"People need to understand that this is not a restaurant," Mayor Ken Welch told the St Pete Catalyst at the Historic Manhattan Casino's re-dedication on Sept. 19. "This is a totally different model. It's a community event space that can serve so many constituencies."
That quote explains how to get through the doors at 642 22nd St. S. In the 1940s and '50s, people came for whoever was on stage that weekend. Today you get in by booking the building for your own occasion, by scheduling a tour, or by coming to a community event held there. The music history is still easy to find. Most of it is on the building's exterior and at the places around it that keep regular hours.
A Dance Hall That Now Runs on Bookings
Businessman Elder Jordan built the venue, and it opened as the Jordan Dance Hall, with live dance music on weekends and gospel on Sundays. The Catalyst reports that it was also where the community held proms, graduations, pageants, parties and conferences. Louis Armstrong and his band played the upstairs room on three separate occasions. Count Basie's orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Etta James, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding played there too. It closed in 1968, and several later efforts to revive it didn't work out.
The city closed the building for renovation in 2022. The City of St. Petersburg's announcement says the reopened Casino is a modern, fully rentable event venue. Its two floors can host separate events at the same time.
| The Casino's heyday | The Casino in 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who ran it | Built by Elder Jordan as the Jordan Dance Hall | The City of St. Petersburg |
| What filled the calendar | Weekend dances, Sunday gospel, touring jazz and R&B acts, a house band | Private and community events booked by the room |
| How you got in | Showed up for the night's music | Book a room, schedule a tour or attend a community event |
| What it hosted besides shows | Proms, graduations, pageants, parties, conferences | The same kinds of milestones, now in renovated rooms |
The city is betting on the same kinds of occasions the hall hosted in its prime. Speaking at the reopening, Welch told Bay News 9 that "the best way we can honor that history is to fill this building once again. Fill it with music, fill it with celebration, fill it with families, with neighbors, with artist, entrepreneurs and another generation of memories."
What the Renovation Built Into the Rooms
The Catalyst puts the city's remodel of the two-story, 12,000-square-foot building at $4.8 million. A $1 million state historic preservation grant helped pay for it. The work was planned around events:
- A new first-floor event space with a conference room, pre-function areas, a green room, a bar and a catering kitchen.
- A refreshed second-floor music hall and ballroom with new drapery, a raised ceiling and refinished floors, adding up to more than 4,000 square feet of flexible space.
- Room for up to 180 guests at seated events, or 300 in auditorium-style seating.
The venue's own website lists the two spaces as the Jordan Ballroom and the Legacy Room. It pitches them for galas, celebrations and corporate gatherings.
How a Resident Actually Gets In
There are three ways in right now:
- Book it for a milestone. The venue website takes rental inquiries, and its Rentals page posts room rates. A two-floor building that can run two events at once suits a reunion, a wedding reception or a big birthday.
- Schedule a tour. Tours are by appointment through the same site. That's the simplest way to see the upstairs ballroom without planning an event.
- Come to a community event. Bay News 9 reported that the Casino will be open to the public for community events and milestones going forward. At the reopening, City Council Vice Chair Richie Floyd called it "a wonderful space that everyone in our community is able to access."
The Music Lives on the Walls Now
The Casino's musical history is now painted across its exterior. The Egypt Hagan mural was unveiled at the reopening. It measures 14 by 23 feet and celebrates the Casino's history, its place in the Deuces community and the musicians who played there. It's on the exterior, so you can see it any time you walk or drive past 642 22nd St. S.
City Poet Laureate Denzel Johnson-Green read a new poem at the ceremony, "The Get Down, the Boogie, and the Hope of Sweat." The Catalyst printed these lines from it:
and as you get closer, voices cut through the humidity
A few blocks south, the corridor's other well-known music image changed this year. WUSF reported in March that a 2014 mural of Louis Armstrong by Tampa artist Herbert Davis was painted over on the building that once housed Chief's Creole Café. The club that now leases the space told the Catalyst he plans to commission a new mural "about the culture, that the Deuces already has." For now, the Hagan mural is the Deuces' most visible tribute to the musicians who played here.
Where the Deuces Keeps Regular Hours
The Casino runs on bookings, so the places that keep posted hours become the everyday way into the corridor. When Welch spoke at the reopening, he called the Casino an anchor for the Deuces and the nearby Warehouse Arts District. Here's what's open on a schedule this season:
| Stop | Where | When | What's there now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodson African American Museum of Florida | Near the corridor | Tue to Sat, noon to 5 p.m., free | "Many Voices, One Nation – Our Community," through January 2027 |
| Morean Center for Clay | 420 22nd St. S. | Wed to Sat, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Clay studios and gallery |
| Second Saturday ArtWalk | Deuces Live District and six other arts districts | Nov. 14 and Dec. 12, 5 to 9 p.m. | Gallery openings, with a trolley stop at Deuces Corner Park |
| Jay Que's and Sid's Caribbean Grill | 903 22nd St. S. | Daily hours, themed parties, plus Sunday brunch | DJs, karaoke, live music, Caribbean food |
The Woodson's current exhibit pairs well with a walk past the Casino. It was developed with Florida Humanities, the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History for America's 250th anniversary. It ties St. Petersburg's history into the national story. At its center is a new monumental mural by Najee Dorsey, founder of Black Art In America, which traces the story from the Great Migration through the Civil Rights Movement to today.
ArtWalk is the one night a month when the whole corridor opens at once. The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance says galleries and studios across the participating districts open from 5 to 9 p.m., and some venues are open to the public only on that night. Five Deuces Galleria and the Morean Center for Clay are among the Warehouse Arts trolley stops, along with Deuces Corner Park.
After ArtWalk, you can stay out on the Deuces. St. Pete Rising reports that Jay Que's opened in the former Catalyst on the Deuces space with a full bar, indoor seating and an outdoor patio. Sid's Caribbean Grill stayed open next door through the changeover. It now serves food to Jay Que's customers, including a new Sunday brunch.
The Next Two Dates That Shape the Corridor
Tangerine Plaza is the next deadline on 22nd Street South. In December 2025, the St Pete Catalyst reported that City Council voted 6-2 to give developer Sugar Hill Group until January 2027 to meet its obligations for the site. At that point, Taste of the Islands had submitted a letter of intent to run the grocery store.
A new home for the Woodson depends on the Gas Plant timeline. The city chose The Burg Bid team to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District, and its plan includes a new Woodson African American Museum. The city's project page says agreements still have to be negotiated, and the proposal still needs a Community Benefits Agreement and City Council approval. In the meantime, the current museum is open with free admission and the Dorsey mural on view through January.
If you're planning a reunion, a family milestone or simply an evening on 22nd Street South, and you'd like a neighbor's read on the south side of St. Pete, Ali Schaaff is happy to share what she's seeing around the city. And if your own plans include a move, start with a free home valuation so you know where you stand.
