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Happy Hour with the Historian Returns for Season 13!

St. Petersburg Museum of History’s Popular Lecture Series Kicks Off January 8th at 6pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Happy Hour with the Historian Returns for Season 13!

St. Petersburg Museum of History’s Popular Lecture Series Kicks Off January 8th at 6pm

St. Petersburg (Jan. 7, 2026) – Happy Hour with the Historian – the St. Petersburg Museum of History’s celebrated lecture series – kicks off its13thseason Thursday, January 8, 2026 with stories of the famed Great Depression New Deal murals of Florida. 

 

Presented by Southern Roots Realty and held the second Thursday of each month, the regularly sold-out Happy Hour with the Historian series features a star-studded slate of speakers that focus on the unique history of the Sunshine State. 

 

The 2026 speaker topics range from when Great Britain ruled Florida 250 years ago, to Tampa’s own organized crime kingpin Santo Trafficante, Jr. 

Dr. Keri Watson starts the series January 8 with Florida’s New Deal Murals.Post offices and public buildings like St. Petersburg's City Hall and the Coast Guard base at Bayboro Harbor become canvases for mural artists during the Great Depression. Dr. Watson will share how these enduring symbols of New Deal ideology provides lasting evidence of 1930s governmental art patronage.


Ticket link for January 8: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/zv7dmn7


The 2026 Happy Hour with the Historian speaker schedule:


Jan 8 – Dr. Keri Watson 

Florida’s New Deal Murals


Feb 12 – Jon Wilson

St. Pete’s Historic Black Neighborhoods


Mar 12 – Dan Hirschberg

Baseball Tales of Pinellas County


April 9 – Dr. Gary Mormino

The Triumphs and Failures of 1930s Florida


May 14 – Magdalena Lamarre

Afro-Caribbean Migration to Florida


June 11 – Todd Wiseman, Jr. 

A Land Remembered – The Film


July 9 – Dr. Kimberly Voss

Florida Women – Social Change


Aug 13 – Dr. Leslie Poole

Tracing Florida’s Journeys


Sept 10 – Rodney Kite Powell

The Floridas Under Great Britain


Oct 8 – Tyler Gillespie

The Thing About Florida Man: Poems Revisited


Nov 12 – Scott Deitche

The Silent Don: Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante, Jr.


Dec 10 – Lyn Millner

The Allure of Immortality: Cult of Cyrus Teed

 

Each Happy Hour installment features a beer & wine cash bar and an opportunity to meet the author/speaker. 

 

Admission is $7 for St. Petersburg Museum of History members and $15 for not-yet members. Seating is limited. Doors open at 6:00pm and the program begins at 6:30pm. 

 

Sharing the stories of the Sunshine City since 1922, the St. Petersburg Museum of History is located at 335 2nd Avenue NE on the St Pete Pier. For more information, please call 727.894.1052 or visit www.historystpete.org.

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MUSEUM CONTACT:

Rui Farias, Executive Director (rui@spmoh.org)

727-894-1052, ex 207

Additional Info

Media Contact : Rui Farias, Executive Director 727-894-1052, ex 207

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The St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce shall be the preeminent leader of business in order to ensure the economic growth and vitality for all in our community.

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