From swamp to main street
In 1936, a land company bought the lots along what is now Corey Avenue, filled in the mangroves and paved a street. The avenue opened on February 13, 1937, with a motorcade and a dedication attended by the mayors of St. Petersburg and Pass-a-Grille. Among the guests was the widow of Jack Corey, the county commissioner who had pushed for the causeway linking the beaches to the mainland. That bridge was renamed in his memory after his death in 1929, and it still carries his name today.
The first building, at the corner of Corey Avenue and Blind Pass Road, was finished that May. Clothing and shoe shops, a hardware store, a drug store, a fruit market, restaurants and bars soon followed, giving beach residents a downtown of their own.
A theater with a long second act
In 1940 the Beach Theatre opened at 315 Corey Avenue, one of the first movie houses in Pinellas County with both sound and air conditioning. Over the decades it ran first-run films, then discount second-run ones, and it changed hands more than once before going dark in 2012. After years of sitting empty, it was rebuilt from the floor up and reopened in July 2025, with its marquee glowing over the street again.
Downtown for a new city
In 1957, Pass-a-Grille and several neighboring beach towns voted to merge into a single city, St. Petersburg Beach, and Corey Avenue became its downtown. Residents shortened the city's name to St. Pete Beach in 1994.
In 2013 and 2014, the city held community workshops on the district's future, and residents asked for shady sidewalks, better lighting, gateways that welcome visitors and a street that's easier to walk. You can read about those ideas in our blog archive.
Sundays on Corey
In the early 2000s, the local business association turned its weekday markets and street events into a Sunday market. Today, every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the 300 block fills with local produce, handmade goods, food and live music.
The comeback
In the fall of 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit less than two weeks apart and flooded much of the street. Owners, neighbors and regulars rebuilt it together, and in May 2025 Corey threw a block party to celebrate its grand reopening. Today the street is buzzing again: shops, restaurants and bars are open, new businesses keep moving in, the Beach Theatre's marquee is lit, and every Sunday the market fills the 300 block.
Come see it for yourself: browse the map, find somewhere to eat and drink, shop, catch a show in Arts & Shows, or find what you need in Services.