Monday, November 28, 2005
Exploring Downtown Orlando - A Beautiful
Walk Around Lake Eola
After our interesting visits to the Orange
County Regional History Center and the Well's
Built Museum of African-American Culture and History, we decided
to continue our explorations of downtown Orlando and its surrounding
historic neighbourhoods. After driving through beautiful residential
areas, framed by majestic oak trees adorned by Spanish Moss, we
decided to take a stroll around beautiful Lake Eola, which is just
minutes from downtown's Heritage Square, home of the Orange County
Regional History Center, and every second, third and fourth Saturday
of the month is also home to a lively farmer's market. By this time,
the sun was starting to set and Lake Eola and the surrounding highrises
were bathed in the golden hues of sunset.
Lake Eola is one of Orlando's more than 300 lakes and is surrounded
by established residential areas and highrises ringing the downtown
core. The park extends over 43 acres (17.2 hectares) and provides
generous sidewalks around the lake on a 0.9 mile (1.4 km) loop around
the water, which is enthusiastically used by walkers and joggers.
The lake itself can be explored on paddle boats, and other facilities
include a playground, a small outdoor cafe, gondola rides, and the
Walt Disney Amphiteatre for special events.
Lake Eola is intricately connected with Orlando's history. Even
the origin of the name Orlando may be connected to Lake Eola: the
first European settlements in the Orlando area grew around an old
army post: Fort Gatlin. According to one story, a U.S. soldier by
the name of Orlando Reeves, was killed by an American Indian's arrow
while on sentinel duty in what is today Lake Eola Park and may have
given name to this town. Originally, Orlando had been called Jernigan
after a Georgia settler, Aaron Jernigan, who settled in the area
in 1843. The origin of the town's name Orlando is not certain, however:
another popular story claims that a certain Judge Speer named the
settlement after the Shakespeare Character "Orlando" in
the play "As you Like it."
Be that as it may, the town was named "Orlando" in 1857
and was centered around the cotton and cattle industry. Demand for
beef was fuelled by Cuba while cotton plantations thrived until
the Civil War, which stole away the area's workforce, compounded
by a devastating hurricane in 1873. "Orange fever" hit
Central Florida in the 1870s, aided by the completion of the South
Florida Railroad in 1880.
The Great Freeze of 1894 to 1895 destroyed Florida's citrus industry
and it took 15 years to recover. Florida's citrus industry peaked
in the 1950s with more then 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) of plantations.
Walt Disney Amphitheatre
Orlando's first airport opened in 1922. Orlando also plays a significant
role in the defense and aerospace industry: during World War II
bomber pilots were trained here. A missile factory was built by
in 1956 by a forerunner of the Lockheed Martin company, which still
serves as the backbone of the area's technology industry today.
Tourism became Central Florida's main draw. From an early entertainment
park in 1895, to the creation of the Cypress Gardens Adventure Park
in 1936, the opening of Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom in 1971
really laid the foundations to Central Florida's tourism boom. Other
Disney attractions followed, including Walt Disney World Resort,
Epcot, Disney-MGM Studies, and Animal Kingdom. Universal Studios Florida opened in 1990, followed by Islands of Adventure in 1999
and Universal City Walk, an entertainment complex.
Indeed tourism is Central Florida's main industry today, with more
than 50 million visitors annually and yearly revenues of $28 bllion.
Tourism combined with high-tech and the citrus industry are the
three dominating economic sectors in Central Florida.
After our walk around historic Lake Eola we strolled back into
downtown and grabbed a table on the street patio of "Tijuana
Flats", a Mexican restaurant located right on Heritage Square,
and just one of many diverse kinds of eating establishments in the
downtown core.
While savouring some tasty and very filling Mexican food, we watched
the early evening street life in Orlando's downtown. We reflected
on how different the downtown area is in comparison to the newer
and very spread out tourist-oriented hotel and resort areas, which
often seem rather devoid of character. Here in the downtown area
you really get a feel for the history and the community that started
developing in the first half of the 19th century. The downtown and
Lake Eola areas, all of which are on an easily walkable scale, have
a much more authentic ambience to them which we thoroughly enjoyed.
For more information about Orlando contact the Orlando
Convention and Visitor Bureau. The Orlando Regional History
Center can be found at www.thehistorycenter.org.
Orlando and Central Florida travel stories:
Orlando Off the Beaten
Path
A visit to the Orange
County Regional History Center
Exploring Orlando's African
American Heritage at the Well's Built Museum
A lovely evening walk around downtown
Orlando's Lake Eola
Visual delights served
up on the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour
A walking tour through quaint
historic Winter Park
Our high-speed adrenaline adventure
at Boggy Creek Airboat Tours
Our picnic lunch by the Kissimmee
waterfront
Exploring picturesque Mount Dora
on the "Herbie Express"
Orlando's Loch Haven Park:
Center of culture and arts
Exploring downtown Orlando's
historic neighbourhoods and parks
Learning about citrus at
Florida's Natural Visitor Center
Architectural and natural
beauty at the Bok Historic Sanctuary
Central Florida: a haven
for naturalists and plant lovers
Central Florida's wildlife:
surprising ecological diversity..
Driving home through St. Augustine:
the oldest city in the US
Articles on Golf in Central Florida:
A first-hand
look at ChampionsGate
A first-hand look at the
Royal St. Cloud Links
A first-hand look at Timacuan
Golf and Country Club
Attending the Father
Son Challenge at ChampionsGate
An overview of golf in the Orlando area:
Orlando- Golf's Ultimate Theme Park
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