Wolf Branch Sink

Last Saturday I woke up and got the paper and my whole day changed because of a story on the front page. The Lake County Water Authority was allowing visits to Wolf Branch Sink, a natural phenomenon not seen every day around these parts. There is a small waterfall on the site, one of two in Lake County, according to the video on the Orlando Sentinel website. If you are familiar with Florida topography, you know how flat the state generally is and a waterfall, however small, was worth the 45 minute drive to Mt. Dora.

While Mt. Dora is far from mountainous, it is pretty hilly and I have spent many weekends walking up and down the hills during the antique extravaganzas at Renninigers. The turn-off for the sink was just south of the railroad bridge over 441, down a nondescript road that took you by both a brand new housing development and ancient orange groves. Upon entering the property it is apparent why this sink exists as the elevation drops severely and all the water from a 5-mile square area funnels to this spot.

A Water Authority employee at the site told me that due to the recent drought, this branch had been dry for the last 3 years. But a very wet summer, including a September where it seemed like it rained every day, gave new life to the creek and the waterfall. I was told that the waterfall was first observed to have been flowing about two and a half weeks before. They hoped it would continue through today as they were opening up the site for visitors again.

The water flows from wetlands in the area and collects into the small branch which flows downhill over the small waterfall down a tiny "ravine" to a sinkhole where it slowly flows back into the aquifer. In a way a sink is the opposite of a spring.

The sinkhole was pretty modest, and we weren't allowed to explore its rim. The waterfall was flowing less when I saw it than it was in the Sentinel video, but it was still a pretty interesting. I followed the paths back into the Preserve and followed the creek all the way back to the railroad tracks. Huge stands of palmettos guarded ancient live oaks. Beautyberry bushes were everywhere and I wondered if I might see bears eating their brightly colored purple berries. I had a lovely, quiet walk on the well-marked trails and when I came back to the sink, the place was overflowing with visitors. The road leading into the preserve was packed with cars and I had to dodge pedestrians on my way out. I guess the novelty of a waterfall was so unique that it brought out large numbers of observers. But I found it very hopeful that so many people cared about this rarity in nature. On this day I found another encouraging sign that people in this state care a great deal about the environment, despite the reckless manner in which their elected officials treat it.

Extravaganza!

Many of the quirky vintage items in my home were purchased at Renninger's Antique Market in Mt. Dora, FL, specifically during one of their three annual Extravaganzas. Every year, for as long as I can remember, they have been hosting giant antique and collectible shows in November, January and February, where hundreds of dealers from the all over the country bring great vintage stuff to Central Florida. There are almost too many booths to see in one day, and it is one of the rare Florida locations with hills, so a day of trudging around the extravaganza is pretty exhausting. But always fun.

If it's from the past, you can find it here. My current obsessions are vintage advertising ephemera and Florida memorabilia and it's here in great abundance. I do pretty well at not spending too much money, reminding myself that Christmas is only a month away, but it's nearly impossible to return home empty handed. Last year, entertaining a friend from San Francisco, we went two days in a row, so he could purchase several large items and ship them to California for resale.

My wife and I purchased our dining room set at one extravaganza years ago, hurridly renting a U-haul in nearby Apopka and rushing back to the extravaganza just before dark. So walking around over the dusty hills brings back fond memories of finding great treasures, some that came home with me, some left for another lucky buyer.

It's a great place for photography too; there are bizarre juxtapositions of objects at every turn and countless colorful details everywhere. I ran into a friend from Flickr and noticed several others have visited as well. As I resulted I started a Flickr group for others who enjoy seeing the beauty in objects from the past as much as I do.

Ponce De Lake County

I went to the Extravaganza at Renningers Antique Market in Lake County this past weekend and one of my favorite purchases was a vintage brochure from the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. My best guess is that its from the 1940s or 5os; the design and illustrations are wonderful.


The inside back cover has a great map of the "Colorful Florida's Most Colorful Spots." In addition to having familiar favorites like Cypress Gardens and Bok Tower, it has some that are new to me like St. Anne's Shrine in Hesperides, FL and the Cactus Garden in Avon Park, FL. St. Anne's has been added to my list for future exploration, while I'll have to do more research on the Cactus Garden. Also on the map is the Japanese Gardens in Clearwater. Fellow blogger Electrospark did a couple wonderful posts on that roadside attraction, also called Eagle's Nest Gardens, here and here.

(Click on map to enlarge)

More Mt. Dora and Eustis

The Donelly House is probably one of the most photogenic buildings in Florida and it anchors the cute little downtown section of Mt. Dora. Orlando historian Steve Rajtar has this to say about the Queen Anne style home:
"This house was personally built in 1893 by John Phillip Donnelly for himself and the former Annie Stone, whom he married on August 27, 1891. It shows a Queen Anne Style, with an octagonal turret and wraparound porch. In 1930, it became the Masonic Temple Lodge. J.P. Donnelly, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, laid out the town and served as its first mayor. He had homesteaded 160 acres in 1879, and by marrying the former wife of William D. Stone, he doubled his holdings. A building on the campus of the Montverde Academy is named after him, as thanks for his generous contributions. This home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975."

The house may very well be the work of George F. Barber, a prolific Victorian architect who created illustrated catalogs of house designs.


The hilly downtown area includes a 1915 Train Depot, now used by the Chamber of Commerce, and the beautiful Lakeside Inn, among other architectural gems.


A short distance away from Mt. Dora lies the little town of Eustis. According to the website of the Eustis Historical Museum, "In the early 1900’s Eustis was known as a vacation paradise, catering to many wealthy northerners that traveled here in the winter for rest, relaxation and the wonderful year-round sunshine." Evidence of this early 20th century prosperity can be found at the beautiful bandshell in E.L. Ferran Park. A side note, E.L. Ferran's descendant opened one of the first roadside motels in Orlando, Ferran's Turo-tel on US 441. The Alice B. McClelland Memorial Bandshell was built in 1926, relocated to its present site and enlarged in 1936 and placed on the Historic Register in 1994. This charming Mediteranean revival style structure, is not as elaborate as the New Deal era bandshell in Daytona, but every bit as impressive. I wish Orlando still had the original bandshell on Lake Eola designed by Ryan and Roberts....


Down US 19 in Eustis I found a couple of interesting mid-century roadside relics. First was the Lake Shore Acres Motel. I found images of the once cool sign on Flickr, it appears to me the sign has been repainted (with spray paint) since then. It's kind of sad, but it's a good example of what can happen when roadside resources aren't cared for, when times are rough financially. The pool had obviously been closed for quite some time and doesn't look to re-open any time soon.



Just down the street was the Colonial Inn Motel, (world's worst tripadvisor.com review), and the Cara Mar Motel. The owner of the Cara Mar came out while I was shooting and was very proud of having restored the neon on both his signs. He appeared to have fixed up the swimming pool as well and I appreciate the effort in trying to keep the place viable.



Headed home, after a quick stop for ice cream, we stopped at this wonderful little church, near the edge of Mt. Dora. This part of Lake County is full of places that reveal the spectrum of old Florida, beautiful Victorian homes, elaborate Mediterranean rival architecture, and roadside mid-century modern. Some painstakenly restored, others have seen better days...

Floridiana in Mt. Dora

My wife and I headed to Mt. Dora this weekend to look for antiques at Renninger's Antique Market. I also had a hidden agenda: to shoot a couple of roadside items along the way. Despite the heat and humidity, we've been trying to do little day trips this summer, but I still haven't gotten to shoot much roadside architecture. My favorite roadside icon in Mt. Dora is the round orange building on 441 just north of SR 46. Agilitynut's website says this about it: "The Mount Dora Orange was built in 1973. It is 14' in diameter and made of concrete. The Orange was originally used a fruit stand but has been vacant since 1984. It stands pretty far back from the road next to McNamara's Antiques."

The little building is one of the very few surviving examples of novelty architecture in Central Florida and it is a monument to the days when citrus was king in the area. The distressed building faces west, so the best time to photograph it is really in the afternoon hours. Unfortunately we were there in the morning, but there's less of it every time I see it and I don't want to miss an opportunity to get a few shots before it becomes completely engulfed in the wilderness forever.

Just up the road is Renningers Twin Markets, Nirvana for anyone who likes looking at old stuff. Their "extravaganzas" cover the hillside with antique dealers from around the country and there are more cool old things to ogle than you can possibly see in one day. Fortunately those are only 3 times a year. The regular market has enough vintage eye-candy for regular fix of visual ephemera.

After looking at some vintage cameras and old postcards, a booth featuring pottery with colorful Florida imagery caught my eye. The beautiful ceramics have matte glazes similar to Roseville Pottery but the subject matter goes beyond floral to show sunshine state favorites like alligators, manatees, Seminole Indians and wading birds. The potter behind "Florida Art Pottery Studio" is Martin Cushman and he throws the pots right in his Renningers booth. A former Eustis restaurant owner, Cushman honed his pottery skills at Winter Park's Creadle School of Art. After a successful one-man show, he was approached by a pottery dealer from Renningers and the rest is history.


"Being a Floridian, my pots have always been decorated with the beauty of the nature of Florida," says Cushman, "be it spanish moss hanging from old oak trees or alligators lounging in the swamps." His booth echoes that theme and he's knowledgeable of some of Central Florida's obscure wildlife artists, (and this blog's favorites), Joy Postle and Sam Stoltz. My pictures don't do his work justice, go by and see them for yourself!