12 Places to Experience Arts and Culture in St. Pete/Clearwater

From world-class museums to artwork that seems like it could come from another planet.

Sponsored by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater

12 Places

Florida’s Gulf Coast is home to a vibrant arts scene filled with all sorts of unexpected delights. The St. Pete/Clearwater area is a kaleidoscope of arts and culture across every form you can imagine. The subtropical landscape offers natural beauty (which you can find on full display at St. Pete’s Sunken Gardens) and hundreds of murals brighten the walls wherever you look. From famous artists like Salvador Dalí and Dale Chihuly to churches and post offices that turn the everyday into something special, this destination holds countless opportunities to appreciate all the ways that art surrounds us.

St. Petersburg, Florida

Salvador Dalí Museum

Melting clocks, spindle-legged horses, and waxed mustaches abound at this museum, home to the second-largest collection of Dalí’s work. Even the building itself is a surreal sight, with a massive glass bubble wrapping around it.

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St. Petersburg, Florida

James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art

If you ever tire of palm trees and sandy beaches, this museum offers a way to step into the Wild West. After entering through an replicated sandstone canyon, visitors can explore galleries filled with paintings, sculptures, and a diverse collection of Native American artwork.

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St. Petersburg, Florida

Chihuly Collection

The first custom-designed building to showcase the works of Dale Chihuly is a wonderland of glass and light.

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St. Petersburg, Florida

St. Petersburg Post Office

Built in 1917, this Mediterranean Revival-style building was the first open-air post office in the United States.

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St. Petersburg, Florida

Berlin Wall Section in St. Petersburg

In 2007, the St. Petersburg's Outdoor Arts Foundation purchased what was believed to be the largest private collection of Berlin Wall pieces in the world. Today, several of those slabs can be found outside the Morean Center for Clay.

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Madeira Beach, Florida

The Church by the Sea

Visitors flock to see this church tower's unintended feature: It happens to resemble a giant chicken from multiple points of view.

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Tarpon Springs, Florida

The Weeping Icon of Saint Nicholas

No one knows exactly how or why this painting at Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral appeared to produce crystallized tears for a several-year period in the 1970s.

J Ginsberg

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Tarpon Springs, Florida

Spongeorama Sponge Factory

This small museum gives visitors a chance to soak up the history of the "sponge capital of the world."

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Safety Harbor, Florida

Whimzeyland

Over the last 20 years, Florida artists Todd Ramquist and Kiaralinda have turned their home into a psychedelic dreamscape, decked out with bowling ball sculptures and glass bottle gardens.

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St. Petersburg, Florida

Floridian Social Club

From printing money to live music, this Beaux-Arts style building has had many identities over the last century.

Michelle Cassidy

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St. Petersburg, Florida

Imagine Museum

You’ll feel like you’ve gone through the looking glass at this contemporary art museum filled with glass sculptures of every size, shape, and color.

Michelle Cassidy

Added by Michelle Cassidy

St. Petersburg, Florida

Fairgrounds St. Pete

This former factory has been transformed into a technicolor wonderland, where dozens of local artists have collaborated to create a real choose-your-own-adventure experience.

Michelle Cassidy

Added by Michelle Cassidy

This post is sponsored by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. Click here to explore more of the area's unique arts and culture.

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