During my time at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, in a course called Neighborhood News Bureau, I wrote stories about a section of St. Petersburg called Midtown. In the heart of Midtown, on 22nd Avenue South, better known as ‘The Dueces’, is a unique building called The Royal Theater. It has an inspiring and historical story.
A gem on the Deuces
ST. PETERSBURG – When it opened in 1948, the Royal Theater became the second theater in town that catered solely to the black community during the Jim Crow era.
The occasion was so momentous that “they had a big celebration, with a parade right down 22nd Street S.,” said Jon Wilson, a journalist […]
This story was nominated for the Hearst Journalism Awards Program for feature writing in 2014.
Below are some of the articles I wrote for The Crow’s Nest, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg’s student newspaper:
Survey reveals favorite pier design
The city of St. Petersburg is one step closer to knowing what will replace the iconic inverted pyramid adorning its waterfront.
An online public survey closed its voting on March 6 and, of the seven designs to choose from, three received the most votes.
“Destination St. Pete Pier,” the design which has a huge hometown following, garnered the most votes […]
Central Avenue building partially swallowed in water main leak
A water main leak created a massive hole on Thursday in downtown’s Central Arts District.
Dwight Wilson, assistant director of water resources for the city of St. Petersburg, said crews were doing routine work on a leaking water pipe underneath the sidewalk along Seventh Street when, at around 5:30 a.m., they noticed the building was beginning to show signs of a collapse. […]
Central Avenue still recovering from water main break
It’s been over a month since the water main break on Seventh Street and Central Avenue swallowed the sidewalk, part of the street, and the west wall of 670 Central Ave., but the area remains fenced off and the hole in the wall is still there.
Manny Kool, manager of Daddy Kool Records on Central Avenue, was kept out of his record store for over a week.
“We got back in as soon as they signed off saying it was safe to come back in,” Kool said. […]