Train Station Photo Contest

Orlando's 1927 Train Station is wonderful from both architectural and historical points of view. And its distressed condition allows for great textures for photography. On a recent photo expedition I fell in love with the fading colors on the rusting boxcars, the cracking paint on the walls of the station, and even the gravel under the tracks. I could have filled up the entire memory card with details alone, but the I ran out of battery before I snapped every inch of the place.


The City of Orlando's Historic Preservation Board also sees the artistic value of the station and has chosen it and the 1889 Railroad Depot on Church Street to be the subjects of their annual calendar for 2010. Guidelines are to create images that capture the architectural character of either of the two stations, day or night. They are choosing 13 black and white images and each winner receives a $100 honorarium. Leave a comment if you'd like more details.

Wheel Orlando

The flat screen TV at the gym was tuned to Wheel of Fortune, and as the contestants were introduced I noticed some familiar type behind them. The long-running game show is in Orlando filming at SeaWorld and the giant video wall behind the contestants projected the facade of the Orlando Train Station during the opening segment of the show. Ironically enough, the train station is right across the street from my gym. The backdrop image was carefully masked so as to not show the two towers that are in bad need of restoration. Aside from an image of Shingle Creek, the only other image of "real" Orlando shown in the background was Orlando's Leu Gardens. I'll save that topic for a future blog.

Image by Kilby Photo

Train Station Treasure

Once again, our state legislature has a big decision to make about Florida's future. This time the issue before them is light rail proposed to ease Central Florida's traffic gridlock. Last time this came up, the issue was defeated by a legislator from Leesburg who didn't want more freight cars rolling through her town and the powerful lobby for the state's attorneys who didn't like provisions in the bill that would prevent lawsuits. The Sentinel is doing a series this week on the challenges faced to the bill and today issued an editorial in favor of moving ahead with the project.

In the print edition, the editorial is illustrated with a rendering of Orlando's Health's commuter stop with Orlando's 1927 train station in the background. Orlando Health is what used to be known as ORMC, a complex of healthcare facilities just south of downtown.

Our train station is one of the most significant buildings in Orlando. Patterned after the mission-type train stations in the Southwest, our train station is remarkably similar to the station I saw in Albuquerque this fall. Created to appeal to the influx of Northerners disembarking in Florida in the '20s, the station is noted for its "arcade, prominent parapet arrangement, and flanking bell towers" according to Orlando History in Architecture, a 1984 book created by the City's Historic Preservation Board.

I had never really explored the station until a recent photo shoot with my brother. It is great building with lots of charm but it has really fallen into disrepair. The decay is well-documented in this blog by Chris Gent. It would be a tragedy if this remarkable facility were to be lost, for Orlando has so few iconic historic structures. I'm in favor of the light rail bill, if only to save our beautiful train station.

Photos by Kilby Photo