Browse Exhibits (27 total)

From its construction onward, the Downtown Orlando Post Office has been a physical symbol of the growing and evolving city that surrounds it. Opened in 1941, the post office experienced many changes that reflected national and local social and economic transformations. Demographic shifts, wars, economic booms and downturns, and social conflicts were reflected in the history of the Orlando Post Office. This exhibit examines the impact of some of these changes on the building itself and the people who worked there or used the agency's services. Viewing the building over time allows us to see the impact it had on Orlando and to glimpse a reflection of the city itself. The post office building was more than just a government edifice; it became a symbol of the city that surrounds it.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Orlando was remarkably different from the city that is is today. The local economy, which relied on the citrus industry, had survived two devastating freezes in the winter of 1894-1895 to develop into a bustling town by 1900. As growth continued in the 1910s and 1920s, Orlando faced numerous infrastructural and logistical challenges. When the post office at Jefferson Street was conceived in the mid-1930s, it became a symbol of economic revitalization that the city sorely needed in the depths of the Great Depression.

Produced by the Orlando Museum of Art, Art Legends of Orange County: Paintings by Steve Lotz is an exhibition featuring Central Florida artist Steve Lotz. The exhibitition runs from March 12 to June 5, 2016. A public reception will be held on March 12, 2016, at 6:30 pm.

Lotz will also be featured in Art Legends exhibitions at the City of Orlando Terrace Gallery (October 15, 2015 through January 8, 2016), the Orange County Regional History Center (March 5 through May 29, 2016), the Orlando Museum of Art (March 12 through June 5, 2016), and the UCF Art Gallery (September 5, 2016 through October 13, 2016).

Produced by the Crealdé School of Art, AArt Legends of Orange County: The Inspired Paintings of Crealdé Founder Bill Jenkins, Art Legends of Orange County: The Right of Passage: A Collection of Work by Grady Kimsey from 1940s to the Present, and Art Legends of Orange County: Progressions – Work by Former Students of Grady Kimsey are exhibitions featuring Central Florida artists Bill Jenkins, Grady Kimsey, and Kimsey's students, respectively. The first two exhibitions will be housed at the Crealdé School of Art Main Campus Galleries and the third exhibition will be at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center. These exhibititions run from February 5 through April 2, 2016. A public reception will be held on February 5, 2016, from 7 to 10 pm.

Produced by the Art & History Museums – Maitland’s Maitland Art Center, Art Legends of Orange County: Smith, Hurt, Orr and Bok – The Grand Experiment is an exhibition featuring Jules André Smith, Maury Hurt, Bill Orr, and Mary Louise Curtis Bok and their relation to the Research Studio, now the Maitland Art Center and the area’s only National Historic Landmark. The exhibition runs from January 15, 2016, through February 28, 2016. A free public talk, Gone But Not Forgotten – Deceased Artist and Art Leader Panel, will be held on January 15, 2016, at 5:30 pm, followed by a public reception from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.

Produced by the City of Orlando Terrace Gallery, Art Legends of Orange County: 1932-1982 is an exhibition featuring Central Florida artists Ralph Bagley, Johann Eyfells, Walter Gaudnek, David Reese, and Harri Klotz. The exhibitition runs from October 15, 2015, through January 8, 2016. A public reception and a free public talk, Living Artist and Art Leader Panel, will be held on October 15, 2015 at 5:30 pm.

Produced by the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Garden, Art Legends of Orange County: The Art of Hal McIntosh is an exhibition featuring Central Florida artist Hal McIntosh. The exhibitition runs from August 18 to November 29, 2015. Open House will be on National Museum Day, September 26, from 10 am to 4 pm.

McIntosh will also be featured in Art Legends exhibitions at the Orange County Art in the Chambers (September 2015 through September 2016), and the City of Orlando Terrace Gallery (October 15, 2015 through January 8, 2016), and the Orange County Regional History Center (March 5 through May 29, 2016).

Florida’s development boom came late. When it did come, it came in fits and starts. The citrus and cattle industries, as well as the climate, created a relatively static economic environment, but true growth and progress would wait until well into the 20th century. As the world fell into war in the 1940s, Florida answered the call to serve as a training ground for the aviators of the Allied forces. World War II changed much of Orlando's future when a large migration boom occurred after the war’s end. Infrastructure that developed during the war period helped give Orlando a foundation to grow upon. Yet, construction in Orlando, like many other locations in Florida, did not exceed the military's plans until after the war was over. The servicemen and servicewomen returned to Florida after the war due to its attractive climate.

Like Florida, Orlando’s growth was slow. Coastal cities, such as Tampa and Miami, benefited from tourism early on, but Orlando’s central location kept it more or less a typical southern Florida town until Walt Disney World arrived in the 1970s. The local community was strong, with no need for growth outside of the city limits. One need only look at a single city block to see that the City of Orlando had a little bit of everything and enough to thrive. The subject block, bounded by South Orange Avenue, East Jackson Street, South Main Street (present-day South Magnolia Avenue), and East Church Street in Orlando, was a basic block that played a part in the lives of residents in the 1940s, as there were a myriad of goods and services available to the public. As the city grew, the block transformed in the early 1960s from its original character into a central business district containing more office spaces and parking lots that reflects the later development of the city.

Descending the steps of the Albertson Public Library after several hours of reading, the glare of bright sunlight and the thick, humid air envelopes you. It is summer 1945, and air conditioning has not yet arrived in Orlando.

You stop for a drink at the public fountain on the corner of Rosalind Avenue and Central Avenue (present-day Central Boulevard), but the water is warm and a cold soda at Wayne Moses’ Corner Canteen up the street seems far more appealing. You start back up Central Avenue.

As you walk by the Salvation Army building, you hear a group inside practicing for the regular Saturday night street corner service. Drums, brass instruments, and the distinctive beat of tambourines fill the air as you stroll by. You notice that the cornerstone on the building indicates that it was built in 1922 and originally served as the First Christian Church.

A few steps further and you reach the Orlando Chamber of Commerce Building. This notable landmark is the focus of nearly every civic and social activity in town. Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, the JayCees (Orlando Junior Chamber of Commerce), Business and Professional Women, Exchange Club, and other organizations have their meetings here.  Office space is also provided for the Orlando Florida Association of Real Estate Boards.

A peek inside the handsome building lures you toward comfortable sofas and chairs in the center of the main room.  The architectural style is Moorish, with the thick stucco walls and columns set off by ornate wrought iron handrails.

At the rear is an elevator, one of the few in town. It can whisk you all the way to the fourth floor (although the ride is not quite what one might call a whisk).

Orlando’s first library opened in 1923, due largely to the influence of The Sorosis Club, which lent books before there was an actual library. Our first library was named for Captain Charles L. Albertson, a retired New York City police inspector who contributed a large collection of books.

Some will remember that it was Miss Olive Brunbaugh who served as Orlando’s first librarian from 1923 to 1943. Miss Clara Elizabeth Wendel served as librarian until 1970.

The new library, considered one of the finest in the nation, was completed in two stages:
The first stage opened in 1966. In 1984, under the supervision of the library's current director, Glenn Miller, the second addition was completed, greatly increasing its size.  Glenn Miller was appointed in 1969.

The Orlando Public Library now covers a city block and is part of the Orange County Library System, which employs several hundred persons here and in nine branches.

Located in a converted home, the Young Women’s Community Club, a strictly operated hostelry for young, single girls is next, and beside it is Chief Bennett’s home. Mrs. Anne Parker’s home is just beyond his. It will eventually become the Salvation Army Women’s Emergency Home. The last home facing Wall Street is that of Mrs. Cleole Dasher.

Reaching Rosalind, as you head toward the library, you pass the home of Lea Hurlburt. Samuel S. Morrison will later occupy that home. Strolling by the office of the beloved physician, Dr. Frank Gray, you round the corner, passing that warm water fountain on the return trip to the library.

That cold soda still beckons you to Wayne Moses' refreshment stand on the corner. This shop shares the same busy location with the filling station owned by Sam Shriver, a one-time Justice of the Peace in Orange County. Mr. Shriver's station sells Shell products and gives good old-fashioned service.

The cold drink is refreshing. You decide to continue around the block on your return to the library.

As usual, some of the guys at Fire Station No. 1 are polishing the trucks while others are playing checkers to stay busy. You can swap a story with Chief Maxie Bennett. If he is not there, you might find him at 130 Wall Street, his home, just around the corner.

The red brick building at the corner of Main Street (present-day Magnoliva Avenue) and Wall Street is the Orlando Utilities Commission, where you pay your water and light bills and have service started or stopped, depending on the time of year. Some folks who go away for several week in the summer order their service discontinued to save money.

—Orlando Remembered Library Exhibit

This exhibit will examine how the former Navy Orlando Recruit Training Center (RTC Orlando) transformed raw recruits into highly effective sailors.  This process took place over an intensive eight week training period, commonly referred to as boot camp. RTC Orlando occupied roughly one half of the former Orlando Naval Training Center (NTC Orlando), which was located at present day Baldwind Park, Orlando.  Between 1968 and 1994, over 650,000 men and women graduated from RTC Orlando.  Using photo evidence and oral interviews obtained from former recruits and instructors, this exhibit will help show how this process unfolded and why so many recruits call this the most important time of their lives.

This exhibit is an exploration into Carol Mundy's extensive collection of 19th- and 20th-century African-American memorabilia from the Apopka area of Central Florida. It provides a snapshot into life within the African-American business community. This collection challenges our preconceived notions of how African-American communities lived in this time period. The entrepreneurial and community spirit thrived despite oppressive conditions.

"The Origins of the Celery City" is an exhibit that follows the history and progression of the city of Sanford from its incorporation in 1877 to its ascendancy as the seat of the newly formed Seminole County in 1913. The story of prominent Sanford photographer Jefferson Clay Ensminger and his family, serves as a framing device for the exhibit's narrative. Ensminger moved to Sanford from Iowa in 1884, and soon befriended the aging Henry Shelton Sanford. Ensmigner would remain in Sanford until his death in 1912, his daughter Carrie attended the Little Red Schoolhouse and later became an educator at Sanford Grammar School. The exhibit is primarily based on a series of photographs and portraits taken by Ensminger himself, or scenes of life in Sanford between the 1870s and 1910s. Prominent businessmen like W.H. Underwood and J.N. Whitner are featured. Educators such as Clara L. Guild and Carrie Ensminger help to tell the story of Sanford's education system. Key turning points within the city's history are also explored, events such as the "Sanford Fire of 1887" and the "Great Freeze of 1894-95", are explored. The region's transition from the use of steamboats as its primary mode of transportation to the arrival of the Atlantic Coast Line and Central Florida Railroad, further influenced the city's progression into becoming one of Central Florida's most important cities.