North Straub Park is where downtown St. Petersburg sees a lot of activity.  Not only it is home to Christmas lights and activities for the family it is also home to St. Petersburg's annual 4th of July celebration as well as a host of other activities and events held throughout the year.

The park is located between 5 Av NE and 2 Av NE, sandwiched between Beach Dr NE and Bayshore Dr NE.  The Museum of Fine Arts is located on the east side of Beach Dr NE north of 2 Av NE.  You can reach the park from Interstate 275 by using Interstate 375 east (Exit 23) and following it all the way to the end which will put you onto 4 Av N.  Continue east on 4 Av N for five traffic signals to Beach Dr NE; the park is straight ahead and you cannot miss it.  Parking is on side streets in the vicinity, but be aware of the time limits posted (and make sure you bring plenty of change for the meters or use your cell phone to pay for parking - St. Petersburg's parking enforcement finest do write parking tickets, even on weekends especially when there is a special event).

The gigantic Christmas Light Display at 2719 Oakdale St S

 

Since 1977 this display is the granddaddy of all Christmas lights displays in St. Petersburg, and every year it could not have gotten any better!  This spectacular display has received not only local media coverage, but national (and international) media coverage as well.  There is a website in operation that tells you more about this display plus photos as well; it can be accessed by clicking on this link.

 

It starts when you approach the light display from the front yard.  To truly experience this display walk down the alley which is Bethel Ct S to the entrance.  Once inside you can see a computerized light show as well as gigantic displays of Frosty the Snowman and other Christmas related displays.  For you railfans out there, there is a model train display featuring a little town which you will like.  This display is so popular, plan on spending about 45 minutes at least.

 

Here is a brochure produced by the proprietors of the display for your viewing pleasure.

Christmas display brochure will open as a PDF file in a new window.

 

To get there, simply take Interstate 275 to Interstate 175, which is Exit 22.  Follow Interstate 175 all the way to the end which will be a traffic signal and 4 St S.  Go south on 4 St S for about a mile and a half until you pass 22 Av S; you will want to be in your left lane as soon as you turn onto 4 St S.  Right after 22 Av S will be Oakdale St S; turn left and follow Oakdale St S to the end at Bethel Av S.  Parking is on the street at Oakdale St S as well as surrounding streets; as this display is in a residential neighborhood please be considerate of the residents in the area and use the public sidewalks on Oakdale St S.

 

The hours of the display are until 10 PM nightly.  Believe me, when 10 PM rolls around the lights are indeed turned off; this is out of consideration for the surrounding neighborhood.

 

Downtown Plant City:  McCall Park

 

If you thought St. Petersburg was just enough, think again.  In 2010 I went by a Christmas lights display over in Plant City only to see a beautiful display of lights in downtown Plant City at McCall Park, the linear park that abuts the CSX Railroad's A Line (and the home of two Amtrak Silver Star trains that traverse this route, Train 91 southbound to Miami and Train 92 northbound to Jacksonville, Savannah, Richmond, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and terminating in New York City).  This display gets very close to St. Petersburg's displays, so I thought I feature downtown Plant City this year.

 

As I mentioned earlier, Plant City is the home of the Florida Strawberry Festival that is held around February.  Plant City is located east of Tampa just south of Interstate 4 and before you get to Lakeland.  Besides, Plant City - being the junction of the CSX Railroad's A Line and S Line - is a railfan's paradise (think of it as the Folkston, GA of the Tampa/St. Petersburg metropolitan area) as so many trains including Amtrak pass through Plant City on any given day.  Stroll through McCall Park in Plant City on any given day and more than likely you will see a train pass through, along with the symphony of railroad crossing signals that sound as each train makes their presence.  In December when the Christmas lights are up the view is much better.

 

Plant City has plenty to offer regardless of the season and it makes for a great day trip from St. Petersburg.  If you want to check it out for yourself, simply take Interstate 275 to the junction of Interstate 4 (Exit 45B) in Tampa and follow Interstate 4 east for 21 miles to Exit 21, which is FL 39 - also known as Collins Street (signage will show FL 39 as Buchman Highway) - to Plant City.  South on FL 39 will take you directly into downtown Plant City; for McCall Park simply follow FL 39 south into downtown Plant City past US 92 for one block and then turn left at Drane Street - you cannot miss it as it is before the railroad tracks and it is a one way street going east.  Parking is available on Drane Street or in the adjacent city parking lot next to the visitor center at the end of Drane Street at Palmer Street.

 

Or, if you want a railfan's scenic view of the CSX A Line from Tampa to Plant City, take Interstate 275 to the junction of Interstate 4 (Exit 45B) in Tampa but instead of following Interstate 4, exit at the first exit of Interstate 4 which will be Exit 1, FL 585 21st/22nd Street.  Turn right onto 21st Street and go south for a few blocks to East 7th Avenue in Tampa's Ybor City Historic District.  Turn left onto and head east on East 7th Avenue coming out of Ybor City; you will see bits and pieces of the CSX A Line to your right as you head east.

 

ADVISORY:  East 7th Avenue from 21st/22nd Streets in Ybor City to 50th Street (US 41) can be a little risky to drive through at night, even though the street is lighted as well as constant Tampa Police Department presence.  I would strongly recommend using East 7th Avenue during daylight hours only.  Additionally, Ybor City is notorious for being crowded on Saturday nights which you can encounter gridlock on East 7th Avenue.

 

However, you don't have to miss out on the railfan scenic view of the CSX A Line!  Just follow Interstate 4 to the Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. exit (FL 574, Exit 5) and head east on FL 574.  You'll cross US 301, the Tampa Bypass Canal and Interstate 75 and you'll see the railroad line to your right after you pass Seffner.

 

East 7th Avenue changes into Broadway Avenue as you cross 50th Street (US 41).  Keep going east; you will pass the Tampa Bypass Canal after Orient Road.  Once you cross the canal you will get a great view of the railroad line from the canal and US 301 all the way to just east of Interstate 75.  Broadway at that point turns into a northbound direction so that it can meet with Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd (FL 574); once at FL 574 make a right turn and remain in the left lane as it is a through lane and you will go through the community of Seffner.

 

After Seffner FL 574 follows the railroad line all the way to Plant City (the railroad line will be to your right).  Once in Plant City FL 574 makes a few turns as you go by the Strawberry Festival grounds on your way to downtown Plant City.  After you pass Alexander Street and South Florida Baptist Hospital (which will be on your left before Alexander Street), FL 574 merges into US 92 east.  Lastly, follow US 92 into downtown Plant City and you can turn right at Collins Street and go one block to McCall Park on Drane Street or you can turn right at Palmer Street and the city parking lot adjacent to the visitor center will be to your left.

 

By the way, for you railfans out there I threw in a few rail photos in the Plant City photo mix as you will see below.  This is for my railfans out there that I either subscribe to and/or subscribe to me out there on my YouTube channel!

 

 

Miscellaneous Christmas Lights Photos

 

Here's a potpourri of Christmas lights photos that I drove by.  Simply hover your mouse over the photo to view a description or click on the image to view a higher resolution version of the image.