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All the United States Florida St. Petersburg Berlin Wall Section in St. Petersburg
AO Edited

Berlin Wall Section in St. Petersburg

History is hiding at the Morean Center for Clay.

St. Petersburg, Florida

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Joshua Ginsberg
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Parts of the Berlin Wall just outside of the Morean Center for Clay in St. Petersburg, Florida.   J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
  J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
  J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
  J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
  J Ginsberg / Atlas Obscura User
Berlin Wall section at Morean Center for Clay.   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
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Since it was torn down on November 9, 1989, segments of the Berlin Wall have made their way all over the globe, from Singapore to New York, Reykjavik, Culver City, Las Vegas, Seattle, and, though few seem to be aware of it, St. Petersburg, Florida. These slabs, which come from the eastern side of the wall, now stand outside the Morean Center for Clay.

Their presence is the legacy of Jay Goulde, founder of St. Petersburg's Outdoor Arts Foundation, which installed public art, including fiberglass manatees and elephants, around the city. In 2007, the foundation purchased what was believed to be the largest private collection of Berlin Wall pieces in the world, with the goal of selling pieces for public display in towns and cities across North America and giving pieces to artists to transform. While many of these ambitions did not come to pass, several pieces of the wall were placed on permanent display at St. Petersburg Clay, which was later absorbed by the Morean Center for Clay.

Today, these three sections remain outside the center alongside several working kilns, in the shadow, appropriately, of a historically significant structure that has also undergone a creative transformation. The Center occupies what was once the Seaboard Train Station. Built in 1926, it has retained most of its original structure and much of the interior as well (including the names of the various depot clients in grease marker on the brick walls). With roughly a dozen artists’ studios, classes seven days a week, 20 kilns, and vast square footage, it has become one of the largest clay centers in the United States.

Related Tags

Communist Architecture Soviet History Berlin Wall Architectural Oddities History Architecture

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Added By

J Ginsberg

Edited By

blimpcaptain, nashfamily68

  • blimpcaptain
  • nashfamily68

Published

February 10, 2021

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Sources
  • https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=jason-alexander-goulde-jay&pid=191459788&fhid=14653
  • https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/03/03/story14.html
  • https://www.outdoorartsfoundation.org/bwmonument.html
  • https://www.outdoorartsfoundation.org/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morean_Arts_Center
  • https://www.moreanartscenter.org/2015/08/beth-morean-donates-historic/
  • https://www.outdoorartsfoundation.org/btwpr2.html
  • https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2007/07/27/first-pieces-of-the-wall-arrive/
  • "Berlin Wall Slabs Find New Home In St. Pete - CHUNKS NOW USED AS MONUMENT TO FREEDOM," CARLOS MONCADA, Tampa Tribune, February 27, 2008.
Berlin Wall Section in St. Petersburg
420 22nd St S
St. Petersburg, Florida, 33712
United States
27.767343, -82.662259
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