The beautiful life of the city passes right in front of the sights of “Orlando-assembled,” an exhibit at the Orange County Regional History Center.
The museum selected 150 items from archives and suggestions from community members to create a past walkthrough sampler for Orlando.
It is not presented as a linear timeline. Items are clustered in themes. However, it has the impression of a typical mishmash, like digging through a Nana attic. One Wall features photos of Orlando Gay Chorus, Gary’s Duck Inn Restaurant in 1964.
But there are signs of a dandelion commune cafe and an Ivy drugstore. Nostalgia and history are early and frequently. Before entering the proper exhibit, there is an Old School Orlando painting. Slender your eyes and imagine what’s out there now. (Thanks to Angebilt Hotel, but please explain in detail later.)
“Orlando Collected” is educational, emotional, and encourages happy, sad, and sentimental feelings. Here we have compiled some exhibited items in the tactile categories of your intestines.
Simpler time
The language of advertising and promotional works can feel outdated. “Try me again,” says Arthur “Puppy,” Kennedy’s political flyer. He ran for mayor in 1976. In one photo you can see a large letter sign for Yowell-Duckworth Co.
The history created
Under the glass is an Orlando handwritten paper approved by 22 qualified voters. Nearby is the 1920 act of Greenwood Cemetery. And there is a 1910 photo of the Rogers building on South Magnolia Avenue. It is currently considered to be the oldest building in downtown Orlando. (It doesn’t look like he’s doing the glitzier green painting work of the present day, but that could be what Sepia is talking about.)
At the entrance to the exhibition is a 1926 sheet music for the song entitled “Orlando, We Are All in Love with You.” Written by Ed McConnell and published by the Orlando Chamber of Commerce. A copy of the exhibition is S. “Everything Musical” is available at 133 S. Orange Ave., on the block where Plaza Tower is currently standing.
But today’s audiences can hear it thanks to modern recordings courtesy of Orlando Opera.
At Angebilt
“Orlando Collected” has multiple references to the Angebilt Hotel, and it’s easy to see why. Literally, what rose in 1923 was literally like that, not a hotel on the corner of Orange Avenue and Wall Street, but it still stands today. Its very existence and it helps to point out the modern day-dreamer.
The exhibit features a pamphlet calling the business “Central Florida’s most distinctive hotel.” Photos of other signs promote Angebilt’s steam bath and solarium, noting that Angebilt is both modern and fire resistant.
Another photo shows a sign just above the balcony of the entrance referencing the 10th floor dining room “Height of Hospitality”.
Meanwhile, the hotel provided wallet-sized cheat sheets for men (and the History Center is on display). There are details such as space to record facts about your spouse, birthday, dress size, stocking size, gloves size, and more.
“If you want to impress a woman, don’t forget to take her with you often,” the card gives you a clue. “The combination of fine cuisine and great service is calculated to win the hearts of women.”
The hotel is Orlando’s fixtures, and among others in the History Center’s spotlight is the former Sun-Glo Highway Hotel, which operated on the South Orange Blossom Trail. The exhibit features a set of handwritten room receipts and a slogan “Meet elite-colored customers.”
Receipts for 1959 and 1960 are written by Staples Singer, BB King, Little Richard and Harlem Globetrotters (wonderfully, a party of two). These are cursive – I ask my kids, Nana to translate and include details such as my home address and car makeup.
School shady
The Education section contains this copy block. “Racism in schools was declared unconstitutional in 1953, but the Orange County Public Schools (OCPs) did not begin segregation efforts until 1969. In 2010, the OCP achieved a ‘unified position’, and it was a nod to the district that eliminated the remnants of past discrimination and was no longer under the federal court’s mistakes. ”
On the less-heavy notes, since 1940, there have been orange and white felt beanies, and Orlando High School has the words tiger, soccer, and “yeah team.”
Ronnie’s rules
On display are handwritten instructions for night shifts at Ronnie’s restaurant, a Colonial Drive restaurant that closed in 1995. If Ronnie knows, he knows there are rules. In the 10th direction, “put all items in a big showcase in the Little Showcase”, filling up the syrup, and pulling out the blender and hot fudge machine. It was on the homepage news that Ronnie was closed, with headlines referring to its “stricken rules and generous parts.”
Another display features Saigon’s Little Menu and Chopsticks.
Sigh of the times
Among the gloomy moments are the stop sign from the Pulse Nightclub parking lot. Changed with markers to read as “stop hatred.”
On the corner is the trademark sunglasses and a campaign button of Billy Manes, a mayoral candidate who passed away in 2017.
Sports goods
The concept of displaying Shaquille O’Neal’s shoes is a big, stupid sound, but it’s a big sneaker. Big enough for his newcomer Orlando Magic teammate to sign. We were able to decipher Nick Anderson, Greg Kite and coach Brian Hill. There is also glass blocks that are distinctive architecture features of the original Orlando Arena (aka O-Rena), which was demolished in 2012.
There are multiple items related to registered Tinker Field, including two seats, a 1963 dedication plaque and a large, highly detailed topographical survey map from 1962.
Our attractions
There are several Gatorland screams, including a 1980 souvenir wallet, fragments of the original gift shop floor, and a mass of the original gator mouth gifted to Mayor Rich Clotty after the “2006 Great Fire.”
Here are some photos of staff from the first day at Universal Studios Florida. This includes actors portraying Woody Woodpecker, Fifel, Fred Flintstone, Maywest, Marx Brothers and Ghostbuster.
Church Street Station has gained walls on the wall, including the uniforms of Lili Mariné waitresses and the t-shirts from Church Street Station, which show the train stations that still exist.
Walt Disney World will not be displayed on the “Orlando Collected” display. Organizers narrowed down their selection using guidelines that they have an Orlando address. Mickey and his friends still have a terrifying presence on the fourth floor of the History Center. It goes back to the official announcement of the resort in the 1960s.
Really old
Orlando, a relatively young city that he says, is unknown to the old one. But these things were convened for me: Civil War era surgical toolkit, 1880s firefighter helmet, stained glass windows from Ohev Shalom Temple (1925).
Unexpected
Give it a few names: the Gargoyle Award given to Mary I. Johnson from the horrors of the Church Street attraction. Court Prison Keys (1927), a 1959 time capsule in the court’s appendix, a fake tombstone presented to Mayor Carl Langford upon his retirement. A desk signed by Dr. Jan Garavaglia (aka Dr. D. G). Shelter sign for radioactive fallout from city hall (capacity 450, circa 1958).
In addition to many other items that can be intriguing, there are older photos that enhance your presentation. The Orlando Collection, which will remain at the History Center until January 11th, is included in regular admission to the museum. For more information, visit historycenter.org.
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