(From THE “Fun Fact Factotum” )
and Pinellas County…
All are situated in the State of Florida.
All are sited along or immediately near the Central West Florida coastline along a 55-mile long stretch of the Gulf of Mexico.
The longitudes and latitudes of the three geographical locations vary slightly.
Those are:
| Location | Latitude | Longitude | Elevation |
| Clearwater | 27.796745 | -82.796745 | 30 feet |
| St. Petersburg | 27.773056 | -82.639999 | 43 feet |
| Pinellas County | 27.8764 | 82.7779 | (not given) |
Clearwater, St. Pete and Pinellas County – being so close in proximity – share common weather, rainfall, days-of-sunlight, and the like.
Fun Fact: Those from Pinellas County & surrounding areas refer to St. Petersburg as “St. Pete”]
Consider the following statistics for Clearwater and apply them to the two other locales:
| Average Temperature: | December, January & February March, April, May, October & November June, July & August | 58 f (+/-) 67 f (+/-) 82 f (+/-) |
| Average Days of Rain: | January: 22 February: 19 March: 21 April: 24 May: 23 June: 15 July: 12 August: 10 September: 16 Oct: 23 Nov: 22 Dec: 23 | |
| Average Daily Sunshine: | January, February & December: March, September, October & November: August: April, May, June & July: | 8 hours 9 hours 10 hours 11 hours |
| Average Sea Temperature: | January, February & March: April & December: May & November: October June & September: July: August: | 70 f 73 f 77 f 81 f 82 f 84 f 86 f |
Fun Fact: Cold-water swimmers come visit January – March; warm-water swimmers come visit in July & Aug.
City of Clearwater “Fast Facts”
- Clearwater was first incorporated as a Town in 1891. Clearwater was re-incorporated as a City in 1915
- Clearwater was first settled as a small community on the Pinellas Peninsula as “Clear Water Harbor”
- The City of Clearwater is the County seat of Pinellas County
- Clearwater is 35 minutes west of Tampa and 25 minutes northeast of St. Petersburg
- Clearwater is the second largest city in Pinellas County; St. Petersburg is the largest
- The original inhabitants of present-day Clearwater were the Tocobagan Indians
- The area around present-day Clearwater was first settled by non-natives around 1835 when the U.S. Army established Fort Harrison as an outpost during the “Seminole Wars”
- During the Civil War, Union gunboats raided Clearwater for supplies
- Clearwater has a diverse cultural, leisure, and outdoor environment – attractions include:
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- The Clearwater Marine Aquarium
- The Clearwater Fine Arts Show
- The Clearwater Pier 60 “Make a Difference” Fishing Tournament
- The Florida Botanical Gardens
- The Gulf Coast Museum of Art
- Heritage Village
- The Leepa-Ratner Museum of Art
- The Medieval Brass Rubbing Center and Museum
- Moccasin Lake Nature Park
- Pinewood Cultural Park
- The Clearwater Beach Section of Clearwater
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Fun Fact: The beaches at Clearwater Beach are the most likely to be voted “#1 Beach (in the U.S. & the World)
City of St. Petersburg “Fast Facts”
- St. Petersburg was co-founded in 1876 by John C. Williams and Peter Demens
- The first railroad line into St. Petersburg was courtesy of… Peter Demens
- St. Petersburg, Florida was named after St. Petersburg, Russia, former childhood home of… Peter Demens
- St. Petersburg – nicknamed the “Sunshine City” – is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most consecutive days of sunshine in recorded history – 768 consecutive days beginning in 1967
- St. Petersburg is the fourth largest City (by population) in Florida – the 2010 Census recorded a population of 244,769 with a median annual household income of $47,661
- St. Petersburg is the host city to the Dali Museum and The Chihuly Collection presented by the Morean Arts Center
- St. Petersburg was incorporated as a City in February, 1892 – with 300 residents
- St. Petersburg has the third largest waterfront public park system in the United States
- The Sunshine Skyway Bridge – with its northern terminus in St. Petersburg – is the largest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere – the bridge is 4.1 miles long and 19 stories in height at the highest point
- The Travel Channel ranked the Sunshine Skyway Bridge #3 on the list, “10 Best Bridges in the World” (Peter Demens had nothing to do with the planning and building of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge)
- The world’s first scheduled airline flight – from St. Petersburg to Tampa across Tampa Bay – was flown on January 1, 1914 (there was one passenger, St. Pete Mayor Abe Pheil)
Fun Fact: CNN ranked St. Pete the #7th “Best Place to Retire” – only 15% of the population is over age 65…
County of Pinellas “Fast Facts”
- The land area of Pinellas County is 280 square miles with a population, according to the 2010 Census, of 916,542 residents. Pinellas is Florida’s most densely populated county with 3,347 people per square mile (Broward County is second, with 1,445 people per square mile)
- St. Petersburg is the largest City in Pinellas County, Clearwater is the 2nd largest, and Tarpon Springs, incorporated in 1887, is the oldest
- Pinellas County was originally known as West Hillsborough when it was a part of Hillsborough County before it seceded from its parent, by referendum, in 1912
- Pinellas County is the 2nd smallest county, geographically, in Florida (the smallest is Union County)
- The name “Pinellas” is derived from the Spanish “Punta Pinal” which means “point of pines”
- Age distribution in Pinellas County: 17.8% under age 18; 7.3% ages 18 to 24; 23.0% ages 25 to 44; 30.8% ages 45 to 64; and 21.2% age 65 years and older
Fun Fact: In 2010, the County won the “Sunny Award” for its proactive disclosure of government data
In the areas of manufacturing and commerce, Pinellas County is anchored by the urban markets in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The county has the second largest manufacturing base of employment in the State of Florida.
Pinellas County is home to Jabil Circuit, Tech Data, Home Shopping Network (“HSN”), Nielsen, and Valpak. Service industries such as healthcare, business services, and educational services employ more than 200,000 people, generating more than $19 billion in annual revenues. Other employment sectors include retail (100,000 employees and more than $12 billion in annual revenues) and the finance, real estate, and insurance sectors (44,000 employees and $8.5 billion in revenues/sales).
Culturally, Pinellas County has many top-notch performance venues including: Ruth Eckard Hall, Clearwater; Mahaffey Theater; The Palladium Theater; Janus Landing; Palladium at St. Petersburg College; freeFall Theater; and, American Stage, all located in St. Petersburg. The Florida Orchestra splits its performances between Ruth Eckard Hall, Clearwater, the Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg, and the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa.
Clearwater, St. Pete, and Pinellas County are known world-wide for over 55 miles of white, sandy beaches, a plethora of outdoor activities, world class major and minor league sports teams, and year-round tropical-like weather conducive to the full enjoyment of visitors and residents alike.
The area of Pinellas County – and especially it’s two major urban centers, St. Petersburg and Clearwater – is a “destination” location. Snowbirds come annually to escape the harsh winters of the Northeast and Canada; foreign visitors are drawn to such nearby attractions as Disneyworld, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens.
The official motto of Pinellas County in particular, and west central Florida in general could be: “Come for the weather, stay for the fun!”
Fun Fact: The Weller Legal Group, PA – specialists in Bankruptcy & Credit Repair – is located in Clearwater, FL
Satellite Offices in – Lakeland – Port Richey – Tampa (800) 407-3328 or (727) 539-7701
Image credit: Wikipedia
