A thousand homes were built between 1954 and 1957 on the Jungle golf course in west St. Petersburg. The new community was called Azaleaville.
Home builders of the mid-fifties were influenced by Usonian design, the Modernism movement, the space age, Googie architecture, car culture, the jet age and the atomic age. Mid-century modern describes a style that encompasses all of these influences and more. Seventy years later, mid-century modern architecture looks futuristic, while at the same time it is a nostalgic reflection of that era's vision of the future.
There are many examples of this revolutionary design in the Azalea neighborhood on the west side of St. Petersburg. These homes represent a distinctive and revered period in American architecture.
BACKGROUND
Admiral Farragut Naval Academy purchased the Jungle Country Club Hotel and golf course in 1944. The hotel was converted into a military prep school. In the post World War II housing boom, developers were looking for large tracts of land to satisfy the demand for affordable housing. In 1950, most of the Jungle Country Club golf course was sold to Azalea Homes for residential development. At the time, Azaleaville was the largest completely undeveloped residential tract in St. Petersburg. Between 1954 and 1957 a thousand single-family homes were built.
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The trademarks of mid-century modern homes include single level design, carports or attached garages, unorthodox rooflines with deep overhangs, a connection with nature, and clean and simple lines without decorative embellishments.
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| A mid-century modern home in the Azalea neighborhood. |
The fifties were all about optimism, excitement and fun. Architects were exposed to a variety of new ideas.
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| The 2022 movie "Don't Worry Darling" was set in a 1950's experimental utopian community reminiscent of Azaleaville's early days. |
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| The Cactus Motel on 34th Street N in St. Petersburg, still in operation, is another fine example of mid-century modern architecture. |
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| The four seasons of mid-century living according to Galaxy Puzzles. |
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| Biff-Burger, a fifties restaurant chain: the St. Petersburg franchise closed in 2022. |
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| Original McDonald's: mid-century modern. |
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| Space age drive-in restaurant and cars with gigantic fins. |
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| 1959: St. Petersburg train station with mid-century interior and exterior. |
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| The Jetsons animated TV series envisioned a mid-century modern future. |
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| While visiting Disneyland in 1958, Steve of the Jungle (front, age 6) salutes the space age and mid-century design. MORE AZALEAVILLE MID-CENTURY MODERN HOMES Original mid-century elements are apparent in Azaleaville homes even though many have undergone renovations. Azalea home buyers could choose between traditional or mid-century design. The land could be bought before the design of the home was chosen, so the neighborhood is a random mixture of these styles. Some homes are identical in design to others - sometimes with the same floor plan, but reversed. Features that highlight "the connection with nature" are the open carports and large windows on the front and side of the house. Most, if not all, homes (including traditional) had terrazzo flooring, popular during that era. With carports and driveways in front of the house, there was no need for alleys, a significant departure from neighborhoods that were build in previous eras. How do you spot a mid-century modern home in Azalea? Look for any home that has an angled, flat or low-profile roofline that can be seen when facing the front of the house. Traditional homes have a roofline with a straight (gutter) line across the front and back and a central peak that runs across the length of the house.             |
