Historically St. Pete: The oldest surviving school building in St Pete still stands 124 years later
/Today, the 124-year-old Manual Training School building houses The Greenhouse, a city-led initiative that provides small business owners and entrepreneurs with the education, resources, and assistance necessary to thrive in our local economy | City of St. petersburg
At St. Pete Rising, we are constantly providing comprehensive coverage on everything new and coming soon to the Sunshine City, but we think it’s also important to take a look back at our city's rich history.
Historically St. Pete, a monthly column on St. Pete Rising written by Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History Rui Farias, covers everything from the legend of underground mobster tunnels to the buildings and people that created the Sunshine City.
Follow us each month as we explore how these projects shaped St. Pete into the city we know and love today.
This month we explore the captivating history of the 124-year-old Manual Training School building — Florida’s first vocational school and the oldest surviving school building in St Pete.
school cadets outside of the Manual Training School in 1905 | St Petersburg Museum of History
Standing behind City Hall at 440 2nd Avenue North is a small, but stately two-story brick building that houses The Greenhouse. Led by a team from the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of St. Petersburg, The Greenhouse provides small business owners and entrepreneurs with the education, resources, and assistance necessary to thrive in our local economy.
It is only fitting that education remains the focus of this 124-year-old building, and that the legacy of Edwin Hyde Tomlinson continues to help build the community he adopted in the 19th century.
Born in Connecticut in 1844, Tomlinson went on to make his fortune in the mining and oil business. Traveling the world in search of wealth and adventure, he discovered St. Petersburg when the town only had about 1,500 residents. In 1896, at the age of 52, Tomlinson made the move to St. Pete and began investing his time, money, and efforts in the Sunshine City.
Tomlinson constructed the Cathedral Church of St. Peter at 140 4th Street North in honor of his father; built our first hospital, Augusta Memorial at 701 6th Street South, in honor of his mother; helped build the city’s first Open Air Post Office at Central Avenue and 4th Street; and helped secure the contract to provide the city with Augusta red bricks to pave its roads.
a workroom occupied the first floor, which was filled with desks and 27 adjustable work benches. Each work bench was outfitted with a full set of tools, equipment to run a saw, a planer, grindstone, jigsaw and lathe | St Petersburg Museum of History
But educating the youth of St. Pete was his primary focus.
With $10,000 of his own money, Tomlinson built and equipped the state's first vocational school, The Manual Training School – the current site of The Greenhouse. He later gave the school to the City of St. Petersburg as a gift.
The Manual Training School opened on December 29, 1901 to much fanfare. Dignitaries from throughout the state made speeches, and the school cadets performed drill exhibitions. The City of St. Petersburg declared the day Manual Training Day in celebration.
A state-of-the-art facility in its day, the Manual Training School offered classes in military science, industrial arts, domestic science, and physical education for both boys and girls. Along with the principal’s office, a workroom occupied the first floor, which was filled with desks and 27 adjustable work benches. Each work bench was outfitted with a full set of tools, equipment to run a saw, a planer, grindstone, jigsaw and lathe.
A year after the Manual Training School opened, Tomlinson built the Manual Training Annex at the northeast corner of Fourth Street and 1st Avenue South | St Petersburg Museum of History
The second floor housed a large hall for the gymnasium and cadet training.
Classes were eventually moved to a new Mirror Lake building in 1925, and the original building was converted into office space, a function it served for many decades. In 1981 the city took over the building which became known as the City Hall annex. The Manual Training School was designated as a local landmark in 1998, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places a year later.
In 1902, just a year after the Manual Training School opened, Tomlinson would spend $15,000 to build the city's largest structure at that time at the northeast corner of Fourth Street and 1st Avenue South: the Manual Training Annex.
The annex was a brick building which had a pipe organ, a floor that could be used for basketball, physical classes, the cadet's drills and could seat 2,500 people. He also deeded this building to the city, which utilized a portion of it as city hall for several years beginning in 1903.
When Tomlinson, St. Pete’s largest benefactor, died at age 94 in his home in Tampa, he only had $9,773 to his name. The American Legion held a military funeral for him at Royal Palm Cemetery.
