Raymond wedged himself into this IndyCar on the Grand Prix track during our live road show to St. Petersburg.
There's a St. Petersburg in Florida and a St. Petersburg in Russia. Which one came first, and what's the connection?
We took The Morning Show LIVE to St. Petersburg and the Honda Grand Prix on Wednesday, March 23rd!
Thank you to the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the City of St. Pete, the Tampa Bay Rays, The Moon Under Water, Bella Brava, Morean Arts Center, MarineQuest and FWRI, Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church drumline, BionX electric bike showroom, the Suncoasters Festival of States, and professional soccer team FC Tampa Bay.
Photo Gallery: The Morning Show LIVE in St. Pete!
Visit the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg website for information about all the activities and three days of racing March 25th-27th.
Check out this link for tickets and giveaways from the upcoming Tampa Bay Rays season, including Family Fun Days on Sundays brought to you by 10 News.
Why do they call it St. Petersburg?
An immigrant named Peter Demens extended a railroad line out of Central Florida in the late 1800's. He brought it to an end right around what's now downtown St. Petersburg.
Demens Landing Park now stands near the place in the city where Demens' original Orange Belt Railroad line ended. But the railroad almost didn't have enough steam to get to that final spot.
Demens often had trouble coming up with cash. At one point, people who had loaned him money chained trains to the railroad tracks so construction couldn't continue until they were paid. Another time, unpaid workers threatened to lynch Demens.
St. Pete is a big, busy, and beautiful city today, but in the 1800's, when the trains finally rolled in, nearly nobody lived here. Demens built roads and a hotel, and picked a name for the place inspired by the city in Russia where he grew up.
"And so he named his new town for his hometown -- St. Petersburg," explained Rodney Kite-Powell, curator of history at the Tampa Bay History Center.
He says Mayor Al Lang drew baseball teams to the city to train. Hotels sprung up here, and retirees wound down here.
The name St. Petersburg, Florida was gaining fame. But the name St. Petersburg, Russia -- vanished. For nearly 80 years, Russia used different names for the city -- Petrograd and Leningrad. It wasn't until 1991 that the original St. Pete got its original name back.
And, here's a bonus "Why do they call it that?":
The town of Odessa on the Pasco-Hillsborough County line was also founded by Peter Demens, and is also named after a city in the old Russian Empire.
Why do they call it that? Now you know.
We'll be featuring new "Why do they call it that?" stories each Wednesday on 10 News at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Check out previous editions of "Why do they call it that?" plus links to photos and maps from Tampa Bay's past at our "Why do they call it that?" website: wtsp.com/callitthat.
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Grayson Kamm, 10 News