Bahama Beach derives its tropical island-evoking name from the 1947 Bahama Beach Hotel and Yacht Club built by Robert Lyons on the site of the original Alta Marina development, with architect William Harvard Sr. later designing Williams Park bandstand, Central Library, and Inverted Pyramid Pier after creating this waterfront resort. This Pinellas County Tampa Bay beach evolved from Native American settlement through destroyed Indian mounds to 1926 Burnette F. Stevenson's Alta Marina development with first Mediterranean-style home by celebrated architect Edgar Ferdon, serving Saint Petersburg's waterfront heritage in the Bahama Shores neighborhood bounded by 4th Street west and Tampa Bay east and south just below Little Bayou, with significant post-World War II redevelopment transforming the beachfront resort into today's waterfront community.
The beach offers swimming and sunbathing along clear blue waters and soft white sand, kayaking and paddleboarding exploring Tampa Bay shoreline, and fishing for various species along the waterfront. Beach chair, umbrella and equipment rentals provide convenience, while the neighborhood-owned private waterfront park serves all residents with Bahama Shores Neighborhood Association hosting regular community events in the park owned and maintained by members. The waterfront location attracts visitors for recreational activities and scenic bay views, with amenities bringing locals to check out the scenery along this ocean, bay and inlet setting where post-war redevelopment created the distinctive tropical resort character still defining the neighborhood today.
Saint Petersburg dining includes MadFish for cool 1950s diner exterior with inventive surf n' turf menu, RumFish Grill for ultimate marine dining with sustainable seafood in under-the-sea atmosphere featuring 33,500-gallon aquarium, and Hurricane Seafood Restaurant in Pass-a-Grille for legendary rooftop sunset bar dining, while nearby St. Pete Beach offers Buoy's Waterfront Grill & Bar for fresh-shucked oysters and seafood specialties dockside, serving Pinellas County's Tampa Bay waterfront community along this tropical Bahama-named beach where 1947 hotel and yacht club established the resort character defining the neighborhood heritage.
