Photo(Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida; Florida Memory, 192-): A shot of the mansion before it became covered in vines. William John Howey was born on January 19, 1876 in Odin, Illinois. He began selling insurance at 16-years-old and by 1900 began developing land and towns for the railroad in Oklahoma. He opened the [...]
Photo(Nomeus, 2007 – Flurbex.com): Orlando first festival marketplace, it featured specialty shops, restaurants and entertainment. The Mercado Shopping Village opened March 1986, Orlando’s first festival marketplace, which emphasized specialty shops, restaurants, and entertainment. With over 50 stores, they ranged from Old Tyme Photos, where you got your photo taken while wearing old time rags to [...]
Photo:Ramada Inn Tower during the “first look” at Walt Disney World. The Colony Plaza Hotel was originally built as a Ramada Inn in 1968. The hotel contained a a lounge, swimming pool, tennis courts, and meeting rooms. It was also the first hotel in Orange County to receive a license to serve liquor with meals [...]
Photo(Nomeus, 2006 – Flurbex.com): A shot of Spaceship Earth prior to the removal of the hand and wand. This month marks the 30th anniversary of Disney’s second theme park here in Florida, EPCOT. Originally planned as an experimental controlled community, home to twenty thousands residents; a test bed for emerging city planning and technological ideas [...]
Photo: A street scene from the late 1920s with the Marble Bank and Bisbee Building just in frame on the left. The Laura Street Trio is a group of three historic buildings; the Florida Life Building, the Bisbee Building, and the Old Florida National Bank, more commonly known as the Marble Bank. The Marble Bank, [...]