Lake Eola property to be preserved

This mornings paper had wonderful news, that a deal is in the works to preserve land adjacent to Lake Eola in Orlando that was threatened with development. The 1.3 acres parcel currently has 5 historic homes sitting on it that were built between 1915 and 1930. One of the homes that was threatened with demolition had the parcel been developed, was owned by John Mott, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. This brief bio is from the minutes of the city's Historic Preservation committee meeting in 2008:

"Mr. Mott won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1946, served as General Secretary of the International Committee of the YMCA, was President of the YMCA’s World Committee and, during World War I when the YMCA offered its services to President Wilson, Mott became General Secretary of the National War Work Council and received the Distinguished Service Medal for his work. He kept up his work for the YMCA and helped to conduct relief work for prisoners of war in various countries. He had been offered the Ambassadorship to China under President Wilson, but declined that offer and did serve as a member of the Mexican Commission and as a member of the Special Diplomatic Mission to Russia headed by Senator Elihu Root. Mr. Mott wrote 16 books, crossed the Atlantic over 100 times and the Pacific 14 times averaging 34 days on the ocean per year for 50 years and delivered thousands of speeches, chaired innumerable conferences, was honored with decorations from China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Jerusalem, Poland, Portugal, Siam, Sweden, and the United States. A record of Mr. Mott’s life and work was preserved for posterity with every note, report and letter classified and filed by Mr. Mott’s secretaries and were donated by the family to the Yale University Library where they occupy 230 archival boxes and 95 linear feet of shelf space."

These minutes were from a meeting where concerned neighbors came out in force to say "This Place Matters." Hooray!

View of Lake Eola looking northwest shows numerous hi-rises
including many vacant condos.

View looking north; behind the commercial structure is the historic
Eola Heights neighborhood featuring some of Orlando's best preserved historic homes. The parcel in question is southeast of the lake.

Behind this mid-century type is a building on the southwest corner
of Lake Eola also threatened with demolition, however, a new business was moving in last time I saw it, so perhaps its demise has been postponed.

Shuffleboard in Florida

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s “This Place Matter’s Contest” photo contest has chosen finalists, and one is from Florida. Christine Page’s image of the Shuffleboard Club in St. Pete is one of 12 photos chosen from over 2,000 entries, including several of my own (see recent posts.) Voting lasts until October 9, click here to register to vote for your favorite (I'm partial to Miller's Grocery.)

Here's some good info on the St. Pete Shuffleboard Club: "It's not only the world's largest shuffleboard club – we're talking more than 60 courts – it's also one of the most historic. This is where the game came of age in the first half of the 20th century: At one time, the club boasted as many as 5,000 members. Now, the facility, like the sport itself, has lost some of its luster, but it still hosts a busy slate of tournaments. Best of all, it encourages everyday folks to participate. It costs all of a buck to play (equipment provided) and club members are often around to offer a pointer or two. Summer hours vary, so it pays to check ahead to see if the club is open." - Palm Beach Post, June 3, 2007

Shuffleboard is a large part of Florida’s popular culture, as the image of snowbirds and seniors in black socks and sandals playing shuffleboard is an image that will be forever tied to our state. These images from the state archives seem to perpetuate that stereotype....

Tin Can Tourists were vacationers who came to Florida in campers in the early 20th century. Here you see shuffleboard at a typical Tin Can Tourist Camp.

More Tin Can Shuffleboard

Ever stylish shuffleboarders take the sport to a whole new glamorous level.

It's hard in this day and age to think of Shuffleboard as a spectator sport, but evidently it once was... this is St. Pete.

I'm thinking she didn't actually play in those heels...

More spectator Shuffle board in St. Pete. From the "nose bleed" seats.

Shuffleboard at Cypress Gardens...

In 1924, the Kissimmee All-States Tourist Club, or KAST Club, was organized to attract tourists to the to the Kissimmee area. This senior citizens club, helped create the nearby Monument of States. That influence is apparent on the entry to the KAST Club’s shuffleboard courts, as it is made up of some of the same stones that are used on the monument. Today this court, like the one in St. Pete, stands testament to a simpler time in Florida and both are very much places that matter today...

This Place Matters, Part 2

UPDATE: Many of the places I wrote about in this 2009 post are again at risk. The City of Orlando's proposed moratorium on historic preservation in the Downtown Historic District once again puts the historic buildings on Church Street at risk for demolition. Visit this webpage for details: https://savechurchstreet.org/.

"Church Street Station represents the past, and Orlando cannot afford to live in it. St. Augustine and Savannah can but not our city." So concludes Mike Boslet, editor of Orlando Magazine. He continues: "So what can be done to Church Street Station? Simple: Encourage a developer to tear it down and build a modern, glass-encased, commercial low-rise on the site."

Stepping into the biggest preservation controversy Orlando has known, the abrupt distruction of the Jaymont block, Mr. Boslet says: "It’s not like the city hasn’t aided the demolition of an outdated piece of property before. The city expedited approval of Kuhn’s request to bulldoze the old Jaymont block in 2003. Mayor Buddy Dyer made that happen. Today a beautiful, albeit financially troubled, three-tower, commercial-residential condo development called The Plaza stands on Orange Avenue between Church and Pine streets. The old department store it replaced sat there for 60 years, the last two decades derelict. Does anyone really miss it?"

My answer is yes, I miss it. While the drug store that anchored the block (I forget if it was Woolworths or McCorys) had moved out, it was not derelict for 2 decades as he claimed. The Historic Preservationist for the city was working to preserve the building, but was blindsided by Orlando's mayor and the wrecking ball started swinging within minutes of the city council vote. In its place is a hollow condominium with few residents and bad art.

The premise of tearing down Church Street Station and the whole attitude of the editorial is prevalent in Central Florida. I often hear people complain about the lack of culture or history here, yet eagerly anticipate the arrival of any new chain store or franchise restaurant. I wrote the editor and urged others to do the same because the block occupied by Church Street Station, not only was home to one of Orlando's most successful attractions, it also has some of our oldest buildings.

The story goes that when Bob Snow, owner of Rosie O'Grady's in Pensacola, heard Disney was coming to Orlando, he came to Orlando looking for a site to build a "Rosies" here. He had little luck but on the way to the airport the cab driver drove him down Church Street and he found exactly what he was looking for. On the corner was the building formerly housing Slemons Department Store, built in 1926. Other vintage buildings included the Bumby Hardware Store, built by one of Orlando's pioneering families in 1884 and one of the oldest surviving commercial structures in town. Just across the railroad tracks is the historic train depot, which is on the the Historic Register.

55 West Church Street, home to nobody

I think it's unlikely that the attraction that was Church Street Station can ever exist again. But the buildings that housed "the home of Good Times" have more character and life left in them than any "glass glass-encased, commercial low-rise." Looming just beyond the Train Depot is a high rise condo known as 55 West. It is brand new and completely empty.

129 W. Church St. originally Slemons Dept. Store, later Rosie O' Grady's, now vacant.

More here: https://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/2026/06/from-dry-goods-to-good-times-downtown.html

The heart of Church Street Station

"Built 1884, the Bumby Hardware is one of Orlando's earliest surviving commercial buildings."

Old Railroad Depot, Built 1889. "...reflects the Late Victorian railroad architecture popular among New Englanders who funded the railway enterprise. The smooth undulating roof lines, eyebrow dormers, circular tower and bulbous column of the 2nd floor relate to the style developed by architect HH Richardson of Boston..."

My anger at this point of view expressed in the editorial, led me to the National Trust for Historic Preservation's website where I found and participated in the "This Place Matters" campaign. Here are some of the places that matter most to me.

Lake Eola Fountain, built 1957

The Rogers Building, built 1884 . Originally was the English Club for English settlers in the Conway area. Currently an art gallery. On the Historic Register.

The Orange County Regional History Center, built 1927. Originally the the Orange County Courthouse, designed by architect Murry S. King, Florida's first licensed architect. On the Historic Register.

Orlando Public Library built 1966. The Brutalist style building is often criticized by residents for its stark appearance. Expansion in the 1980s was handled by Nils Schweizer, protege of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Sperry Fountain, built 1914-16 (Update: moved to Greenwood Cemetery and replaced with copy cast from the original)