Bird's Eye View Showing Elks Club, Court House and Eola Lake Postcard

OC00007.pdf

Dublin Core

Title

Bird's Eye View Showing Elks Club, Court House and Eola Lake Postcard

Alternative Title

Elks Club, Court House and Eola Lake Postcard

Subject

Orlando (Fla.)
Postcards--Florida
Orange County (Fla.)
Clock towers
Business districts
Courthouses--Florida
Buildings--Florida
Elks, Benevolent and Protective Order of
Lakes--Florida

Description

Postcard showing the Victorian-style Orange County Courthouse with Lake Eola in the background. The streets are Main Street (present-day Magnolia Avenue) and Central Avenue (present-day Central Boulevard). The Orange County Courthouse was constructed in 1892 and its cornerstone was laid on January 15, 1892. The architect was A. S. Wagner and the general contractor was the W. C. Green Company of Chicago, Illinois. The red brick, three-story building, which cost $57,000, was built in the Gothic Revival style with a 80-foot high clock tower. The clock and bell were provided for by W. C. Sherman, a local businessman who raised several thousand dollars for the project. The clock mechanism was manufactured by Dent, London, founded by Edward John Dent, the company which made the Big Ben clock movement in London, England. The bell in the tower weighed 1,500 pounds, was tuned "F", was selected by local musician Harry Newell, and as of 2011, is on display in the lobby of the Orange County Courthouse. The Orange County Courthouse occupied the building until 1927, when a new primary courthouse was constructed next door. Afterward, it was used for Orange County offices. On July 30, 1957, the building was condemned and then demolished on December 30, 1957. A new Orange County Courthouse Annex building was constructed on the site. In the late 1990s, the Courthouse Annex was demolished and replaced with an urban park called Heritage Square, owned by Orange County.

The gray building on the right is the McEwan Clinic, located at 100 East Central Boulevard, which was constructed in 1911. The original owner was Dr. John Singer McEwan. The building was designed to be Orlando's first public hospital. A third story was added circa 1920 to make a total of twenty hospital rooms. Apart from being a hospital and clinic, it was also the Florida Public Service Corporation, later the office of the Florida Gas Company, clothing stores (Artistry), and a 7-Eleven. As of 2011, it is the Central Station Bar.

Across the Main Street from the Courthouse is the Orlando Lawn Bowling Clubs grounds.

Source

Original 5.5 x 3.5 inch color postcard: C. T. American Art: Private Collection of Thomas Cook.

Publisher

C. T. American Art

Date Created

ca. 1928

Date Copyrighted

ca. 1928

Date Issued

ca. 1928

Contributor

Cook, Thomas

Is Format Of

Digital reproduction of original 5.5 x 3.5 inch color postcard: C.T. American Art.

Is Part Of

Private Collection of Thomas Cook.

Postcard Collection, Thomas Cook Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Format

application/pdf

Extent

648 KB

Medium

5.5 x 3.5 inch color postcard

Language

eng

Type

Still Image

Coverage

Orlando, Florida

Spatial Coverage

28.54214, -81.377439
28.541964, -81.377345

Temporal Coverage

1928-01-01/1928-12-31

Accrual Method

Donation

Mediator

History Teacher
Civics/Government Teacher
Geography Teacher
Humanities Teacher
Visual Arts Teacher

Provenance

Originally published by C. T. American Art .

Rights Holder

Copyright to this resource is held by C. T. American Art and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.

Contributing Project

Curator

Cook, Thomas

Digital Collection

Source Repository

Private Collection of Thomas Cook

External Reference

"Downtown Orlando Historic District Walking Tour." City of Orlando. http://sanfordhistory.tripod.com/Links/wtour.pdf.
"Elks History Project." The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America. http://www.elks.org/history/.
"Orange County Courthouse." Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. http://www.ninthcircuit.org/about/courthouses/orange/.
Rajtar, Steve. A Guide to Historic Orlando. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2006.

Transcript

BIRD'S EYE VIEW SHOWING ELKS CLUB, COURT HOUSE AND EOLA LAKE, ORLANDO, FLA
THIS SPACE FOR WRITING MESSAGES
C. T. AMERICAN ART
POST CARD
THIS SPACE FOR ADDRESS ONLY
PLACE STAMP HERE
DOMESTIC ONE CENT
FOREIGN TWO CENTS

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

1 color postcard

Physical Dimensions

5.5 x 3.5 inch

Collection

Citation

“Bird's Eye View Showing Elks Club, Court House and Eola Lake Postcard,” RICHES, accessed December 4, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/974.

Locations

Categories