Historic Uptown

Widely cited as the oldest surviving single-family home in St. Petersburg and the last remaining I-House in the city. Two stories tall, one room deep, central hall running front-to-back — the form of the classic American farmhouse, traceable through Appalachia back to rural England. No ornament, no barrel tile, no stucco; just a working house from before St. Pete had any idea what it wanted to be. Locally designated as a historic landmark and listed inside the Round Lake National Register district. Last publicly marketed in 2021 at $615K (1,202 sq ft, 3 bed / 2 bath).

Built by William L. Rawls for himself in 1898, four years before St. Petersburg was even officially incorporated as a city.

Lakefront mansion built of Georgia granite with a glazed tile roof, hollow-tile and stone-veneer walls, a silica-rock fireplace, and bronze hardware throughout. 15 rooms, 8 bedrooms. Construction cost: $18,000 — a remarkable number for a Depression-era St. Pete build.

Built by Allendale Terrace developer Cade B. Allen for Mrs. Ena Simpson Jackson, who relocated from Piedmont, SC in 1927. Her husband William, owner of Home Service Ice Co., died suddenly in 1934. Two years later Ena commissioned this house and operated it as an income property with rented rooms. She lived there until her death in October 1958; her will directed the proceeds to benefit Hobson Memorial Baptist Church.

Mission Revival, originally the third home of St. Petersburg High School. Operated as the city's only high school from 1919 until the 'million-dollar' 5th Ave N campus opened in December 1926. Then served as Mirror Lake Junior High, then an adult education center, until conversion to 70 condominiums in 1991. The words 'St. Petersburg High School' are still engraved on the building. Seven grand arched windows on the main facade, each capped with a coat-of-arms-like medallion, and richly finished columns flanking the entrance.

Generations of St. Pete's most prominent families — the children who walked through Mirror Lake's halls between 1919 and 1925 would be over 100 today.

Originally built as a junior high school in Mediterranean Revival style with two large owl statues atop the main entrance columns. In 1935 it was renamed for Edwin H. Tomlinson, St. Petersburg's greatest early benefactor — the same Tomlinson who built the Roser Park house at 702 8th Ave S. Tomlinson's beneficence in St. Pete also included the Manual Training School, a 2,500-seat gymnasium and auditorium (no longer standing), St. Peter's Episcopal Cathedral, and a contribution toward the city's first hospital. Today the building serves 680+ adult education students.

One of the National Register reference examples of Art Moderne residential architecture in St. Petersburg. The streamlined horizontal lines, flat roof, glass-block features, and corner windows are the textbook entries cited in the district's nomination paperwork. The other apartment house photographed in the same 1993 Florida Memory survey sits a few doors down — together they document the small-apartment-and-courtyard pattern that defined Round Lake during the tourist economy years.

Mirror Lake became St. Petersburg's 11th locally-designated historic district on December 12, 2024 (Ordinance 135-HL), with 89% of district property owners voting in support. The local district covers properties within 200 feet of Mirror Lake and is the city's first new local historic district since 2021. Round Lake / Historic Uptown north and west of the lake is National Register only (listed September 29, 2003 — NRHP #03000824) and is not locally designated.

Properties inside the Mirror Lake local historic district qualify for St. Petersburg's 10-year ad valorem tax exemption on the increase in taxes attributable to approved historic renovations, capped at $100,000 per single-family residence. On a $200K renovation, this can save $3,000-$5,000 per year for a decade. Properties in the Round Lake National Register district that are not inside the Mirror Lake local district do NOT qualify for this exemption — local designation is required. The renovation must be reviewed and approved by the city's preservation staff before work begins.

Income-producing historic properties anywhere in the Round Lake / Historic Uptown National Register district qualify for the federal 20% Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit on certified rehabilitation expenditures. This applies to long-term rentals, properly registered short-term rental businesses, and mixed-use buildings — including the small apartment courts and garage apartments common in this neighborhood. Owner-occupied primary residences do not qualify. The credit is taken against federal income tax liability and can be carried forward.