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Cade Allen home poised for addition to local historic register
A Central Oak Park home constructed by one of the city’s best known builders could be added to the St. Petersburg Register of Historic Places.
The Community Planning and Preservation Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend the City Council add the home at 4705 5th Ave. N. to the register.
Benefits of being added to the register include increased heritage tourism through the maintenance of the historic character and significance of the city, some relief from the requirements of the Florida Building Code and Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations, and tax incentives, such as the local ad valorem (property) tax exemption and federal tax credit for qualified rehabilitation projects.
The owners, who are identified as John Evans and Michael Labbe, intend to take advantage of the ad valorem tax exemption for an upcoming rehabilitation project, according to a report submitted to the commission.
The home was built in 1941 by Cade Allen and is one of the few homes Allen built outside of the Allendale Terrace neighborhood, city planners told the commission. It’s also an early example of a ranch-style home, which is atypical of Allen homes, although the home includes a lot of high-quality materials Allen used, such as hollow block tile construction, tile roof and stone veneer, planners said.
The home was built for Dr. William Homer Axford and his wife Ethel Axford. Axford, a medical doctor, was a pioneer in X-ray technology who moved to St. Petersburg as his health was failing. He lived in the house for six months before his death. Ethel Axford remained in the home until her death in 1960.
The home has had other owners and has remained in “remarkably good condition,” the report to the commission said, adding that was due to the current owners, who bought the home in 2002 and meticulously maintained the property.
The report said the home meets three criteria for addition to the local register of historic places:
• It is identified as the work of a master builder, designer or architect whose individual work has influenced the development of the city, state, or nation.
• Its value as a building is recognized for the quality of its architecture, and it retains sufficient elements showing its architectural significance.
• It has distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a period, method of construction, or use of indigenous materials.
See images of the home in the gallery below. The photos were taken by city staff and included in a report to the Community Planning and Preservation Commission.
Before voting to recommend adding the home to the register, commission members thanked city staff for detailing the history of Allen’s work in St. Petersburg and providing an overview of development in the city. History buffs can read the report here.
