Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
The 1958 city hall was designed by Richard Boone Rogers and constructed by the C. A. Finland Company of Tampa. Dedicated on October 3, 1958, the building was faced with Tennessee marble, Minnesota granite and terrazzo stones. The Orlando Utilities Commission was located within the building from 1958 to 1967, when it moved into a $3.5 million building at 500 South Orange Ave. The Orlando Police Department (OPD) remained in the previous city hall building, which was the original Orlando Public School, across the street. In January of 1972, OPD and the city jail relocated to the Municipal Justice Building at 100 South Hughey Avenue.]]>
Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>

The city hall was built in 1958 and was later demolished in 1991. Mayor Carr was mayor when the greatest growth took place in Orlando with Walt Disney (1901-1966) announcing plans to build the Walt Disney World Resort just outside the city. In 1967, Mayor Carr died from a heart attack while still in office.]]>
Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Lethal Weapon 3.]]> Orlando Chamber of Commerce]]> Orlando Chamber of Commerce, 1958: Call No. FLORIDA 975.924 Orl , Orlando Public Library, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando Chamber of Commerce, 1958.]]> Orlando Public Library, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Orlando Chamber of Commerce.]]> Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Lethal Weapon 3. The building was replaced by a new one in 1991 as a product of Mayor Bill Frederick’s (b. 1934) efforts to beautify and improve Orlando. The city hall was designed by noted Orlando architect Richard Boone Rogers under the administration of Mayor William Beardall (1890-1984), who served from 1940 to 1952, and the land was acquired during the administration of Mayor J. Rolfe Davis (1904-1988), who served from 1953 to 1956. The building was constructed by Tampa-based firm C. A. Fielland from 1956 to 1958 during the administration of Mayor Bob Carr (1899-1967), who served from 1956 to 1967. Dedicated October 3, 1958, the building served as Orlando’s City Hall until its implosion on October 25, 1991, following the construction of a new city hall less than 10 feet away.]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> The Watermark was published on September 28, 1994 and continued to focus on family-orientated LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others) issues. The front page was dedicated to two articles, one about the rapidly increasing gay marriage movement, and the other focusing on National Coming Out Day. The third page included a half page obituary for Charles W. Hummer III, who died of AIDS of September 19, 2016. The paper continued to publish more national stories this time including, New York’s push to include "significant others" on insurance benefits, the limitations put on lesbian mothers in Utah, and a dental discrimination case in Texas. The paper also continues to discuss discrimination in schools that had started in the previous issue.

Since 1994, The Watermark has been the cornerstone source of LGBTQ+ centered news for the Central Florida region. Founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando, the publication began generating bi-weekly issues beginning August 31, 1994. Since then, The Watermark has consistently published newspaper-style issues every other Thursday. Gaining traction, the publication expanded in 1995 to include Tampa and, in 1997, The Watermark became a permanent piece of LGBTQ+ culture when the publication initiated the first large-scale Gay Days Weekend event, the Beach Ball at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. Before 1999, the publication printed 20,000 copies every week, distributing them to over 500 locations between its two major cities. Following 1999, the publication launched watermarkonline.com shifting to an online publication style. In 2016, Rick Claggett purchased The Watermark.]]>
The Watermark, Vol. 1, No. 3, September 28, 1994: Publications Collection, GLBT History Museum of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.]]> Watermark Media]]> The Watermark, Vol. 1, No. 3, September 28, 1994.]]> The Watermark Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Watermark Media.]]> Watermark Publishing Group and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
The Watermark was published on August 31, 1994, and focused on several hot topics that were abuzz in the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others) community. Hit topics included the cover story interviewing Married… With Children co-star Amanda Bearse (b. 1958) who was promoting her new special Out There II, an all LGBTQ+ comedy special. Similar topics of LGBTQ+ public exposure are scattered throughout the issue, including Fran Pigone, a pro-LGBTQ candidate for Orange County Commission Chairman, "Florida’s Freshest Fruit," an all LGBTQ improv troupe, and Brian Fagan, a gay man and one of Orlando’s premier runners. This first issue also included national LGBTQ+ news stories such as California’s Spousal Rights Bill, Yale’s same-sex partner health care plans, and Maine’s anti-gay initiatives. Another major component of the issue was discussion about Orlando’s LGBTQ+ nightlife locations and opportunities. In this issue, it was discussed that Tracks, a prominent bar had closed, and that Boxcars had opened in its place. Boxcars subsequently published a full page ad on the final page of the issue.

Since 1994, The Watermark has been the cornerstone source of LGBTQ+ centered news for the Central Florida region. Founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando, the publication began generating bi-weekly issues beginning August 31, 1994. Since then, The Watermark has consistently published newspaper-style issues every other Thursday. Gaining traction, the publication expanded in 1995 to include Tampa and, in 1997, The Watermark became a permanent piece of LGBTQ+ culture when the publication initiated the first large-scale Gay Days Weekend event, the Beach Ball at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. Before 1999, the publication printed 20,000 copies every week, distributing them to over 500 locations between its two major cities. Following 1999, the publication launched watermarkonline.com shifting to an online publication style. In 2016, Rick Claggett purchased The Watermark.]]>
The Watermark, Vol. 1, No. 1, August 31, 1994: Publications Collection, GLBT History Museum of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.]]> Watermark Media]]> The Watermark, Vol. 1, No. 1, August 31, 1994.]]> The Watermark Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Adobe Acrobat Reader]]> Watermark Media.]]> Watermark Publishing Group and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>
Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]> Lethal Weapon 3. The new city hall was much more spacious than the previous building used. Grace Chewning, who worked in the clerk's office, described the new city hall as "so open there was such a feeling of freedom."]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> City of Orlando]]> Orlando City Hall, Orlando, Florida.]]> Orlando City Hall Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>