Trolley driver Ken Demant points out interesting buildings, popular restaurants and other downtown attractions during a ride on the Looper. Martha Rhine | The Crow’s Nest
By Martha Rhine
Downtown St. Petersburg has no shortage of hip restaurants, bars, world-class museums, quirky shops and waterfront parks to explore. Need a ride? Getting around is easy when you hop aboard the big red and yellow trolley with the arch-top windows and wooden benches inside, the Downtown Looper.
Did you know USF St. Petersburg students ride for cheap? So cheap, it’s free. Just show a valid school ID.
The closest stop to campus is on Sixth Avenue and Second Street South. A detailed map of routes and stops can be found online, but figuring it out is as easy as hopping in and out. It will come to you.
Let the trolley take you there.
Take the trolley to the Dali Museum, to Beach Drive, to Williams Park or to the Sundial.
Take the trolley in the morning and grab coffee before lounging bayside at North Straub Park.
Take the trolley in the evening for bar-hopping and people-watching along Central Avenue.
Take the trolley for a loop and soak up some sights and history before ending right back where you started.
Did you know the Dali Museum has walls so thick they could withstand a Category 5 hurricane?
The Vinoy hotel was refurbished in the 1990s for $93 million dollars, the public bathrooms on Bayshore Drive and Second Avenue North are nicknamed “Little St. Mary’s,” after the Catholic church on the other side of town.
“I prefer to call it Little St. John’s,” said trolley driver Ken Demant. Little St. John’s, get it?
Did you know the Tampa Bay Times was once the St. Petersburg Times and before that the Evening Independent? Back in 1910, it began a “Sunshine Offer,” giving away free papers for every day the sun did not shine in this “sunshine city.” In 76 years, the paper was free just 296 times.
The trolley driver rehashes these interesting bits as he winds his way through the busy downtown. A right turn here, a left there, Demant points and eyes follow.
You could call an Uber to drive you from point A to point B, but what would be special about that? Hop on board the Downtown Looper, relax and enjoy the city for free. The trolley will get you there in classic St. Petersburg style. Now you know.
Very intersting article. I am definitely going to ride these buses next time I visit downtown St.pete.