Not all of Welch’s work catered to seasonal residents though.
That same year, he built the Parks Apartments at 1151 34th Avenue North for year-round living.
Designed to combat Florida’s heat, each unit featured enclosed front and rear porches, along with windows in every room to maximize airflow and ventilation. Rents began at $50 per month.
Welch also contributed to the city’s recreational life.
He constructed the St. Petersburg Roque Club building at Mirror Lake, built and donated the city’s first outdoor basketball court, and sponsored a baseball team, the “Welchmen”, which won St. Petersburg’s first City Baseball League championship.
Like so many developers, Welch’s success was halted by the collapse of the Florida land boom in 1928, followed by the onset of the Great Depression.
Forced to seek work elsewhere, he traveled to Alabama and back to Indiana to support his family.
He returned to St. Petersburg briefly in 1939, but in 1944 relocated to Tennessee, where he built housing for military personnel and workers involved in the atomic bomb project.
Welch came back once again in 1957. In his later years, he built homes in the Gateway Mall area and oversaw construction of the Derby Club at Derby Lane.
He retired at 83 and passed away in 1989 at the age of 94.
Today, though his name is less widely known, M.B. Welch’s legacy is written across the city – one structure at a time.