In the early 1900’s, St. Petersburg was known as
“the City of Green Benches.”
In the early 1900's St. Petersburg was known nationwide as the "City of Green Benches." At their height, some 3,500 benches lined the downtown sidewalks, inviting passers-by to slow their pace and make friends of strangers. For decades these benches were a gathering place for residents and tourists alike and were a popular image used to market our city far and wide.
Established during segregation, these benches were sadly off limits to the African Americans in our city, as were the majority of city assets in our downtown core. It is our intent to ring in a new era of the Green Bench, where the original spirit and purpose of the benches is truly available to all. And while we cannot change the past, we believe it is imperative to acknowledge our shortcomings as a society and a community. To not shield ourselves from it; to discuss it and feel it, and together move toward a more unifying future.
As we searched for a name that would be original to the brewing world and representative of St. Petersburg, we needed to look no further than the image of the green bench.
