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Neighborhoods
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The Lens approved by City Council as new Pier design
Posted by Arielle Stevenson on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 6:26 PM
Every member of St. Petersburg City Council except one approved Michael Maltzan Architecture's Lens design today, officially ending the design competition for The Pier. But the Council prefaced the vote with a number of pointed questions about the multiple phases of the project presented by Maltzan.
"I won't vote for something that is $50 million for the first phase," Councilman Karl Nurse said. "My anxiety is it'll be $100 million for the rest of the phases... The rest could be interesting and pretty, but I don’t know where the money would come from."
Mayor Bill Foster stated there was only one phase to vote on.
"Strike the word 'first' from every document, this is the phase," Foster said. "Unless manna falls from heaven, it is unlikely we'll see future phases in our lifetime."
Friday, January 20, 2012
Lens takes first place recommendation in Pier design competition
Posted by Arielle Stevenson on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 9:50 AM
St. Petersburg's new landmark could be the Lens, pending St. Pete City Council approval.
Michael Maltzan's Lens design got voted number one by the Pier design jury during its final meeting Friday morning. The Wave, by BIG, placed second and West 8 Urban Designs placed last. The jury received over 5,000 comments from the website and exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
In Friday's discussion, the jury found that the Lens project would have the lowest subsidy cost for maintenance and greatest flexibility for design elements. According to city officials at the meeting, the current cost to maintain the pier is between $1.3 and $1.5 million. The Wave had the highest potential subsidy, but also the highest potential revenue.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Remembering the Globe Coffee Lounge, a creative safe haven
A force for good — and for good coffee — the Globe closes Dec. 21 as owner JoEllen Schilke takes a full-time job at WMNF.
Posted by Arielle Stevenson on Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 3:07 PM
- Michael Conway
- JoEllen Schilke, the Lady Madonna of the Burg — at The Hub in Downtown Tampa.
The first time I walked into the Globe Coffee Lounge, I was 14. Looking around at the menagerie of tchotchkes and art, I imagined this must be what the inside of someone's brain looks like. I used to sit outside the front doors, smoking Black Djarums and getting an early start to my coffee habit. Each of the mismatched coffee mugs had a different story; the white coffee cup covered in dinosaurs demonstrating various sexual positions was considered something of a good-luck charm.
But the Globe will be closing Wednesday, December 21, after 12 years. The Globe's owner/chef/baker/barista/security/DJ/events coordinator, JoEllen Schilke, recently was hired by WMNF Tampa to be their volunteer coordinator. Schilke has hosted Art in Your Ear on WMNF for many years and has worked at the station as a reporter, DJ and volunteer voice for the community. She has had her lovely pinky on the pulse of the St. Petersburg and Tampa Bay community for quite some time.
"I have gotten my dream job as volunteer and outreach coordinator at WMNF, 88.5 FM, the community radio station in St. Pete. This will give me a bigger venue for creating community and making the world a better place! Plus there will be sleeping, much sleeping," Schilke told the New York Times in an interview Monday.
The Globe served more than just a good cup of coffee, or a strong iced chai. With Schilke as guiding force, the Globe became a space for creativity and community for many in St. Petersburg and beyond. I saw my first Geri X show at the Globe in November of 2006. The same night, former WMNF/Creative Loafing writer (and now my friend) Dawn Morgan interviewed me for the Sticks of Fire blog about raising children around music:
Friday, December 2, 2011
Best of the Bay winners bring some Laundry Love
Posted by David Warner on Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 6:18 PM
One of the more inspiring Best of the Bay winners of recent years was Current of Tampa Bay, named Best Young Hopefuls in BOTB 2011.
A nonprofit founded by former youth pastor Jason Sowell, Current is an almost entirely student-run organization that assists low-income families through initiatives like home makeovers and the Laundry Love Project, a unique solution to a basic human need.
Laundry Love crews turn neighborhood laundromats into ad hoc community centers, putting coins in the slot for those unable to pay for clean clothes themselves and providing activities for families while they wait.
The next Laundry Love Project will take place tomorrow, Dec. 3, at Big Wash Coin Laundry, 908 E Waters Avenue in Tampa from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Jason says volunteers are always needed, so stop by and join the fun. While you're there you can learn more about Current's upcoming Laundry Love road trip to Orlando and its annual Christmas trip to help the needy families of Las Vegas.
Microgroove record store opens in Seminole Heights [Video]
Former Vinyl Fever employees Carl Webb and Keith Ulrey open their doors.
Posted by Joran Oppelt on Fri, Dec 2, 2011 at 12:47 PM
We visited the grand opening of Microgroove record store in Seminole Heights. Owners (and former Vinyl Fever employees) Carl Webb and Keith Ulrey were on hand to help people pick through the bins of vinyl, CDs, box sets and more. Just in time for the holidays.
In friendly-neighbor fashion, Cappy's Pizza was offering $2 slices for one night only and The Independent was pouring drafts for half off with a purchase at Microgroove.
Welcome to the neighborhood, guys!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
St. Pete Pier designs: What do you think?
First impressions may be misleading, but they sure get people worked up.
Posted by Arielle Stevenson on Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 8:57 PM
Look out, St. Petersburg! The three design firms chosen by the city as finalists in the $50 million Pier Design Competition have released their concepts for the highly anticipated landmark upgrade. The designs go on display to the public at the St. Petersburg Museum of History December 6-30 in the "Look, Think, Share" exhibit (admission free). The designers officially present their concepts to the jury panel December 15-16. (Look for interviews with the designers in CL in the coming week.) The final decision won't be made until February 2.
St. Pete City Council doesn't seem likely to call a public referendum on the project, but they are asking for public input via voting — which is kind of the same thing? Except without any actual power to change or choose?
In any case, people are making themselves heard, and how. Follow the links to see what the architects came up with, and leave a comment about your favorites (or tell us why you hate 'em all).
Michael Maltzan Architecture: The Lens: "…a new icon for the City of St. Petersburg, reframing the relationship between the City and the Bay."
West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture: The People's Pier/St. Pete's Eye: "One pier, multiple experiences."
BIG Designs: The Wave: "…a network of paths form a tributary of public life that gradually flows together…"
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Ybor City's awesome. Want me to prove it?
Posted by Courtney Bishop on Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 3:39 PM
Ybor City is a bit of an acquired taste.
While some people prefer foie gras, others are partial to grilled cheese. That doesn't mean that fattened duck liver is inherently better than buttery, toasty, cheddary goodness - it just means that some people have a certain idea or standard of what a "quality experience" is. In a gastrointestinal sense or otherwise.
I'm not here to convince anyone that Ybor City is awesome. Okay, yes I am. I lied. (Sometimes I do that for attention because my parents never gave me enough as a child.) But it's not because Ybor owes anything to me. It's only because I think that people take advantage of a place that brings me — and many others — such joy.
I love those people who have only been to Ybor on a Friday or Saturday night, went out to the club with the intention of getting sloppy and sweaty, got into a fight because someone grabbed their boob that their shirt was struggling to keep under wraps in the first place, shoved 6,000 calories worth of pizza into their mouth, went home to sleep with the random and equally-sweaty person who grabbed their boob earlier, puked up Bacardi O and Sprite in the bushes next to their apartment on the way to the stairs, had sex with the sweaty person anyway — now with the added bonus of vomit-stench — possibly contracted some sort of communicable disease, woke up with the kind of headache that makes them promise themselves that they'll never drink again, and then have the audacity to say, "Ugh. Ybor's gross."
News flash: You're gross not the classiest.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Libraries and free music: the good, the bad and the ugly (sort of)
Posted by Adam Richards on Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 7:41 PM
Public library systems have long been famous for utilizing the lending system, but what happens when these communal forts of knowledge start giving things away?
St. Pete Beach Public Library and many other libraries across the U.S. have been slowly adding Freegal Music Service, a free-use music download website, to their possibilities of music choices. As you may have guessed, there are some pros and cons that come with this development.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The lost drawings of M. Leo Elliott
Posted by Grant Rimbey CNU on Mon, May 23, 2011 at 6:00 PM
“The Built, The Lost, The Dream: The Architecture of M. Leo Elliott” is a special upcoming exhibit of the architectural drawings of M. Leo Elliott (1886-1967), arguably Tampa’s finest architect to date. This will be the first time that drawings from this extensive recently discovered archive, now housed in the Tampa Bay History Center, will be on display for viewing by the public.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Creative Loafing Photo Contest: And the winners are…
Posted by David Warner on Sun, Mar 27, 2011 at 7:57 AM
Last night, during Creative Loafing's sixth annual Sensory Overload event, we announced the winners in our Photo Contest. The photos by all ten finalists and the Readers' Choice winner were displayed gallery-style at the Glazer Children's Museum, the site of this year's bash, during which hundreds of grownups got in touch with their inner child, and a gloriously eclectic mix of art, dance, theater, food and music took over all three floors of the museum.
Close to 250 photographers entered 475 photos into the contest; all of the entries were on view on monitors throughout the museum. The quality was high, the range of interpretations of the theme "Show Us Your Neighborhood" was wide. The judges — Florida Museum of Photographic Arts' Joanne Milani, Tampa Photo Laureate Jeremy Chandler, International Academy of Design and Technology's Paul Pelak, and Creative Loafing's Megan Voeller and Todd Bates — had a tough task.
But in the end three photos rose to the top in their collective estimation. They were:
