The History and Transformation of Baldwin Park in Orlando
By Brendan Bunting O’Connor from the Spring 2025 Edition of Reflections Magazine Baldwin Park, located just minutes from downtown Orlando, is a vibrant and picturesque community that combines modern living with a deep sense of history, and just a dash of Stepford-like planned-community plastic falseness. One of the things that
A College Park Century
By Tana Mosier Porter from the Fall 2024 edition of Reflections Magazine In 1924, developers officially kicked off and named the Orlando neighborhood that soon manifested the look and feel of a small town. One hundred years ago the Cooper-Atha-Barr Real Estate and Mortgage Company broke ground for a new
Can’t Stop the Music
By Whitney Barrett, History Center Archivist From the Spring 2022 edition of Reflections From Central Florida Although you might not think of Orlando as a popular music destination, many of the great singers of jazz, blues, and gospel music passed through the city during its history. Big names such as Ray Charles,
Orlando’s Pioneering Drive-In Movie Theater
By Lesleyanne Drake Across the nation, there is one industry that appears to be flourishing during the pandemic: drive-in movie theaters. Orlando’s first drive-in movie theater opened on February 7, 1940, at 1001 South Orange Blossom Trail. Originally called “The Drive-In Theater” and later renamed the Orlando Drive-In, it was
Historic Orlando House Threatened
Today, Sam Robinson’s substantial residence, which fronted a vast orange grove in 1885, has become an imposing four-columned mansion on a heavily traveled downtown street.
Ebsen Dance Revue
Orlando siblings Buddy and Vilma Ebsen make it big as professional dancers and perform in their hometown in May 1940 at Orlando’s City Auditorium.
Parramore’s Landmark Churches
In Orlando’s Parramore neighborhood, African Americans worshipped outdoors in brush arbors and stables while they saved funds to build proper churches, which served not only as places of worship but also as social centers, gathering places, and schools.
Ben White Raceway: The Training Capital of Harness Racing
Trotters Park was once Ben White Raceway, at one time the largest training facility for harness racing in the United States and the winter home of championship harness races and racehorses.
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.