You can drive right past the entrance and assume it’s just another storefront on a busy Florida street. Behind that wall, the ground drops away and the air turns cool and green, with ferns taller than most people and flamingos wading a few feet from the path.
A plumber with a stubborn idea created all of it more than a hundred years ago by pulling the plug on a shallow lake. What’s left is one of the strangest and loveliest patches of ground in the state.
A Green Basin Below Street Level
Fourth Street North in St. Petersburg carries steady traffic past gas stations, storefronts and stoplights. At 1825 4th St N, a low wall and a modest entrance building give almost nothing away.
Walk through, and the ground begins to slope. The paths lead down into a basin that sits roughly ten to fifteen feet below the surrounding streets, which is exactly why the temperature drops a few degrees the moment you descend…