It’s not uncommon for longtime residents and newcomers alike to feel a little confused about the true name — or identity — of our neighborhood. Is it Azalea? Azalea Park? Azalea Jungle? Azaleaville? Azalea Homes? Maybe even Jungle Country Club?
📍 From Jungle Fairways to Azaleaville
The land where our neighborhood now sits was once part of the sprawling Jungle Country Club Hotel and Golf Course, a glamorous 1920s resort that was sold to Admiral Farragut Academy in 1945. By the early 1950s, as St. Petersburg boomed in the postwar years, the school sold off much of the golf course land for residential development.
That’s when a builder named Azalea Homes entered the scene. Between 1954 and 1957, the company constructed nearly 1,000 homes on the old golf course fairways and greens. To market the development, they branded the area as Azaleaville — a friendly, floral name that captured the optimism of mid-century Florida living. Newspaper ads from the time boasted terrazzo floors, built-in hi-fi systems, and all-electric kitchens. The name Azaleaville even appeared on maps well into the 1960s.
🗺️ Subdivisions: The Jungle Lives On
If you’ve ever pulled your property records or reviewed a legal deed, you might have been surprised to see that your home isn’t located in Azalea at all — but rather in a subdivision with a name like Jungle Country Club or Jungle Country Club Third Addition. In real estate and urban planning, subdivisions are the legal plats used by cities and counties to divide land for development, and their names often reflect a property’s historic use — even long after the area has taken on a new neighborhood identity.
In our case, the old Jungle golf course name carried over into the official subdivision plats. Most homes in Azalea still sit within one of several Jungle Country Club subdivisions, and those names continue to appear on deeds, permit applications, and county maps to this day. But for everyday purposes — identity, signage, and community — the name that stuck with residents was Azalea.
🏞️ A Park, a Sign, and a Common Misunderstanding
To add another layer, our neighborhood contains a beautiful public green space: Azalea Park. The entrance features a decorative sign that reads Azalea Park, which some interpret as the name of the entire neighborhood. But Azalea Park is the park, not the neighborhood.
This mix of similar names — Azalea, Azaleaville, Azalea Homes, Azalea Park, and the legal Jungle Country Club subdivisions — has fueled a bit of confusion.
🏘️ Civic Leadership: From Azalea Homes to Neighborhood Association
One of the legacies of the Azalea Homes era was the creation of a civic group: the Azalea Homes Community Association which organized community events, parties, and beautification efforts. It functioned much like many other voluntary neighborhood groups of the time — without legal enforcement powers, but with strong community spirit. In 1954, the association worked with the City of St. Petersburg to help create Azalea Park, which was officially dedicated on September 9 with a crowd of more than 600 people in attendance.
In 1991, that same group was formally incorporated as a not-for-profit Florida corporation under the name Azalea Homes Community Association, Inc. This move likely reflected a desire to formalize operations — giving the group more authority to represent the neighborhood to city agencies and apply for grants.
🔄 A New Era Begins
In March 2003, a new group — the Azalea Neighborhood Association, Inc. — was incorporated as a Florida not-for-profit around the same time that the old Azalea Homes Community Association was officially dissolved. This change reflected a shift in how residents saw their neighborhood: less about the original builder (Azalea Homes), and more about the people who lived here.
Since that time, the Azalea Neighborhood Association has represented the community’s interests — hosting events, organizing meetings, and serving as a liaison with the City of St. Petersburg. The name matches the one used on city maps and planning documents: Azalea.
Why the Name "Azalea Homes" Still Shows Up
You may have noticed that Google Maps, Zillow, and other platforms label our neighborhood as Azalea Homes. This label persists because many of these services rely on shared geographic data — and the name was historically used by the original developer and associated homeowners association (HOA). At one time, the Azalea Homes Community Association enforced restrictive covenants, including limits on who could live in the neighborhood — a history that no longer reflects our values. While the City of St. Petersburg now officially recognizes the area as the Azalea Neighborhood, the “Azalea Homes” name continues to appear in digital maps, real estate listings, and on social media sites. It’s a term many feel should be retired — but at this point, it’s so deeply embedded in mapping platforms that we may have to live with its presence for the foreseeable future.
📍 What About “Azalea Jungle”?
You may have seen the term “Azalea Jungle” on platforms like Nextdoor. That name seems to have emerged as a way to distinguish the portion of Azalea that sits within the original Jungle Country Club subdivisions. While Azalea is the correct name recognized by the City of St. Petersburg, many residents — especially online — use Azalea Jungle informally to describe the bulk of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, a smaller portion of Azalea that lies outside the Jungle-named plats is labeled simply “Azalea” on Nextdoor.
It’s yet another example of how the neighborhood’s overlapping history continues to shape the way we talk about it today.
📌 Summary: What’s the Real Name?
| Name | What It Refers To |
|---|---|
| Azaleaville | 1950s marketing name, seen in newspaper articles and appeared on maps through the 1960s |
| Azalea Homes | The name of the builder/developer. The Azalea Homes Community Association was active from 1952-2003. The name should be retired, but it is deeply embedded in mapping platforms. It is used incorrectly by Google, Facebook, Zillow and others. |
| Azalea Park | The neighborhood park (not the neighborhood itself) |
| Jungle Country Club (Subdivision) | Legal name of most plats in the area, inherited from the old golf course |
| Azalea (Neighborhood) | The correct and official name today, recognized by the City of St. Pete |
| Azalea Jungle | Modern name used on platforms like Nextdoor; refers to Jungle subdivision areas of Azalea |
