The Masonry Vernacular style commercial building known as the Crislip Arcade, located at 645 Central Avenue, was constructed ca. 1926 (Polk 1926) during St. Petersburg’s boom era. John A. Crislip purchased the property for the arcade building and Edgar Ferdon, St. Petersburg’s first professional architect, designed the building. It is constructed of brick, concrete block, and masonry.
The Crislip Arcade was one of ten shopping arcades in the downtown core of St. Petersburg from the 1920s through the 1950s. Arcades were popular as a precursor to the shopping mall with a covered walkway with skylights through a structure lined with stores and offices.
The exterior of the building remains virtually unaltered from its original appearance with the exception of minor alterations to the east storefront and boarding up of the skylights. Original features include Cuban tile floor, tile wall, detailed door surrounds, wood casement and double-hung sash windows, 15 light wood doors, plate glass windows, string course brick exterior, and a flat roof with decorative parapet.
When the Crislip Arcade was constructed, Central Avenue was lined with a mix of single family residences, boarding houses, hotels and small businesses. It was also the location of the main trolley line connecting to the west end of the City. Today, the Crislip Arcade remains in one of the few sections of downtown still characterized by low-rise commercial properties occupied by small, individually owned businesses.
For a detailed history of the Crislip, its architecture and historical content, and other intriguing facts download St. Petersburg Preservation’s May 2008
Local Landmark Designation Application.