Walter C. Bass, City Father
Dublin Core
Title
Walter C. Bass, City Father
Alternative Title
Walter Bass
Subject
Orlando (Fla.)
Kissimmee (Fla.)
Gainesville (Fla.)
Description
Walter C. Bass (1900-1973) was born in Kissimmee, Florida, on January 9, 1900. He had attended the University of Florida (UF) and was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, a 32d Degree Mason, a member of the Grotto and the Elks Club. Bass belonged to the Methodist Church and the Orlando Country Club. Over his lifetime, he held a variety of jobs, working in a meat market and grocery store, and then coming to own the Bass Hotel, work as a real estate agent, and, most importantly, serve as Orlandos city commissioner from 1952 to 1954. He was married to Ethel Bass and had two children. Bass passed away on January 19, 1973.
Source
Original newspaper article: "Walter C. Bass, City Father." The Kissimmee Gazette: Orlando Remembered Exhibit, Downtown Orlando Information Center, Orlando, Florida.
Date Created
ca. 1950-1959
Has Format
Original newspaper article: "Walter C. Bass, City Father." The Kissimmee Gazette
Is Format Of
Original color digital image by Robert Randall, September 22, 2014.
Is Part Of
Orlando Remembered Exhibit, Downtown Orlando Information Center, Orlando, Florida.
Downtown Orlando Information Center Collection, Orlando Remembered Collection, Orlando Collection, Orange County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Format
image/jpg
Extent
183 KB
Medium
1 newspaper article
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Kissimmee, Florida
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Hotel Bass, Downtown Orlando, Florida
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Rights Holder
Copyright to this resource is held by the Orange County Regional History Center and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Curator
Herrera, Angelena
Cepero, Laura
Digital Collection
External Reference
Bacon, Eve. "Post-War Building Era Begins." In Orlando A Centennial History, 138. Vol. 2. Chuluota: Mickler House, Publishers, 1977.
R. L. Polk & Company "Street Directory." Buyers' Guide and Complete Classified Business Directory. Richmond, Va: R. L. Polk, 1940.
R. L. Polk & Company "Street Directory." Florida Polk's Orlando City Directory: Including Winter Park and Orange County. Richmond, Va: R. L. Polk, 1941.
R. L. Polk & Company "Street Directory." Florida Polk's Orlando City Directory 1943-44: Including Winter Park and Orange County. Richmond, Va: R. L. Polk, 1944.
R. L. Polk & Company "Street Directory." Florida Polk's Orlando City Directory: Including Conway, Maitland and Winter Park. Richmond, Va: R. L. Polk, 1945.
R. L. Polk & Company "Street Directory." Florida Polk's Orlando City Directory 1946-47: Including Winter Park and Orange County. Richmond, Va: R. L. Polk, 1947.
Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Orlando, Florida, 1925. New York: Sanborn Map Co, 1925.
Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Orlando, Florida. New York: Sanborn Map Co, 1956.
Transcript
Walter C. Bass, City Father
WHEN WALTER C. Bass came to Orlando in 1932 the number of people in town would not have filled an expanded Tangerine Bowl. But to Mr. Bass, who was born and reared in Kissimmee, Orlando's 30,000 citizens represented a city and he set about becoming a part of it.
He worked in a meat market until he opened his own grocery store on the corner of South Street and Delaney Avenue. He bought the Astor Hotel which later became the Bass Hotel and which thrived until it was demolished to make room for the towering CNA building. And as the years went by he became affiliated with most of Orlando's civic organizations, working tirelessly for Ben White Raceway, Fairview Park, and the Central Florida Fair.
His most notable contribution to his adopted city, however, came during the three year period from 1951-1953 when he served as a city commissioner. Mr. Bass missed only one meeting during his term of office and had a share in laying a foundation for the progress that was to come.
As the city grew Mr. Bass liked to reminisce about his youth in Kissimmee and the days when he and his father hunted their foraging crows between Kenansville and New Smyrna Beach.
He was a pioneer who never outgrew his love of the land yet never resented the changes brought by growth. And he gave of himself unselfishly to make the growth benefit all.
Walter Bass was a city father to the truest sense of the world.
WHEN WALTER C. Bass came to Orlando in 1932 the number of people in town would not have filled an expanded Tangerine Bowl. But to Mr. Bass, who was born and reared in Kissimmee, Orlando's 30,000 citizens represented a city and he set about becoming a part of it.
He worked in a meat market until he opened his own grocery store on the corner of South Street and Delaney Avenue. He bought the Astor Hotel which later became the Bass Hotel and which thrived until it was demolished to make room for the towering CNA building. And as the years went by he became affiliated with most of Orlando's civic organizations, working tirelessly for Ben White Raceway, Fairview Park, and the Central Florida Fair.
His most notable contribution to his adopted city, however, came during the three year period from 1951-1953 when he served as a city commissioner. Mr. Bass missed only one meeting during his term of office and had a share in laying a foundation for the progress that was to come.
As the city grew Mr. Bass liked to reminisce about his youth in Kissimmee and the days when he and his father hunted their foraging crows between Kenansville and New Smyrna Beach.
He was a pioneer who never outgrew his love of the land yet never resented the changes brought by growth. And he gave of himself unselfishly to make the growth benefit all.
Walter Bass was a city father to the truest sense of the world.
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
1 black and white photograph
Citation
“Walter C. Bass, City Father,” RICHES, accessed December 31, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/4584.