Pictures of Florida-the Sunshine State

Pictures of Florida

Pictures of Florida. What could be more natural? Sunshine, white sandy beaches, tropical flowers, world class art. Activities to entertain the most demanding traveler, and contribute to a quality of life that is second to none.

Tampa Bay

Saint Petersburg is ideally situated on Tampa Bay and is only minutes from the famous Florida beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, a string of barrier islands with resorts and residences. The sunshine is so dependable that the newspaper used to give away the paper free in any 24 hour period that it didn't shine! The downtown waterfront stretches from the "wedding cake" Vinoy Resort past the famous Pier and the largest municipally owned marina in Florida to the Dali Museum and USF--seven miles of public parkland and a total of 234 miles of waterfront property. The perfect setting for activities of all kinds: Mainsail Art Festival; concerts, music festivals and theater; powerboat races; world class triathlon; parades and fireworks; baseball spring training and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays; Second Saturday Art Walk and the Grand Prix. It's no wonder 4.5 million people visit each year, and many decide to stay.

Ybor City

Ybor City, founded in 1886, was incorporated into Tampa in 1887. It is the center of the cigar making industry which reached its peak in the 19th century making 700,000,000 cigars annually in 200 factories by 12,000 tabaqueros. Vincente Martinez Ybor's cigar factory which opened in 1896 was the largest in the world. Ybor City, during the Cuban Revolution in 1898, became the staging area for U.S. troop embarkation including Teddy Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" because of its proximity to Cuba, and its port and rail facilities. This is also the home of the Cuba Libre first made during the Spanish American War. Today the area still has cigar factories, but is also home to bars, nightclubs and the Columbia. It is Florida's oldest restaurant, opening in 1905, and covering a city block and seating 1660, is among the world's largest Spanish restaurants.


Cigar factory	Hand rolled cigars waiting for the final wrap	Tobacco leaf used for cigar wrapper	Removing the vein from the tobacco leaf	Packaging the cigars

Saint Petersburg, Florida, The Sunshine City


Honda Grand Prix in Saint Petersburg, FL 2005


Renaissance Vinoy Resort on North Yacht Basin	Vinoy Hotel and Resort	The Pier	Mediterranean Revival architectural detail	Bay Walk-shops, restaurants and theater complex

Flora and fauna


Southern Magnolia	Jasmine	Bird of Paradise	Oleander Blossom	Bougainvillea


Palm Arboretum	Cycad Cone	Banyon Tree	Kapok Tree in blossom	Oleander


Reddish Heron	Snowy Egret	Green Heron	Brown Pelican	Maple Swamp in Sawgrass Park

Sailboats on Tampa Bay

While Tampa Bay has an average depth of only 12 feet, it is home to over 200 species of fish and 50,000 boats, an average of 25 per square mile, under an ever-present bright sunshine.


Saint Petersburg Marina	Sloop on Tampa Bay	Saint Petersburg Marina	The Bounty at The Pier	Unicorn off Spa Beach Park

Playing in the Sun

Of the 20 Major League Baseball teams that started coming to Florida for Spring Training in 1888, 5 of them are in Tampa Bay. One of the most popular, the New York Yankees, have been training here since 1919, the year Babe Ruth hit his longest home run--at Tampa's Plant Field--on April 4 at 587 feet.