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The St. Petersburg Museum of History (SPMOH) is a history museum located in St. Petersburg, Florida, dedicated to covering the area's history. As of 2020, the museum's director is Rui Farias.[1]

The museum was founded by Mary Wheeler Eaton[1] in 1920 as the St. Petersburg Memorial Historical Society. The city of St. Petersburg granted the organization the site after the 1921 Tampa Bay hurricane destroyed the aquarium standing on the land. It is the oldest museum in Pinellas County.[2] The mission of the museum is to collect, preserve, and communicate the history and heritage of Florida with an emphasis on St. Petersburg and the Pinellas peninsula.[2] The museum hosts a variety of traveling exhibits, evening events, guest speakers, and more. The St. Petersburg Museum of History has a significant archive that includes over 5,000 indexed city photographs, 32,000 artifacts, and other historic photos and documents.[2]

A pair of oversized pajamas on display in a wall case, surrounded by other museum artifacts.
President William Howard Taft's pajamas, on display in the museum

Notable holdings include a plus-sized pair of pajamas owned by William Howard Taft; a full-sized replica of the Benoist XIV aircraft; reading glasses owned by George Armstrong Custer; and the largest collection of signed baseballs in the world (called "Little Cooperstown").[1]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum was closed from March 2020 through July 8, 2020.[1] The pandemic also derailed plans for actor Tom Hanks to sign the 5,000th baseball in the museum's collection.[1]

The museum is set to expand; artist Ya La’ford, is creating an aluminum sculpture called Intersections to wrap around the new building expansion. [3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e DeGregory, Lane (July 21, 2020). "St. Petersburg Museum reopens with new exhibits, expectations". The Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "St. Petersburg Museum of History". spmoh.com. St. Petersburg, Florida. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "The St. Petersburg Museum of History is expanding". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 23, 2022.

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