Walking Tour of Pass-a-Grille

Explore the Pass-a-Grille National Historic District through this self-guided walking tour.

Designed by the Friends of the Gulf Beaches Historical Museum

Click either on the map marker or the name of the structure to read more information about the 21 historic buildings that are part of our walking tour.

1202 Pass-a-Grille Way

This house was built in 1914 by Harold McPherson, who served at various times as commissioner, vice-mayor, and mayor of Pass-a-Grille over a period of five years. This house is now the bottom floor of the Dimity three-story house and is not on the historic register. "Loafer Lodge" built by William L. Straub, was next door on the corner. Harold was the son of William J. McPherson who was also commissioner of Pass-a-Grille. William J. was the son of Elias B. McPherson, homesteader in 1885 of Belle Vista.

113 Twelfth Ave.

"Silver Sands" was built by the Bartletts before 1920. Their daughter, Vashti Bartlett, was a pioneer of the Pass-a-Grille Women's Club, which started out on Tenth Avenue. Her father and mother were known as the king and queen of Pass-a-Grille. Their house was built up in order to see over the boardwalk which ran from Eight Avenue to Twenty-third Avenue. Twenty-third Avenue was the site of the first Pass-a-Grille Beach Hotel and Casino. After the hotel suffered damage from the 1921 hurricane, the name was transferred to the hotel on the beach between Ninth and Tenth Avenues.

109 Eleventh Ave.

Charles Beinert built this house while he and his wife were staying at Page Pavilion during the winters, starting in 1912. "Ma" and "Pa" Beinert called their cottage (completed in 1921) "Staten Island" as all buildings during that time had names since there were no street numbers. "Pa" built many footstools for the women of Pass-a-Grille. He built the first one for Blanche Merry, the postmistress, as she couldn't reach the boxes in which to put the mail. He made the stools out of apple boxes. Many of those stools are still around today. He also made the altar and lectern for the church on Tenth Avenue, now at the museum.

1002 Pass-a-Grille Way

This home was built in the early 1900s before there were sea walls along the bay. Silas Dent's brother, Will, used to bring his barge over from Cabbage Key, where he had a dairy farm, unload the truck from the barge in front of this house, deliver milk, pick up the empties, load the truck back onto the barge, and return to Cabbage Key. Later the house was bought by the Mac Grangers, who remodeled it. It is now owned by Dominick Falkenstein, Jr.

1000 Pass-a-Grille Way

This house was built by Alphonese Thayer, a dealer in Florida shells and curios. Pat McKoy wrote, "The cottage in the rear dates back to 1906 and retains the original board and batten ceilings, wood floors, and front door." Ralph and Pat McKoy are the owners and have the "Island Life Studio Gallery."

103 Tenth Avenue

This home was built in 1903 by Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Kittredge. Harold McPherson moved it to Tenth Avenue from Eighth Avenue. A picture postcard of Eighth Avenue printed by Valentine-Souvenier Co. of New York shows it when it was on Eighth Avenue. The card was printed before 1916. Its location was where the "Sea Horse" restaurant is today and was owned by Furman Mann and Mary Mann Anderson.

105 Tenth Avenue

Funds were raised by the community to build this second schoolhouse before 1915. The building's stones were made by W.R. Bell. It served as a one-room, one-teacher school from 1915-1925. In later years it became the Women's Town Improvement Association, which then became the Pass-a-Grille Women's Club. Mrs. J.F. Cannon (of Cannon Towles) held Bible classes here. It was also used for church services before the church was built.

113 & 115 Tenth Avenue

The Pass-a-Grille Community Church was built in 1917 through donations by the beach community, St. Petersburg, and the Tampa community. The property was acquired from the widow of Captain Ranson Miles for $500. The building was dedicated on Christmas Day 1917. The steeple and bell were added in 1937. The building was enlarged after World War II by purchasing and adding on the barracks that had been used by the Army down at the point of Pass-a-Grille. In 1961 Joan (Mrs. James) Haley bought the church and turned it into her home. When she died in 1989 she left the building to Pinellas County to be used as a museum of the barrier islands.

1005 Gulf Way

The first brick house of the Gulf Beaches was built by William R. Bell, a builder from Cincinnati, Ohio who also built other homes in Pass-a-Grille. He was the stone mason for the old church on Tenth Avenue and made stones from cement, lime, and red powdered paint. The Bell family, which includes William's son Harry, lived in the house until the 1950s. Harry Bell started Harry Bell and Sons Seafood. Harry's grandson Robert Bell, is married to Pastor Emily Bell, the former Associate Pastor of the Pass-a-Grille Community Church on Sixteenth Avenue. This house has the first basement on the beach.

808 Pass-a-Grille Way

Built in 1911, this home was owned by Judge Schwerdtfeger and was one of the nicest and best homes on the beach at a time when most of the homes were simple beach cottages. At one time there was a tea room on the porch. Judge Schwerdtfeger was president of the German-American Bank of Lincoln, Illinois. He presided at a town meeting in Pass-a-Grille on February 2, 1911, when residents unanimously agreed to "incorporate under the commission form of government."

101 Eighth Avenue

This house incorporates some of Zephaniah Phillips' 1886 homestead cabin, according to Miss Olive Phillips, Zephaniah's granddaughter. He was Pass-a-Grille's first homesteader and built this house with lumber brought by schooner. This then would be Pass-a-Grille's first house. The Phillips family first lived in a tent in the 700 block of Pass-a-Grille and 79 acres were homesteaded between the pass and a mid-point between Twenty-second and Twenty-third Avenues in 1886. The house has been moved from 608 Pass-a-Grille Way.

105 Eighth Avenue

The post office (now closed) and store at 105 were built in 1930 by Captain and Mrs. Kenneth (Blanche) Merry in much the same style as the building next door at 107. Blanche became postmistress of Pass-a-Grille in 1935.

107 Eighth Avenue

The store at 107 was built in 1912 by Captain Kenneth Merry's father, Joseph Merry. Previously, Joseph Merry had a store on the Eighth Street dock in 1902. Joseph was a carpenter who participated in building the Plant Hotel in Tampa.

102 Eighth Avenue

The Marine Apartments, built in 1923, incorporated part of the old Mason House, which was destroyed by fire. This third hotel on the beaches was opened on Christmas Day 1907. George Lizotte said this hotel was "one of the mainstays of the good reputation for the resort...acquired through the popularity of its early pioneers." Captain James A. (a retired sea captain) and Mrs. Mason built the hotel.

104 & 106 Eighth Avenue

Edward Jewett had a drug store at 104 Eighth Avenue from 1919-1926. Marie McRae Jewett, his wife, and her brother Archie McRae, carried the business on until she sold it in the early 1950s. Edward Jewett was one of the early mayors of Pass-a-Grille and it was he who had the Washingtonion Palms planted along Pass-a-Grille Way. J.J. Duffy, Pass-a-Grille's first mayor, named the building at 106, built in 1913, the Duffy building.

700 Pass-a-Grille Way

This building was constructed by the V.K. Outland family before 1920. During World War II, this house was used for USO dances. V.K. Outlands wrote the poem "Reveries." Mrs. Outland was known as the "cat lady" who believed all her cats possessed the souls of dear departed friends. A court order broke up the menagerie and the "cat lady's" heart.

102 Seventh Avenue

This house was built in 1902 by George S. Granger, a railroad engineer from Waldo, Florida, as a summer cottage. Mrs. Mac Granger remembers her husband saying that this was probably the fifth house build on the island. The lumber was brought in by boat from Cedar Key. The house had wide overhangs, high ceilings, and a high pitched roof. It was set high off the ground so the Gulf could flow underneath if there was a tidal surge.

108 Fifth Avenue

This house was built in 1911 for James Simmons, a former congressman from Niagara Falls. J. Scott Simmons, a great-grandson of James Simmons, lives in Pass-a-Grille. He said his grandfather owned several homes here. 108 is now the home of Marcia and David Richardson.

401 Gulf Way

The Castle Hotel's front part was built around 1906. One of its occupants was Rev. Jack W. Girard, minister of the Pass-a-Grille Church in 1940. He was a Lutheran minister formerly of Jersey City, New Jersey and, according to some of the pioneers, the subject of some spicy stories. He was with the church when the belltower was added in 1937.

105 Fourth Avenue

This was the town's schoolhouse from 1912 to 1915. It was a one-room, one-teacher school started by local people so that the children would not have to go by boat to St. Petersburg schools. Resident John Leonard Klutts asked the county for a school, resulting in the first school on the barrier islands. The building is a non-contributing resource to the Historic District.

1202 Pass-a-Grille Way

This house was built in 1914 by Harold McPherson, who served at various times as commissioner, vice-mayor, and mayor of Pass-a-Grille over a period of five years. This house is now the bottom floor of the Dimity three-story house and is not on the historic register. "Loafer Lodge" built by William L. Straub, was next door on the corner. Harold was the son of William J. McPherson who was also commissioner of Pass-a-Grille. William J. was the son of Elias B. McPherson, homesteader in 1885 of Belle Vista.

113 Twelfth Ave.

"Silver Sands" was built by the Bartletts before 1920. Their daughter, Vashti Bartlett, was a pioneer of the Pass-a-Grille Women's Club, which started out on Tenth Avenue. Her father and mother were known as the king and queen of Pass-a-Grille. Their house was built up in order to see over the boardwalk which ran from Eight Avenue to Twenty-third Avenue. Twenty-third Avenue was the site of the first Pass-a-Grille Beach Hotel and Casino. After the hotel suffered damage from the 1921 hurricane, the name was transferred to the hotel on the beach between Ninth and Tenth Avenues.

109 Eleventh Ave.

Charles Beinert built this house while he and his wife were staying at Page Pavilion during the winters, starting in 1912. "Ma" and "Pa" Beinert called their cottage (completed in 1921) "Staten Island" as all buildings during that time had names since there were no street numbers. "Pa" built many footstools for the women of Pass-a-Grille. He built the first one for Blanche Merry, the postmistress, as she couldn't reach the boxes in which to put the mail. He made the stools out of apple boxes. Many of those stools are still around today. He also made the altar and lectern for the church on Tenth Avenue, now at the museum.

1002 Pass-a-Grille Way

This home was built in the early 1900s before there were sea walls along the bay. Silas Dent's brother, Will, used to bring his barge over from Cabbage Key, where he had a dairy farm, unload the truck from the barge in front of this house, deliver milk, pick up the empties, load the truck back onto the barge, and return to Cabbage Key. Later the house was bought by the Mac Grangers, who remodeled it. It is now owned by Dominick Falkenstein, Jr.

1000 Pass-a-Grille Way

This house was built by Alphonese Thayer, a dealer in Florida shells and curios. Pat McKoy wrote, "The cottage in the rear dates back to 1906 and retains the original board and batten ceilings, wood floors, and front door." Ralph and Pat McKoy are the owners and have the "Island Life Studio Gallery."

103 Tenth Avenue

This home was built in 1903 by Mr. and Mrs. E.C. Kittredge. Harold McPherson moved it to Tenth Avenue from Eighth Avenue. A picture postcard of Eighth Avenue printed by Valentine-Souvenier Co. of New York shows it when it was on Eighth Avenue. The card was printed before 1916. Its location was where the "Sea Horse" restaurant is today and was owned by Furman Mann and Mary Mann Anderson.

105 Tenth Avenue

Funds were raised by the community to build this second schoolhouse before 1915. The building's stones were made by W.R. Bell. It served as a one-room, one-teacher school from 1915-1925. In later years it became the Women's Town Improvement Association, which then became the Pass-a-Grille Women's Club. Mrs. J.F. Cannon (of Cannon Towles) held Bible classes here. It was also used for church services before the church was built.

113 & 115 Tenth Avenue

The Pass-a-Grille Community Church was built in 1917 through donations by the beach community, St. Petersburg, and the Tampa community. The property was acquired from the widow of Captain Ranson Miles for $500. The building was dedicated on Christmas Day 1917. The steeple and bell were added in 1937. The building was enlarged after World War II by purchasing and adding on the barracks that had been used by the Army down at the point of Pass-a-Grille. In 1961 Joan (Mrs. James) Haley bought the church and turned it into her home. When she died in 1989 she left the building to Pinellas County to be used as a museum of the barrier islands.

1005 Gulf Way

The first brick house of the Gulf Beaches was built by William R. Bell, a builder from Cincinnati, Ohio who also built other homes in Pass-a-Grille. He was the stone mason for the old church on Tenth Avenue and made stones from cement, lime, and red powdered paint. The Bell family, which includes William's son Harry, lived in the house until the 1950s. Harry Bell started Harry Bell and Sons Seafood. Harry's grandson Robert Bell, is married to Pastor Emily Bell, the former Associate Pastor of the Pass-a-Grille Community Church on Sixteenth Avenue. This house has the first basement on the beach.

808 Pass-a-Grille Way

Built in 1911, this home was owned by Judge Schwerdtfeger and was one of the nicest and best homes on the beach at a time when most of the homes were simple beach cottages. At one time there was a tea room on the porch. Judge Schwerdtfeger was president of the German-American Bank of Lincoln, Illinois. He presided at a town meeting in Pass-a-Grille on February 2, 1911, when residents unanimously agreed to "incorporate under the commission form of government."

101 Eighth Avenue

This house incorporates some of Zephaniah Phillips' 1886 homestead cabin, according to Miss Olive Phillips, Zephaniah's granddaughter. He was Pass-a-Grille's first homesteader and built this house with lumber brought by schooner. This then would be Pass-a-Grille's first house. The Phillips family first lived in a tent in the 700 block of Pass-a-Grille and 79 acres were homesteaded between the pass and a mid-point between Twenty-second and Twenty-third Avenues in 1886. The house has been moved from 608 Pass-a-Grille Way.

105 Eighth Avenue

The post office (now closed) and store at 105 were built in 1930 by Captain and Mrs. Kenneth (Blanche) Merry in much the same style as the building next door at 107. Blanche became postmistress of Pass-a-Grille in 1935.

107 Eighth Avenue

The store at 107 was built in 1912 by Captain Kenneth Merry's father, Joseph Merry. Previously, Joseph Merry had a store on the Eighth Street dock in 1902. Joseph was a carpenter who participated in building the Plant Hotel in Tampa.

102 Eighth Avenue

The Marine Apartments, built in 1923, incorporated part of the old Mason House, which was destroyed by fire. This third hotel on the beaches was opened on Christmas Day 1907. George Lizotte said this hotel was "one of the mainstays of the good reputation for the resort...acquired through the popularity of its early pioneers." Captain James A. (a retired sea captain) and Mrs. Mason built the hotel.

104 & 106 Eighth Avenue

Edward Jewett had a drug store at 104 Eighth Avenue from 1919-1926. Marie McRae Jewett, his wife, and her brother Archie McRae, carried the business on until she sold it in the early 1950s. Edward Jewett was one of the early mayors of Pass-a-Grille and it was he who had the Washingtonion Palms planted along Pass-a-Grille Way. J.J. Duffy, Pass-a-Grille's first mayor, named the building at 106, built in 1913, the Duffy building.

700 Pass-a-Grille Way

This building was constructed by the V.K. Outland family before 1920. During World War II, this house was used for USO dances. V.K. Outlands wrote the poem "Reveries." Mrs. Outland was known as the "cat lady" who believed all her cats possessed the souls of dear departed friends. A court order broke up the menagerie and the "cat lady's" heart.

102 Seventh Avenue

This house was built in 1902 by George S. Granger, a railroad engineer from Waldo, Florida, as a summer cottage. Mrs. Mac Granger remembers her husband saying that this was probably the fifth house build on the island. The lumber was brought in by boat from Cedar Key. The house had wide overhangs, high ceilings, and a high pitched roof. It was set high off the ground so the Gulf could flow underneath if there was a tidal surge.

108 Fifth Avenue

This house was built in 1911 for James Simmons, a former congressman from Niagara Falls. J. Scott Simmons, a great-grandson of James Simmons, lives in Pass-a-Grille. He said his grandfather owned several homes here. 108 is now the home of Marcia and David Richardson.

401 Gulf Way

The Castle Hotel's front part was built around 1906. One of its occupants was Rev. Jack W. Girard, minister of the Pass-a-Grille Church in 1940. He was a Lutheran minister formerly of Jersey City, New Jersey and, according to some of the pioneers, the subject of some spicy stories. He was with the church when the belltower was added in 1937.

105 Fourth Avenue

This was the town's schoolhouse from 1912 to 1915. It was a one-room, one-teacher school started by local people so that the children would not have to go by boat to St. Petersburg schools. Resident John Leonard Klutts asked the county for a school, resulting in the first school on the barrier islands. The building is a non-contributing resource to the Historic District.