A piece of old Pass-a-Grille receives protection

One of the old cottages at the southern tip of Pass-a-Grille did not survive the 2024 hurricanes. The owners of Island’s End Resort are trying to make sure the other three do.

St. Pete Beach’s Historic Preservation Board unanimously granted local historic status Thursday to three surviving cottages at Island’s End, a small resort at 1 Pass-a-Grille Way with roots stretching back to the years immediately after World War II.

The buildings date to about 1946 and 1950 and sit on roughly half an acre at the end of the island, surrounded on two sides by water. They are part of a resort that has operated under some version of the Island’s End name for more than 70 years.

A fourth historic rental building was heavily damaged during Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024 and later demolished. Another building on the property, constructed in 1979, is too young to qualify for the designation.

Melanie Vandegrift, who represented longtime owner Millard Gamble before the board, said the owners now want to repair the surviving cottages and return them to resort use.

“Our goal here today is to save and return to their former glory the other three buildings,” Vandegrift said.

The surviving Island’s End Resort cottages line the waterfront at the southern tip of Pass-a-Grille. One of the resort’s four historic rental buildings was demolished after the 2024 hurricanes. Photo: City of St. Pete Beach.

City staff describes the cottages as frame vernacular buildings, with low profiles, overhanging eaves and exposed rafter tails. The structures reflect the simple beach construction that became common as tourism expanded in Florida after World War II.

The property also has ties to the war itself.

From 1942 through 1945, the southern end of Pass-a-Grille was used by the U.S. military for coastal defense. A 1945 aerial photograph included in the city’s historic research shows a watchtower and support buildings on the land where Island’s End would later develop. Military barracks stood across 1st Avenue.

After the war, the military structures disappeared and private development followed. The oldest surviving Island’s End cottage was built around 1946. Two others followed around 1950.

Grady Tyree Cantrell, a radio evangelist, and his wife, Eleanor Burch Cantrell, gradually acquired the lots that make up the property between 1952 and 1959. Records reviewed for the historic designation show rentals there by 1955.

The business went by several names over the years, including Island’s End Rental Units, Island’s End Apartments and Island’s End Motel before becoming Island’s End Resort. Historic photographs submitted with the application show small cottages surrounded by sand and palms, with the water just beyond them.

The resort also appeared in travel publications. A 1988 Frommer’s guide called Island’s End “the most scenic spot on the Suncoast.” Newsday recommended the property in 1998, and the Palm Beach Post included it among 25 west coast Florida destinations in 2006.

Gamble bought Island’s End in 1986. Vandegrift said he had tried three times to purchase it before succeeding.

The property was being marketed as a teardown at the time, she said. Gamble instead renovated the newer two-story home on the property while keeping the exterior appearance of the older cottages largely intact.

“He refused to destroy history,” Vandegrift said.

Some guests have been returning for decades, according to Vandegrift and letters submitted in support of the designation. They described families returning with children and grandchildren, fishing from the docks and spending vacations in the cottages.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton interrupted the resort’s operation in 2024.

The building containing Units A and F suffered extensive damage, including a partial collapse along its southern side. The owners initially hoped to save it but ultimately demolished the structure.

The three cottages approved for historic designation survived with less exterior damage, according to the city’s evaluation. One, known as Unit B, lost part of an exterior wall facing the water.

The preservation board addressed that damage immediately after approving the designation. Members considered a separate certificate of appropriateness allowing the damaged wall to be rebuilt with modern fiber-cement siding replacing material that can no longer be sourced.

The historic designation applies specifically to Buildings 2, 3 and 4. The two-story residence and office built in 1979 is not included.

City staff supported the designation, finding that the surviving cottages represent both the architectural character of early Pass-a-Grille and the growth of beach tourism after World War II.

The application also arrives as St. Pete Beach continues deciding what can be saved after the 2024 storms. At an August meeting, city staff reported that 55 structures had received local historic designations, while 33 had received certificates allowing demolition.

Vandegrift told the board that Island’s End needs the designation as its owners work to reopen the resort.

“Without this designation, we will not be able to save them,” she said. “Help us protect one.”