St. Petersburg Pier
 Logo of the now defunct St. Petersburg Pier
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| Official name | The Pier |
|---|---|
| Type | Pleasure pier |
| Spans | Tampa Bay |
| Locale | St. Petersburg, Florida, United States |
| Construction | 1970–1971 |
| Owner | City of St. Petersburg |
| Opening date | January 20, 1973 |
| Destruction date | August 18, 2015 |
| Coordinates | 27°46′24″N 82°37′19″W / 27.77333°N 82.62194°W |
The St. Petersburg Pier, known locally as The Pier, was a landmark and tourist destination extending into Tampa Bay from downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. The Pier featured a five-story inverted pyramid-shaped building. Constructed in 1973, it was designed by St. Petersburg architect William B. Harvard, Sr.. May 31, 2013 was the last official day for the public to visit the pier.
Before its closure, activities and sights offered at the pier included shopping, dining, nightlife, fishing, boat rentals, weekly festivals, and the Pier Aquarium. The aquarium was located on the second floor. A branch of Ybor City's Columbia Restaurant was on the fourth floor and Cha Cha Coconuts Tropical Bar and Grill on the fifth floor. The first floor included a Concierge Center, specialty shops and galleries, Waterside Grill & Bar, and the Dockside Eatery food court with burgers, pizza, ice cream and Chinese. Local bands were featured in Courtyard by the Bay every Sunday afternoon.
In a straw-poll vote (5-3) after a two-hour workshop on August 18, 2010, the St. Petersburg City Council accepted Mayor Bill Foster's recommendation to demolish the current Pier. A binding vote, 7–1, was taken at an August 26 meeting. On January 20, 2012, the St. Petersburg Pier International Design Competition Jury unanimously selected Michael Maltzan Architecture's "The Lens" as the design for the new pier, providing computer-generated illustrations of the proposed project on flickr. In September 2012, the city applied to the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to demolish the pier. Approval would have taken 6 to 12 months. On August 27, 2013 St. Petersburg residents voted to cancel the city's contract with Michael Maltzan Architecture for the Lens pier design.
Subsequently, after in January 2014, Mayor Rick Kriseman established the Pier Working Group to work on the new pier. Sixteen groups submitted designs by September 8, 2014; from the eight qualifying groups that were invited to second stage, they submitted design concepts on December 15, 2014, and the city council shortlisted it to seven teams on January 23, 2015. During the three-month period afterwards, public surveys were conveyed on which pier was favored. On March 20, 2015, three pier designs were selected for ranking out of the seven, however weren't approved due to a failed motion. Following on April 23, 2015, two meetings were held in which "Pier Park" by ASD Architects, Rogers Partners Architects+Urban Designers, & Ken Smith Architect was selected as the new pier. The city council approved the plans on May 7, 2015 to a 7-1 vote, and the contract approved on June 9, 2015.
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