Episode 27 explores Central Florida's rich history before Walt Disney World opened and includes an interview with Dr. Benjamin Brotemarkle, author of Beyond the Theme Parks: Exploring Central Florida. Dr. Brotemarkle discusses Eatonville's Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, the Barberville Pioneer Festival, and the Winter Park Bach Festival.]]>
eyond the Theme Parks: Exploring Central Florida. By gaining Dr. Brotemarkle’s insight, we can better understand the conditions that existed within Central Florida before Disney’s arrival, and therefore more fully comprehend our region’s complex and intriguing past.]]> RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Orlando, Florida.]]> RICHES of Central Florida]]> RICHES Podcast Documentaries, Orlando, Florida.]]> RICHES Podcast Documentaries Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> QuickTime.]]> RICHES of Central Florida.]]> RICHES of Central Florida]]>

Episode 38 focuses on the Wells' Built Hotel, which was constructed at 511 West South Street in Orlando, Florida in 1921. The hotel was constructed by one of Orlando's first African-American physicians, Dr. William Monroe Wells, to accommodate African-Americans who could not otherwise find welcome lodging due to segregation. Dr. Wells also built the South Street Casino, which was host to a various African-American performers traveling along the Chitlin' Circuit. In 1997, the building was acquired by the Association to Preserve African American Society, History and Tradition, Inc., which sought to restore and preserve the structure. Although the casino no longer remains, the original Wells' Built Hotel was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 2000. In June 2009, the hotel reopened as the Wells' Built Museum of African American History and Culture.]]>
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