A: You can't get there from here.
I've lived on Farragut Drive for over 20 years and I had never heard of Azaleaville until I started looking into the history of my home. First, I discovered a 1920's map of the Jungle Country Club golf course and found that my home overlooked the 6th green. Babe Ruth, Al Lang, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, H. Walter Fuller and his son Walter P. Fuller, and many other notables of that era would have been wandering about, maybe searching for a lost ball, in my front yard. Then I learned that a tent city of 10,000 U.S. Army soldiers camped out on the course in 1943 ("hey, get off my lawn!"). But before the Army occupation and before the golf course existed, the Tocobaga Indians were living a few blocks away on Boca Ciega Bay. Their civilization lasted hundreds of years, so some of them must have ventured a few blocks east while deer hunting ("hey, get off ... dagnabbit, doesn't anyone understand English?"). Spanish explorers landed at 1700 Park Street in 1528 and began the first European inland exploration of North America. That would put them - and the horses they rode in on - in my yard ("oye, vete de mi propiedad, pronto!").
In 1944, Admiral Farragut Academy, a military prep school that would graduate two of the twelve men who walked on the moon, purchased the Jungle Hotel and the golf course. It turns out they didn't need all the land, so the school began selling parcels to real estate developers. Following World War II, Florida experienced another real estate boom triggered by an improved economy, retirees moving south, new interstate highways, and - most importantly - the advent of home air conditioning. Some of the surplus academy land was sold to the Azalea Homes company who, between 1954 and 1957, built my home - and 999 others - on the former golf course.
What did they call this new neighborhood? Azaleaville, of course - "half way between work and play." Its approximate boundaries were Country Club Road (W), 74nd Street (E), 19th Avenue (N), and 9th Avenue (S). The homes were billed as being most modern - having hi-fi in every room, terrazzo floors, some have all electronic kitchens. "Live in a community where there are no strangers" claimed the advertisements.
In a 1957 St. Petersburg Times interview with one of the developers of the neighborhood, O.E. Wynn said "I'd guess there are about 5,500 people living in the area. There are retired colonels, engineers from General Electric and Honeywell, people from all kinds of occupations and from all over the world. Perhaps 40% are retired but we tell them before they come out, not to come unless they like children. Because there are plenty of children ... There is a lot of talk about the model community, and we think a lot could be learned about what one actually is from this community of Azaleaville."
Azaleavillans, as they liked to be called, were encouraged to grow azaleas in their yards and the community had a monthly newspaper with neighborhood news and profiles.
On September 24, 1949, the St. Petersburg Times published the plans for the Jungle Country Club addition. The developers planned a lake - Loch Lomond - where Willow Pond was located on the golf course. That part of the plan was abandoned and today the area is occupied by Azalea Elementary School and Azalea Park.
So to answer the question "how do I get to Azaleaville?" the directions are in this 1957 ad from the St. Petersburg Times, but you can't get there from here - Azaleaville no longer exists.
Up until around 1980, home resale advertisements mentioned the Azaleaville location, but gradually the name disappeared and realtors began calling the area Azalea or Jungle Country Club.
Mike Thomas, former Azaleaville resident and writer for the Orlando Sentinel, observed that the passing of Azaleaville coincided with a new enclosed mall that changed the neighborhood dynamics of St. Petersburg.[1]
In 1972, Tyrone Square Mall opened with anchor stores Sears, J. C. Penney, J. W. Robinson's, and Maas Brothers. The mall brought traffic from all parts of St. Petersburg into the neighborhood. The village was no longer an isolated spot on the west side of town, but was coming to be viewed as part of St. Petersburg - that's when Azaleaville faded into history.
But don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment ...
⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻
1Shoppers Bag Malls for New Lifestyle Centers, Orlando Sentinel, February 22, 2004
Azaleaville added three new street names to the map. I like
to think that all these streets were named "drive" to include a golf
term, consistent with other street names in the Jungle.
Farragut Drive was named for the academy and its namesake,
the courageous first admiral in the U.S Navy, Admiral David G. Farragut
("Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead").
Russell Drive was named for the two brothers, Captain David
H. Russell and Captain W. Kable Russell, who worked on behalf of Admiral
Farragut Academy to implement the transfer of academy land to the developer Azalea
Homes. My source at Admiral Farragut Academy informs me that the Russell family
has a long tradition with AFA - one of the Russell brothers had a grandson who
graduated from the school and two of that graduate's grandchildren are current
cadets. (I already did the math, 1950 was a long time ago). A classroom
building on campus is named the Russell Building.
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| Russell Building on Admiral Farragut Academy campus |
Robinson Drive was the other new street. I spoke with a long time Jungle resident who is certain that Robinson Drive is named for a prominent family, considered one of the founders of the Jungle. She knew the son or grandson, Jimmy Robinson. Here is some information about Major and Mrs. G.D. Robinson.
 |
| St. Petersburg Times, February 27, 1927 |
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| St. Petersburg Times, May 13, 1926 |
In St. Petersburg and It's People, Walter Fuller writes about Major George D. Robinson and his exploration of the Fossil Park area near 9th Street and 70th Avenue North "which eventually resulted in an internationally notable publication by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ... This volume of 456 pages ... firmly implanted St. Petersburg in the scientific world."
On September 24, 1949, the St. Petersburg Times published the plans for the Jungle Country Club addition. The developers planned a lake - Loch Lomond - where Willow Pond was located on the golf course. That part of the plan was abandoned and today the area is occupied by Azalea Elementary School and Azalea Park.
 |
| St. Petersburg Times, September 24, 1949 |
So to answer the question "how do I get to Azaleaville?" the directions are in this 1957 ad from the St. Petersburg Times, but you can't get there from here - Azaleaville no longer exists.
Up until around 1980, home resale advertisements mentioned the Azaleaville location, but gradually the name disappeared and realtors began calling the area Azalea or Jungle Country Club.
Mike Thomas, former Azaleaville resident and writer for the Orlando Sentinel, observed that the passing of Azaleaville coincided with a new enclosed mall that changed the neighborhood dynamics of St. Petersburg.[1]
In 1972, Tyrone Square Mall opened with anchor stores Sears, J. C. Penney, J. W. Robinson's, and Maas Brothers. The mall brought traffic from all parts of St. Petersburg into the neighborhood. The village was no longer an isolated spot on the west side of town, but was coming to be viewed as part of St. Petersburg - that's when Azaleaville faded into history.
But don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment ...
 |
| 1968 Map - Azaleaville is shown extending east across 9th Avenue, maybe as far as 66th Street. (source: The Touchton Map Library) |
1Shoppers Bag Malls for New Lifestyle Centers, Orlando Sentinel, February 22, 2004
