St. Petersburg (Jan. 7, 2026) – Happy Hour with the Historian – the St. Petersburg Museum of History’s celebrated lecture series – kicks off its13thseason Thursday, January 8, 2026 with stories of the famed Great Depression New Deal murals of Florida. Presented by Southern Roots Realty and held the second Thursday of each month, the regularly sold-out Happy Hour with the Historian series features a star-studded slate of speakers that focus on the unique history of the Sunshine State. The 2026 speaker topics range from when Great Britain ruled Florida 250 years ago, to Tampa’s own organized crime kingpin Santo Trafficante, Jr. Dr. Keri Watson starts the series January 8 with Florida’s New Deal Murals.Post offices and public buildings like St. Petersburg's City Hall and the Coast Guard base at Bayboro Harbor become canvases for mural artists during the Great Depression. Dr. Watson will share how these enduring symbols of New Deal ideology provides lasting evidence of 1930s governmental art patronage.
Ticket link for January 8: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/zv7dmn7
The 2026 Happy Hour with the Historian speaker schedule:
Jan 8 – Dr. Keri Watson Florida’s New Deal Murals
Feb 12 – Jon Wilson St. Pete’s Historic Black Neighborhoods
Mar 12 – Dan Hirschberg Baseball Tales of Pinellas County
April 9 – Dr. Gary Mormino The Triumphs and Failures of 1930s Florida
May 14 – Magdalena Lamarre Afro-Caribbean Migration to Florida
June 11 – Todd Wiseman, Jr. A Land Remembered – The Film
July 9 – Dr. Kimberly Voss Florida Women – Social Change
Aug 13 – Dr. Leslie Poole Tracing Florida’s Journeys
Sept 10 – Rodney Kite Powell The Floridas Under Great Britain
Oct 8 – Tyler Gillespie The Thing About Florida Man: Poems Revisited
Nov 12 – Scott Deitche The Silent Don: Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante, Jr.
Dec 10 – Lyn Millner The Allure of Immortality: Cult of Cyrus Teed Each Happy Hour installment features a beer & wine cash bar and an opportunity to meet the author/speaker. Admission is $7 for St. Petersburg Museum of History members and $15 for not-yet members. Seating is limited. Doors open at 6:00pm and the program begins at 6:30pm. Sharing the stories of the Sunshine City since 1922, the St. Petersburg Museum of History is located at 335 2nd Avenue NE on the St Pete Pier. For more information, please call 727.894.1052 or visit www.historystpete.org. - ### - | 
