Crystal Beach in Pinellas County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Gulf Shore Park
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 12, 2022
1. Gulf Shore Park Marker
Inscription.
Gulf Shore Park. . Crystal Beach is one of the original communities in Pinellas County. The first settlers came to the area and began homesteading around 1850. In 1912, land developers Dr. J.D. Hanby and A.D. Powers of the Crystal Beach Development Co. platted the community and laid out a gridded street system. Included in that plat was a park along the Gulf of Mexico. Named Gulf Shore Park, this area was described in marketing materials produced by the company in 1927 as a narrow strip of land entirely along the west of Gulf Drive from the north end of the drive to the south end of the property. It is comprised of a shell path and paved portions of Gulf Drive running from Georgia Avenue to Ohio Avenue. Powers and Hanby intended the park land to be forever held as a public amenity, and wrote, This park is for all the people all the time. It is the front yard of Crystal Beach, and you are always welcome to come and enjoy the sunsets and cooling breezes. The company clearly believed they were building a special community and saw the Gulf Shore Park as a focal point in preserving access to the beautiful waterfront for everyone, and part of the foundational character of Crystal Beach.
Crystal Beach is one of the original communities in Pinellas County. The first settlers came to the area and began homesteading around 1850. In 1912, land developers Dr. J.D. Hanby and A.D. Powers of the Crystal Beach Development Co. platted the community and laid out a gridded street system. Included in that plat was a park along the Gulf of Mexico. Named Gulf Shore Park, this area was described in marketing materials produced by the company in 1927 as a narrow strip of land entirely along the west of Gulf Drive from the north end of the drive to the south end of the property. It is comprised of a shell path and paved portions of Gulf Drive running from Georgia Avenue to Ohio Avenue. Powers and Hanby intended the park land to be forever held as a public amenity, and wrote, This park is for all the people all the time. It is the front yard of Crystal Beach, and you are always welcome to come and enjoy the sunsets and cooling breezes. The company clearly believed they were building a special community and saw the Gulf Shore Park as a focal point in preserving access to the beautiful waterfront for everyone, and part of the foundational character of Crystal Beach.
Erected 2017 by The Pinellas County Historic Preservation Board and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1011.)
Location. 28° 5.366′ N, 82° 46.911′ W. Marker is in Crystal Beach, Florida, in Pinellas County. It is at the intersection of South Gulf Drive and Maryland Avenue, on the right on South Gulf Drive. An identical marker, with a different number, is located .2 mile north of this location. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Crystal Beach FL 34681, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Gulf Coast and on Tampa Bay. It is also in the American South and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 13, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 13, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 366 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 13, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
