USFSP's HISTORIC DISTRICT

Quick Facts:
The Historic Williams/Snell and courtyard area are now open for small academic-based meetings and gatherings. In order to better appreciate their significance, following are some historic facts about the houses and the men who built them.

Snell House Facts:
* The C. Perry Snell House is a St. Petersburg city landmark and was built in 1904.
* C. Perry Snell was an early developer of St. Petersburg, who built the home for his wife, Lillian. The Dutch-Colonial, two story house

   has five unique fireplaces, a wide, wraparound front porch, and a distinctive stained-glass window in the living room.
* The floors, staircases and paneling in the house were made from cherry wood and curly pine lumber. When it was built, the house

   was one of the most expensive, elaborate mansions of its kind in Florida.
* Snell was considered one of the leading land investors in St. Petersburg. He developed the north Shore area, including the red-

* Architecturally, Snell bestowed a Mediterranean Revival look to the city by building a multitude of stucco-and-tile "Spanish

   castles" that served as homes.
* Today, the house is home to the Florida Studies Program of Distinction. The first floor is used for meetings and gatherings and

   provides additional office space.

Williams House Facts:
* The John C. Williams House was donated to USFSP by Louise Flint Slansky and her husband Bob. It was built in 1890 in the Queen-    Anne-style and was considered a mansion at the time. The house features elaborate gingerbread trim, shaped wooden shingles, an      ornate cupola, carved doorways, and interior etchings.
* The assigned value of the donation was $97,000 and the renovation was funded by Florida Historic Preservation grants. Various         pieces of the current furnishings were donated to restore the home to its historic beauty. o The house was built by John C.            Williams, one of the founders of St. Petersburg, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also a city landmark.
* Williams is remembered as the "father of St. Petersburg" because a large part of the original city was shaped from his extensive               land  holdings. His wife, Sarah, played a lead role in getting the Orange Belt Railway to pass through downtown St. Petersburg            rather than through Disston City, which is now called Gulfport. The advent of the railroad later helped change the face of St.
    Petersburg into a boomtown.
*  Williams Park in St. Petersburg was named for John C. Williams after his death. For may decades the Williams house adjoined the         Manhattan Hotel built on Fifth Avenue South and Fourth Street, and housed countless boarders.
* Today, the first floor is open to the public for academic-based meetings and gatherings. The second floor offices are occupied by         the USFSP Foundation offices and the Media/Public Relations Office.