There is a must-read in this week’s Weekly Planet, er, Creative Loafing that compares and contrasts the downtowns of Tampa and St. Petersburg: “Think of this initial story as a collection of impressions — our attempt to take the temperature of the two downtowns on an average working day. On two recent mid-week afternoons, the entire editorial staff fanned out, first in Tampa and then in St. Pete, to experience the state of the city in such areas as condo growth, transportation and parking, arts and culture, downtown living, dining, the waterfront, and life along Central and Franklin.”
For me, there is no comparison. Tampa is an armpit and always will be. The fact that Tampa did not get the money for its boring-anyway Riverwalk is yet another example of how much Tampa sucks. On the other hand, downtown St. Pete is in the midst of a renaissance few cities enjoy. Just think that we are all viewing, if not taking part, in the awesome transformation of a once-sleepy downtown. There is just so much good stuff in downtown St. Pete…
I can’t even begin to imagine how cool it will be in a few more years.