Efforts fall short to save one of St. Petersburg's oldest houses

ST. PETERSBURG — Efforts to save one of St. Petersburg's oldest houses have failed. A two-story Victorian-style home built in 1905 has been razed, clearing the way for eight townhomes to be built at 758 Third St. S.

The house was thought to be connected to local African-American leader Elder Jordan, who might have lived there or had a wood-working shop there. The company that bought the house two years ago for $475,000 offered it free to anyone who could move it. A Tampa man, a St. Petersburg tavern owner and a Miami preservationist expressed interest but the costs of relocating and restoring the house, which had been stripped of some of its original features, proved too daunting.