The Brave Beauty of the Black Lagoon
Orlando’s Ginger Stanley Hallowell blazed cinematic trails in a sci-fi classic and as Florida’s photogenic underwater ambassador. We at the History Center were saddened to learn of the death on Jan. 19, 2023, of Ginger Stanley Hallowell of Orlando. She was 91. An excellent swimmer, Hallowell pioneered underwater work in
A Salute to Col. Joe Kittinger
We at the History Center were saddened by the death, on December 9, 2022, of an Orlando hometown superhero and world aviation icon, Col. Joe Kittinger. He was 94. In 2006, he was the second recipient of the John Young History Maker Award, following the first award to John Young
The Queen Kumquat Sashay
For a few glorious years, Central Floridians flocked to the “Parade for People Who Would Not be Permitted in Any Other Parade.” by Whitney Broadaway, from the Spring 2018 edition of Reflections magazine In December 1985, Bob Morris began working as a columnist at the Orlando Sentinel. His first assignment
Disney Downtown: Walt visits Orlando
On Nov. 15, 1965, a press conference held in the Egyptian Room at the Cherry Plaza Hotel officially confirmed what many had already suspected: Walt Disney Productions was expanding its wildly popular company to Central Florida, purchasing thousands of acres in both Orange and Osceola Counties. Joined by Governor Haydon
Compelled to Create: Meet the Figurehead Five
Poster designers helped put Orlando indie music scene on the map By Rick Kilby, from the Fall 2022 edition of Reflections Magazine When I moved to Orlando in the late 1980s, the city was in the midst of a boom that had started with Disney World opening in 1971 and
Nancy Rosado’s Story of 9/11
by Aleksandra Ciecielag-Floto, Ph.D. from the Fall 2021 edition of Reflections magazine Advisory: This article includes explicit language within quoted material. Nancy Rosado has been a community activist in Orlando for more than a decade. Her education in social work, with a specialization in suicide prevention and traumatic stress, as
WPRK: The Best in Basement Radio and the Voice of Rollins
By Wenxian Zhang from the Fall 2022 edition of Reflections magazine Often called “the best in basement radio and the voice of Rollins,” radio station WPRK has been on the air in Central Florida for 70 years. It is not the first station to broadcast from the Winter Park college, however.
Can’t Stop the Music
By Whitney Barrett, History Center Archivist From the Spring 2022 edition of Reflections From Central Florida Although you might not think of Orlando as a popular music destination, many of the great singers of jazz, blues, and gospel music passed through the city during its history. Big names such as Ray Charles,
Orlando’s Pioneering Drive-In Movie Theater
By Lesleyanne Drake Across the nation, there is one industry that appears to be flourishing during the pandemic: drive-in movie theaters. Orlando’s first drive-in movie theater opened on February 7, 1940, at 1001 South Orange Blossom Trail. Originally called “The Drive-In Theater” and later renamed the Orlando Drive-In, it was
Historic Orlando House Threatened
Today, Sam Robinson’s substantial residence, which fronted a vast orange grove in 1885, has become an imposing four-columned mansion on a heavily traveled downtown street.