ST. PETERSBURG — In a civic hat tip to the Florida Orchestra, the City Council on Thursday voted to amend street signs for a part of downtown First Street. The roadway from Fifth Avenue N to Fifth Avenue S will still retain the "First Street" name in large letters.
Now below the numerical name and in smaller letters, that 10-block stretch will be co-named "Florida Orchestra Way."
The new signs could go up by the fall, in time the start of the orchestra's 50th season. The Mahaffey Theater at 400 First Street S has served as the orchestra's primary venue since 1965, when the auditorium, then the Bayfront Center, was built.
Council member Karl Nurse called the unanimous vote a tribute to one of the city's largest arts anchors.
"Sometimes you just get used to something always being there and you forget to say thank you," Nurse said.