Celebrating a Century: An Angebilt Vignette Featuring Sam Stoltz

By Travis Puterbaugh from the Fall 2023 edition of Reflections Magazine In late June 1921, developer J.F. Ange announced plans for a million-dollar, 240-room hotel at the northeast corner of Orange Avenue and Oak Street (now Wall Street). Orlando’s own Murry S. King, Florida’s first registered architect, designed the elegant

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Read all about it! Learn your family history using newspapers

Orange County Library System Genealogy Events – March 2024 Through their West Oaks Branch and Genealogy Center, the Orange County Library System offers a wide array of genealogy events that we know fans of the History Center would be interested in, so we’re happy to support our valued community partner

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The Citrus Tower in Clermont

An Orange-Colored History of One of Florida’s Oldest and Tallest Attractions By Clay Waters from the Fall 2023 edition of Reflections Magazine For more than 60 years, the Citrus Tower in Clermont has stood sentinel over a deep slice of Central Florida. Featuring a 360-degree observation deck that provides a view of

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Family History Fair and more genealogy events at your local library

Orange County Library System Genealogy Events – February 2024 Through their West Oaks Branch and Genealogy Center, the Orange County Library System offers a wide array of genealogy events that we know fans of the History Center would be interested in, so we’re happy to support our valued community partner

Continue reading article Family History Fair and more genealogy events at your local library

Cyg Cob Says: The Secret Legacy of Howard Phillips

By Joy Wallace Dickinson from the Fall 2023 edition of Reflections Magazine In 1954, the influential Orlandoan poured his love of words, his sharp wit, and his strong opinions into a newspaper column with a mysterious byline inspired by the city’s beloved swans. Howard Phillips’s college career was not what

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Award-Winning History Center Unveils Enhanced Core Exhibitions

The Orange County Regional History Center is building an even better visitor experience with enhancements to its core exhibitions, which have been in place since the museum opened in 2001 in a historic courthouse in the heart of downtown Orlando. Improvements include increased bilingual content, use of more accurate and

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Join a book club focused on genealogy at your library

Photo courtesy Orange County Library System Orange County Library System Genealogy Events – January 2024 OCLS’s West Oaks Branch and Genealogy Center offers events that cover a range of basic and beginning genealogy research. Each month, we are pleased to let you know about these offerings from this valued History

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Major League Drama at Tinker Field

By Pam Schwartz, from the Fall 2023 Edition of Reflections Magazine Note: This article contains profanity in quoted material. On March 28, 1977, Orlando’s Tinker Field readied for the upcoming Spring Training game between the Texas Rangers and the Minnesota Twins. What might have played out like any other nine-inning

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Has your Ancestry.com research plateaued? Your library can help!

Orange County Library System Genealogy Event – December 2023 OCLS’s West Oaks Branch and Genealogy Center offers events that cover a range of basic and beginning genealogy research. This month you can get guidance on how to use holiday gatherings for research, among other virtual classes. For more information on

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Hitching a Ride: The Incredible Journey of Martha Esch

By Jeremy Hileman, Assistant Curator, from the Fall 2023 issue of Reflections Magazine For some people, it can take a lifetime to discover what they are truly passionate about. There are those among us, however, who seem to have known what moves them right from the very beginning. For Martha

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