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Paint of contention
By SHARON L. BOND © St. Petersburg Times, published April 8, 2001 "Who picked that color?" In St. Petersburg, bold paint jobs of purples, yellows and browns draw wrinkled noses. ST. PETERSBURG -- Vocal art critics pop up almost every time a building in this city is painted a color bolder than white, beige, pink or teal. The initial critique usually is, "Is that the primer?" If the shade in question is the final coat, then, "Who picked that color?" In the last year and a half, at least five buildings or complexes have brought out the critics: Mirror Lake Lyceum, BayWalk, Municipal Services Center, Bond Hotel and a building at 918 Fourth St. N. All but one involved yellows, oranges, golds or browns. The building on Fourth Street is the latest under critique. It is purple. "That's not the color," said Felix D. Fudge of Bridgeport South Realty Advisors Inc. when asked for an update on the restoration of his building. "The bottom will be beige, and the top part will be much darker," Fudge continued. "Everybody is giving me c-p about it. I ought to save all the recordings" (messages left on his answering machine). The purple definitely is a primer, said Scott White of White Designs in St. Petersburg, hired by Fudge. A dark primer for new exterior walls saves on paint and gives the final coat a better base, White said. White selected the five colors that eventually will cover the exterior of Fudge's building. "I'm always looking to be the odd one out," White said of his selections in building restoration. He is a design consultant and said his fortes are color coordination, exterior design elements, interior design and space planning. White charged Fudge $1,250 to select the colors, make sure the correct paint and tints are combined, see that the paint is applied correctly and follow through to the finish. The job began with a several-hour discussion between the two. "I said to (Fudge), "Do you want to be like everybody else?' He said no," White said. The base color of the Fudge building will be deep amethyst, a violet shade darker than the primer. Trim colors include three shades of taupe, which is brownish-gray: taupe bisque, warm taupe and taupe shadow. The columns will be covered with an off-white paint called cameo. "We want to make it look somewhat sophisticated without making it look cheesy," White said. White also was involved in the renovation of the Mirror Lake Lyceum. The 1920s church at 737 Third Ave. N that is painted Diane gold and Mediterranean green, with a champagne tint for trim. In addition to working with the building owners to restore the church, White was general manager until February of this year. The Lyceum opened as a venue for social events and meetings last year. "When we painted the Lyceum that gold color, everybody in town gave me flak," White said. "They sort of freaked out because (the Lyceum) was a church at one time." People hadn't seen many gold churches. Oranges, yellows and chocolate are the colors of BayWalk, the $40-million entertainment/retail complex in downtown St. Petersburg. Probably the most significant commercial addition to downtown in years still was a target of taste police. The darkest yellow, on the Muvico 20-screen movie building, drew the most criticism. That faded somewhat when the trim was lightened substantially from a brown to beige. The Municipal Services Center at Central Avenue and Fourth Street got both the "Is that the primer?" and "Who picked the color?" questions according to Jay Pruitt, building manager. He flinched at the acorn yellow on the center's vertical panels being lumped with BayWalk's controversial colors. The center is being repainted from grays and blacks to yellows, beiges and dark blues. Pruitt predicts the finished building will convert critics. Yellow and gold paint plucked out of the shadows the Bond Hotel at 421 Fourth Ave. N. It also drew attention. General manager Derek J. Toms, who is overseeing a $1-million restoration that will transform the Bond into the Hollander Park Inn, said he was trying to identify with BayWalk because the complex is so important to downtown. He is sure any negative comments about the color of the building related to the yellow primer, not the final coat of gold called costa del sol.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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