
St. Pete’s dali museum: a visitor’s guide for art-lovers
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On the ground floor, be sure to take in a short film about Dalí, the surrealism movement and the museum's design in its theater. You'll also find Café Gala, a casual spot where
natural light streams in from every direction. Fittingly, it serves light Spanish bites, such as gazpacho and Serrano ham sandwiches. The museum's marketing director, Beth Bell,
recommends ordering an insider favorite: the bee stinger, an off-menu drink made with espresso, a touch of honey and cinnamon. OTHER LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS The James Museum of Western &
Wildlife Art (150 Central Ave.). An easy 12-minute walk north of the Dalí, this relatively new museum offers a treasure trove of art that includes sculpture, paintings and jewelry. It opened
in 2018 in a building that conjures the American West's natural canyons, with a dramatic design featuring angled sandstone on both its exterior and interior. The hundreds of paintings
and sculptures displayed come from the personal collection of the museum's cofounders, Tom and Mary James, philanthropic billionaires and locals with close ties to the Raymond James
financial services firm. "This is not a history museum or all about cowboys,” says John Collins, founder of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, a nonprofit advocate for the city's
creative community. “It's a glimpse into an amazing private collection of the finest in Western arts from living artists — the finest art a billionaire was able to buy for his private
collection.” The Museum of Fine Arts (255 Beach Drive NE). About a seven-minute walk from the James Museum back to the waterfront, this museum displays art from around the world that spans
5,000 years of history, encompassing the antiquities to modern times. You'll see masterpieces by the likes of Monet, O'Keefe and Rodin. “The museum traces the history of art like a
museum of fine arts should do, but with a little bit of an edge,” say Collins, noting that music accompanies many exhibits. St. Pete Pier. For decades, St. Pete's old pier — which
resembled a UFO hovering over Tampa Bay — was a somewhat beloved if wildly outdated eyesore filled with kitsch attractions. A new quarter-mile-long pier, unveiled in 2020, is worlds apart
and has quickly become the city's main point of waterfront pride. Part park, it sprawls across 26 acres and delivers entertainment aplenty, with a tiki bar, pirate-themed playground for
kids, small bayside beach and outdoor amphitheater with sweeping city views. _Bending Arc_, an aerial art installation wrought from 180 miles of twine, commands attention, as well. Chihuly
Collection. A walk down Central Avenue from St. Pete's waterfront to the Grand Central District leads you past cafés, street murals (St. Pete has hundreds), countless art galleries and
two important spots for glass art. The Chihuly Collection features glassworks by the renowned Washington State-born artist Dale Chihuly, plus you can watch regularly scheduled glassblowing
demonstrations. Imagine Museum. This fine arts and studio art glass museum traces the development of this art form from the 1940s to today. Marvel at more than 500 works, some lit so
dramatically that you'll feel like you're walking inside a magical, faceted forest of glass colors and mirrors.