Concierge Medicine in Historic Kenwood, St. Petersburg

Historic Kenwood sits on high ground a couple of miles west of downtown St. Petersburg, between the I-275 corridor and 34th Street and from 1st Avenue North up to 9th Avenue North. The first subdivisions were platted in 1912, and a 1913 plat gave the neighborhood its name. Building peaked during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Streetcars on Central Avenue made it easy to get downtown, and the street grid, with alleys behind the houses for garages and garage apartments, shows how much the automobile was already shaping things.

Kenwood was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The nomination describes about 375 acres of mostly one- and two-story homes built between 1913 and 1953. More than 500 of them are Craftsman bungalows, and 167 houses were moved into the neighborhood, most of them in the early to mid-1930s. Tudor Revival, Mediterranean Revival, Prairie, and Dutch Colonial homes mix in as well. Four local historic districts within Kenwood now require city approval for exterior changes.

A neighborhood of front porches

The houses were built with their porches facing the sidewalks, and the sidewalks, alleys, and brick streets make the neighborhood easy to explore on foot. Seminole Park is the district’s only park, and the long campus of St. Petersburg High School, built in 1926, fills several blocks along 5th Avenue North. Central Avenue’s Grand Central District runs along the neighborhood’s southern edge.

The nearest AnswersMD office

The AnswersMD St. Petersburg office is at 1201 5th Ave N, Suite 408, St. Petersburg, FL 33705, on the St. Anthony’s Hospital campus. It’s on 5th Avenue North, the same avenue that runs past the high school, just east across I-275. By road it’s about:

• 1 mile from St. Petersburg High School
• 1.3 miles from the middle of Kenwood
• 1.7 miles from Seminole Park
• 2 miles from the neighborhood’s western edge at 34th Street

Visits at the St. Pete office are by appointment, so you’re expected when you arrive.

A doctor just up 5th Avenue

For Kenwood, the physician is close to a neighbor. Dr. Ellen Howard, MD, MPH, practices at the St. Petersburg office, just east of the neighborhood on 5th Avenue North. She is a board-certified family physician with a master’s degree in public health, and she did her family medicine residency in St. Petersburg before returning to practice in the city. Her clinical interests are hormone therapy, medical weight management, and prevention for every age she sees.

Dr. Howard is part of the physician team that founder Douglas Shapiro, DO, put together: doctors who share his belief that primary care should be personal and unhurried.

Care for Kenwood households

Because the St. Petersburg office sees patients age 6 and up, school-age kids, parents, and grandparents can all be in the same practice. Membership gives a Kenwood household:

• One physician who knows the whole family, thanks to an intentionally small patient panel
• Visits that last as long as you need, with room for the questions that usually get cut short
• Dr. Howard’s cell number for calls or texts, and a practice members can reach 24/7
• Appointments the same day or the next for the fever or sprained ankle that won’t wait
• Video visits while you’re away
• Executive physicals and advanced early-detection testing, chosen with your physician as part of a prevention and longevity focus
• Specialist coordination, with referrals arranged and your physician staying involved

House calls are available on a case-by-case basis.

Visit before you decide

The office is about a mile from St. Petersburg High School, an easy trip from almost anywhere in Kenwood. Call 813-333-8888 and ask for a complimentary meet & greet and office tour. Allison, the practice’s AI phone assistant, answers and can set it up or answer your questions. You can also visit AnswersMD.com.

Dr. Howard is welcoming new members from Historic Kenwood.