Jungle Country Club – First Tee and Jungle Hotel
St. Petersburg, Florida, circa 1926
This scene depicts the first tee at the Jungle Country Club, with the newly opened Jungle Hotel rising prominently behind it. Built directly alongside the opening hole, the hotel was intentionally positioned to serve as a dramatic Mediterranean-style backdrop both for golfers beginning their round and for promotional photographs of visiting celebrities, including Babe Ruth.
The hotel’s stucco walls, arched openings, and tiled roof reflect the Mediterranean Revival architecture that defined Florida’s 1920s land boom, blending resort aesthetics with theatrical staging. The composition captures the dual purpose of the space: a functioning golf course and a carefully curated visual setting designed to attract attention and investment.
Today, the former Jungle Country Club Hotel, now Admiral Farragut Academy, remains as the Azalea neighborhood’s most visible link to this earlier era. Listed on the City of St. Petersburg Historic Register, the building stands as the neighborhood’s defining landmark, a rare surviving piece of the original development that once centered around the golf course. While the fairways have long since given way to residential streets, the hotel endures as a reminder of Azalea’s origins as a planned resort destination.
Based on a vintage photograph; digitally modified in pen and ink with watercolor wash on paper. The treatment emphasizes architectural detail through linework while adding soft tonal color to evoke the atmosphere of the period.
