St. Petersburg residents watch as the cranes hover over The St. Pete Pier construction site, and they wait to enjoy the new iteration of a city landmark, but people of a certain age will always remember the “inverted pyramid” and the time they spent there.

Nostalgia is great, but progress and evolution of tastes and trends are inevitable.

Duke Energy will install solar technology at the new pier, costing about $2 million, which Duke will pay for and manage. This technology will provide solar energy for The Pier and reduce greenhouse emissions, according to the agreement between Duke and the city.

The new Pier will have a Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, and Chuck Prather, owner of the Birchwood Inn in downtown St. Petersburg, has three restaurants to add to the lineup.

The city also wants to use the destination to highlight St. Petersburg’s eclectic art community, but one of the art projects has already hit a hurdle. One of Janet Echelman’s proposed lighted aerial sculptures was voted down at a city council meeting in July, but that could still change.  Echelman is a sculptor and fiber artist from Tampa

This project is truly a mixed bag of something that takes us back in time, while also possibly paving way for the future. ↵