HISTORICALLY ST. PETE St. Petersburg Museum of History's Rui Farias: A.C. Pheil

(10/5/2026) In this episode of HISTORICALLY ST. PETE, Rui Farias - Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History - shares another story from the Sunshine City. (He's been listening to lots of historical podcasts, so enjoy this twist on his usual eloquent storytelling!). A.C. Pheil (Abram Camp Pheil) was an American businessman, civic leader, and the former mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, who made aviation history as the world's first paying passenger on a scheduled commercial airline flight.
Historic Flight: On January 1, 1914, Pheil won an auction with a high bid of $400 to secure the single passenger seat on the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line. He flew for 23 minutes across Tampa Bay alongside pilot Tony Jannus in an open-air Benoist flying boat
Mayoral Term: He served as the 11th mayor of St. Petersburg from 1912 to 1913, during which he championed the city's acquisition of utilities and helped widen and straighten Central Avenue.
Development: Pheil was a prominent local builder and businessman who constructed the Pheil Building and initiated work on the Pheil Hotel, which was envisioned as the city's first skyscraper. 

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