Back in 1908...

It is said that in 1908 a realtor named Noel Mitchell put fifty orange benches around downtown St. Pete with the message "The Sand Man Never Sleeps" or "Call me anytime if you want to buy some real estate here in St. Pete." "Mitchell realized that he might attract more business if he provided a place for the guests to sit. The results were almost instantaneous. Soon enough, there were thousands of assorted benches throughout St. Petersburg." -Wikipedia

1917 Bench Ordinance

Al Lang, elected mayor in 1916, passed an ordinance that required all benches to be both green and of a uniform size but it took until November of 1917 for the bill to pass. That of course makes this year the 100 year anniversary of the World Famous St. Pete Green Bench. The original benches were olive green and eventually were forest green. In 1969 the benches were removed because of the negative image St. Pete had as "God's Waiting Room".

Can't Keep a Good Bench Down

Good design prevails over fashion: the benches are popular again thanks to comfort and ageless style that isn't matched by most "modern" designs. GreenBenches & More hs been crafting faithful replicas of the benches since 1983 and updated to recycled material when durable high-quality HDPE "timber" had proven itself.