
passes any previous season, Serv-
ing to keep the vacationist from
the frozen North busy all
through the long season visit. Be-
ginning with the annual Christ
mas dinner dances and continu-
ing on through New Year Eve to
brilliant affairs to be given al
most nightly at all the leading
tourist hotels.
In January and February, 16
golf tournaments will be held on
the five courses located within
the city limits, for both amateurs
and professionals, men and
women. There also will be tour
naMents for lovers Of rogue, lawn
bowling, shuffleboard, horseshoe
pitching, chess and checkers,
archery, trapshooting and ten
mis-. Clubs covering all these
branches Of sport are open to
the winter visitor.
Late in February the New York
Yankee and Boston Brave base
ball teams will arrive in st. Pc
tersburg for their annual spring
training.
Festival Of States
ST., PeterSburg'S famous "feSti-
val OF States" will be held during
the last week Of March, marking
the opening OF the spring season
in the Sunshine City, a time Of
the year when the resort is at its
very best. The annual st. Peters
burg-Havana sailing race, over a
course Of 2S4 nautical miles, will
be held during the celebration.
Every hotel with the exception
Of four Of the larger hostelrieS are
open for the growing rush Of
Northern residents trekking into
the land Of sunshine to escape
the rigors Of another cold winter.
The hotels Soreno, Vinoy Park,
Rolyat and Don Cesar will have
formal openings late this month.
Included among the hotels now
in operation for the winter season
are the jungle Hotel, Country
Club, Hotel Huntington, Hotel
SuWannee, Hotel Detroit, Hotel
Princess Martha and the Hotel
Dennis.
With more than $50 hotels in
st. Petersburg and 900 apartment
houses, in. addition to several
thousand private homes, available
for winter leasing, the Sunshine
City is prepared to receive and
care for the wants and needs Of
more than 300, 900 visitors expect
ed up to May.
Attractive hotel and apartment
rates are In effect and within the
reach Of every purse.
Picturesque Spots
Near to. st. Petersburg are the
picturesque Florida communities
Of Clearwater with high Gulf
vista; Tarpon Springs, worlds
largest sponge fisheries: Safety
Harbor with its healing ESpiritu
Santo Springs; Bradenton and its
many miles Of citrus groves; Sara.
sofa and the Ringing Brothers
Circus winter headquarters; Fort
Myers, the winter home Of Thomas
A. Edison and Henry Ford; Plant
City, the strawberry center Of
Florida; Winter Haven, the citrus
fruit center, and Mountain Lake
with the famous Box Singing
Tower and carlton bells. Babson
Park and Lake Wales are nearby.
All these interesting communi-
ties are within q short drive from
st. Petersburg and it's 80 miles Of
superb bathing beaches.
The finest clay tennis courts in
the South are maintained by the
city for the use of it's tourists.
New courts have been placed upon
the mole entrance to recreation
pier. Nearby are both concrete
and clay courts.
Every type Of water craft from
the lowly flat-bottomed rowboat
up to the most palatial type of
yacht will be available for the
winter visitor this season who de-
sires q day or week trip upon bay
or Gulf waters.
st. Petersburg will play host to
more than q score Of conventions,
including the Masonic Grotto, Ma.
tional Realtors, Anti-Saloon League
Of America, Southern Hotel Greet
erS' Association, American Water
works Association, National Edi.
tors Association, Knights of Co
lumbuS, New York Life Insurance
Company, Bankers Life Insurance
Company Of Des MoineS, National
Building Granite QuarrieS, Mod. |
ern Woodmen Of America, Sons Of
American Revolution and Tnferna.