The Grand Central District (GCD) is more than the birthplace St Pete Pride, though cultivating Florida’s largest LGBTQ Pride celebration is an honor that most business owners and residents hold dear. It’s also where the locals go, and for good reason.
The district – which includes St. Petersburg’s 31st St. S. to 16th St. S. and the thriving Central Ave., 1st Ave. N. and 1st Ave. S. – is home to more than 475 bars, merchants and restaurants, many of which are 2021 WAVE winners. The eclectic array of goods and services are offered to all who live, work and play in the LGBTQ-inclusive city.
Working to ensure the area flourishes is the Grand Central District Association (GCDA), a nonprofit now entering its 21st year. It focuses on the GCD’s vitality to make it a vibrant community for every patron, business and property owner alike.
“We’re like a mini Chamber of Commerce,” GCDA Executive Director David Foote explains. “We represent and work with everyone that inhabits our borders, which are huge. We’re a membership organization; a support system for those who join.”
Membership is available for $50-500 per year, Foote notes. In addition to promoting those it serves, it allows the association to maintain the area, which due to its location doesn’t qualify for tax revenue funding for improvements.
“Our banners, our planters, our lights, our landscaping, it’s all made possible because of donations and memberships,” he says. “I think that’s something people don’t realize. If we didn’t exist, there would be no love from the city for the most part … everybody would be on their own.”
Among the district’s ongoing improvements are 120 banners hanging from the light poles on Central Ave., also home of the city’s Progressive Pride street mural. Designed by Foote, they feature the district’s logo and alternate in the traditional colors of the Pride flag.
“The banners were a no-brainer for me,” Foote says. “St Pete Pride puts their banners up every year, but I said ‘we can do this year round.’ We’re gay 365 – every day, it’s normal here. We’re not limited to a month.”
Foote calls receiving favorite local shopping/entertainment district two years in a row a validating experience. “We really appreciate everyone’s support,” he stresses. “We will continue to do our best to welcome one and all.”
