On the Trail of the Orlando Bicycle Club
A Long-Ago Photo Sparks Intrigue 200 Miles from Home By Vanessa Sardon, from the Spring 2022 edition of Reflections Magazine Stacks of framed art and abandoned photographs lined the shelves of a Fort Lauderdale thrift store – among them, a captivating black-and-white photo in a simple black frame. It features
Orlando’s Round Building: An Architectural Circle of Life
By Kelly Bresnowitz Adapted from the “The Way We Were” feature, Community Paper, August 22, 2022 In 1963, an architectural marvel was unveiled in downtown Orlando. Designed by architect Robert Murphy, the circular home of American Federal Savings and Loan brought a distinguished touch of midcentury-modern design to the growing
Places for Performance: Downtown Orlando’s Music Venues through the Years
From the Spring 2023 edition of Reflections of Central Florida Our Figurehead: Music & Mayhem in Orlando’s Underground exhibition shines a light on a period in the City Beautiful’s history when a new generation frequented downtown venues for the communal experience of enjoying live music. Downtown Orlando has a long
The Queen Kumquat Sashay
For a few glorious years, Central Floridians flocked to the “Parade for People Who Would Not be Permitted in Any Other Parade.” by Whitney Broadaway, from the Spring 2018 edition of Reflections magazine In December 1985, Bob Morris began working as a columnist at the Orlando Sentinel. His first assignment
Disney Downtown: Walt visits Orlando
On Nov. 15, 1965, a press conference held in the Egyptian Room at the Cherry Plaza Hotel officially confirmed what many had already suspected: Walt Disney Productions was expanding its wildly popular company to Central Florida, purchasing thousands of acres in both Orange and Osceola Counties. Joined by Governor Haydon
Downtown Orlando’s Civil Rights Sit-Ins
On March 9, 1962, eleven Black students were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct for simply refusing to vacate a whites-only lunch counter during a peaceful sit-in demonstration at Stroud’s Rexall Drugstore on Orange Avenue and Church Street.
How They Rolled 100 Years Ago
When W. M. Van Brunt opened what is believed to have been Orlando’s first indoor bowling alley around the end of 1910 or beginning of 1911, the sport was still new to many Americans, but its popularity was steadily growing.
Iconic Fountain Reflects City’s Rich Heritage
The fountain at Lake Eola has become the closest thing Orlando has to an icon, its green bubble a permanent part of the city’s mental landscape, a survivor from the Fabulous Fifties that debuted under Sputnik skies.
O Christmas Star, O Christmas Star
The holiday season in downtown Orlando is a familiar sight. Perhaps one of Orlando’s most iconic holiday decorations is the yellow Christmas star that illuminates the intersection of Orange Avenue and Central Boulevard each year.
Cyanide at the San Juan
When Orange County Deputy Sheriff George Fields arrived at Room 208 of Orlando’s San Juan Hotel early on the morning of Feb. 16, 1938, 19-year-old Dolores Myerly had been dead for about 30 minutes. No one in the City Beautiful could have predicted where it would lead.