Folklore has it that Ohioan Charles Roser invented the Fig Newton cookie, and made his fortune when he sold the recipe it to the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), but this claim cannot be verified. What we do know is that, in 1910, he took his fortune and his wife, Ruth, and moved to St. Petersburg to take advantage of the burgeoning land boom. Upon arriving in St. Petersburg, he quickly established himself as one of the city's foremost developers, promoters and philanthropists.

Roser promptly purchased 10 acres of citrus groves, and several adjacent parcels, just south of the city, and in 1911 he broke ground on the Roser Park development, which, thanks to the extension of the downtown streetcar line, became St. Petersburg’s first residential subdivision. Current day Roser Park is bounded by 4th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street (9th St. S.). to the east and west, and by Booker Creek and Ingleside Avenue (11th Avenue South) to the north and south.

Influenced by the beauty and uniqueness of the area’s hilly terrain, Roser aimed to create a neighborhood that was befitting the picturesque environment. Common to the era, homes in the neighborhood offered a wide array of architectural styles. The neighborhood he created is practically a catalog of post-Victorian architectural styles, and includes examples of Bungalows, Prairie, Foursquare, Craftsman, Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, Neoclassical, and Tudor Revival designs. The diversity of styles continues to draw the interest and attention of preservationists and investors alike.

Beyond the buildings and homes, Roser felt it important to incorporate public parks and designed landscape spaces into the community. Fortunately, the area retains many of Roser’s original design features, including rusticated block retaining walls, brick streets, original hexagon sidewalk pavers and granite curbstones. This attention to site design and incorporation of landscaping created a distinctive setting that, to this day, gives the neighborhood a natural character and beauty uniquely its own.      

Over the years, Roser Park's neighborhood association, HRPNA, has worked to restore and beautify the neighborhood, and on April 1, 1998, the neighborhood, including Greenwood Cemetery & Booker Creek, became St. Petersburg’s first Historic District. The National Register of Historic Places cited the community for its significance in community planning and development, architecture, and landscape architecture.

If you’ve never driven through Historic Roser Park, it's definitely worth the trip to see this truly unique neighborhood for yourself.