Historic buildings are priceless artifacts
Visitors to the Orange County Regional History Center often asked whether there had been anything here before Disney. Of course, Orlando was a thriving city nearly a century before Disney World opened, and we have the Angebilt Hotel, two elegant department stores, and two blocks of history on Church Street, including the all-important 1890 train station, as proof that such a place existed. With some imagination and creative adaptive reuse, it could still exist.
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Original commercial buildings from Orlando’s first growth period in the 1880s remain standing on two blocks of Church Street on either side of the former South Florida Railroad. The 1890 train station, the main catalyst for that growth, still stands along the tracks where it welcomed newcomers and visitors for nearly half a century.
Pictures tell the story, but the buildings themselves bring it to life. We don’t put historic buildings in museums, because the buildings are living museums. They provide tangible connections with the past, links that enable people of any age to experience the past as it really was. Historic houses, churches, schools, and blocks of business establishments help us understand and celebrate more than 150 years of Orlando’s development. May they still be here for the next milestone.
— Tana Mosier Porter, Orlando
It’s not the buildings, it’s the memories
While reading “After ups and downs, can downtown Orlando rise again?” (July 5) I was struck in the gut by Orange County Commissioners Patty Sheehan and Roger Chapin’s opinions on opposite ends of the spectrum. Sheehan has proven to be a compassionate advocate for history in Downtown Orlando and the surrounding communities — the neighborhoods and the amount of respect she shows the energy from the past are admirable.
Chapin’s comment regarding the historic nature of the buildings was “I don’t remember the color of the grout.” It’s not the grout, it’s the energy, the spirit of downtown and the surrounding history. I work in one of the most historic buildings in Orlando, what used to be the City Center on Magnolia and Central. I talk about the soul and essence of the building with the energy that began as a hospital and still carries the names of those past. The pictures of those men and women that came to a town mostly known for citrus and cattle are framed on our walls and my bosses proudly walk visitors around telling the stories of the building they purchased.
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We’ve been through the process of renovating, matching paint, grout and structures. For those that respect the past, it was worth it to save that essence.
History only dies when the memories are gone. Then the stories keep them alive. What makes those memories special is the people in those buildings. Please don’t lose sight of that.
— Julie Williams, Cape Canaveral
Another attack on free speech
Scott Maxwell has written another great column, this time around the issue of free speech (“Free speech? Florida students have diplomas threatened for silent ICE protest,” July 5). An additional free speech issue is Gov. Ron DeSantis designating CAIR as a terrorist group. CAIR stands for Council on American-Islamic Relations, and that is exactly their purpose — good relations between the U.S. and those of the Islamic faith. I have been on their mailing list for years, and they are no more terrorist than I am. Well, maybe I am in the eyes of our governor, since I receive CAIR email. I have even gone to a meeting at the CAIR office in Orlando, to receive instruction on doing election protection for the 2018 election. What could be more in line with democratic (small d) ideals than that, ensuring that our elections follow the law?
— Dorothy Schwartz, Poinciana
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