Titled “St. Petersburg,” this 1947 United States Geological Survey topographical map captures Florida’s Pinellas peninsula at a pivotal moment, when wartime austerity was giving way to postwar growth, tourism, and suburban expansion. Produced from data collected in 1947, it presents the city and its surrounding coastal landscape with the disciplined clarity for which the USGS is renowned. St. Petersburg appears not simply as a resort city on Tampa Bay, but as a carefully measured urban organism: streets, railways, shorelines, lakes, and civic spaces arranged within a broader geographical setting. The map’s contouring is subtle, appropriate to Florida’s low relief, yet deeply informative, revealing how a seemingly level coastal city is shaped by drainage, bays, causeways, and the delicate meeting of land and water.

The US Geological Survey brought to this map a cartographic tradition rooted in precision, standardization, and public utility. By the mid-twentieth century, USGS quadrangles had become indispensable tools for engineers, planners, motorists, developers, and government agencies, especially in fast-changing regions such as Florida’s Gulf Coast. Here, the familiar topographical language—contour lines, hydrographic detail, transportation routes, and differentiated urban and open lands—turns St. Petersburg into a richly legible historical document. The map’s restrained color scheme distinguishes water bodies, built-up areas, roads, railways, and green spaces without sacrificing elegance. It is a cartographic portrait of a city on the threshold of transformation, rendered with the authority of national survey science and the quiet beauty of mid-century American mapping.

Water dominates the composition, as it dominates the identity of St. Petersburg itself. Tampa Bay lies to the east, Boca Ciega Bay to the west, with the city poised between broad sheltered waters and intricate shorelines. Lake Maggiore appears inland, one of the important freshwater features interrupting the urban grid and hinting at the region’s natural hydrology before later decades of development intensified. Gulfport, Terre Verde, and nearby coastal settlements underscore the area’s maritime orientation, while the bays, inlets, and shore features reveal why boating, fishing, and waterfront recreation became central to the local economy and culture. The map records a landscape of peninsulas and margins, where every road and neighborhood seems to negotiate proximity to water.

Beyond St. Petersburg proper, the map situates the city within the wider world of Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay region. Pinellas Park, Clearwater, Safety Harbor, and even more distant references such as Lutz and the Florida State Fairgrounds help evoke the expanding network of communities, roads, and civic destinations that connected the peninsula to inland Florida. The road pattern and railway lines are especially evocative, reflecting the infrastructure that supported postwar mobility and growth. Precinct labels and local divisions reveal the administrative geography beneath everyday life, while parks and green spaces provide contrast to the intensifying urban fabric. This is a map of connection: between city and suburb, bayfront and interior, resort landscape and practical civic order.

Historically, the 1947 date gives the map particular resonance. St. Petersburg had already established itself as a celebrated sunshine destination, but the years after World War II brought accelerated residential building, automobile tourism, and demographic change. Veterans, retirees, seasonal visitors, and new businesses helped reshape the city and its surrounding communities, and this map preserves the geography at the beginning of that era. Its careful depiction of shorelines, rail corridors, street grids, lakes, and undeveloped tracts allows the modern viewer to trace the foundations of later metropolitan growth. Elegant in its restraint and rich in local detail, “St. Petersburg” is both a scientific survey and a historical snapshot of Florida’s Gulf Coast just before its great mid-century expansion.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• St. Petersburg
• Gulfport
• Pinellas Park
• Lutz
• Safety Harbor
• Clearwater
• Terre Verde
• Lake Maggiore
• Boca Ciega Bay
• Tampa Bay
• Florida State Fairgrounds
• Multiple precincts, including Precinct 1, 17, and 21
• Various lakes and water bodies
• Road networks and railways
• Parks and green spaces
• Coastline and shoreline features

Historical context & cartographic details

• Historical topographical map of St. Petersburg, Florida and its surrounding areas, based on data collected in 1947.
• Created in 1947.
• Produced by the US Geological Survey (USGS), known for rigorous surveying and cartographic expertise.
• Shows St. Petersburg and portions of the surrounding Pinellas County area.
• Presented in a standard topographical format, with contour lines indicating elevation changes.
• Uses color to distinguish different land uses and water bodies.
• Depicts terrain features including lakes, water bodies, and urbanized areas.
• Provides insight into post-World War II development, when St. Petersburg began significant residential growth and tourism expansion.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.