Off the Wall – Orlando in the early 1980’s that’s when the owner added the air plane. Prior to that it was a 1950’s rock and roll bar called the “golden rock” I believe the big bolder is still around the side entrance @ one time (in the 70’s) it was painted with gold paint and glitter to look like a giant gold nugget. In the early 1970’s it was a night club called the Read More...
Downtown Orlando 1950’s . I-4 has yet to be built through most of downtown
A history of Orlando’s Centennial Fountain, created on it’s 50th anniversary. Hear the inspiration for the Lake Eola fountain and the story of the building of this famous Orlando landmark.
Who Remembers these ? conveniently located in your local shopping center parking lot. Most have turned into Ice Making Machines
Who remembers when they blew up City Hall and used it as the opening in Lethal Weapon 3. And Mayor Bill Fredrick had a role as a police officer.
The first preserved piece of Orlando’s distinctive round building, which was demolished in 2015, is on the verge of going on display. Plans call for one of the 20-foot tall concrete “brise soleil” panels — which, translated from French, means sun blocker — to be resurrected outside of the Orange County Regional History Center as a hallmark to the buildings mid-century modern architecture. Once the Orlando City Council signs off on an agreement with Read More...
The huge grapefruit, tangerine, lemon and pair of oranges were built in the early 1970s on the property of what was then the Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge The oversized fruit were made to celebrate the legacy of Orange County’s original economic engine. Made with steel beams, concrete and plaster, the colorful fruit became a landmark. But the items were hauled away and taken apart because it was time to improve the looks of the aging Read More...
Movie stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover will likely share the big screen with the exploding remnants of an Orlando landmark, the old City Hall. Orlando and Warner Brothers have tentatively agreed to let the Hollywood studio use the Oct. 24 destruction of the building as a backdrop in the movie Lethal Weapon 3. A signed contract paying Orlando $50,000 for the film rights appears imminent, said city spokesman Joe Mittiga. Glover and Gibson, the Read More...
Amway Arena (originally known as Orlando Arena) was an indoor arena located in Orlando, Florida. It was part of the Orlando Centroplex, a sports and entertainment complex located in Downtown Orlando. The arena was the former home of the Orlando Magic of the NBA and the Orlando Titans of the NLL. It was also the home of the Orlando Solar Bears of the International Hockey League, and the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. Read More...
We put this under “Landmarks” as well. Loved this sign on I-4 as a kid!
Holiday Inn – Winter Park
The original location of the Hard Rock Cafe was adjacent to the Universal Studios park, and guests could enter the Cafe directly from within the park. The building when seen from above had the shape of a guitar. This photo was taken April 29, 2011. The yellow arrow here points to how the bridge of the guitar used to cross two roads at Universal to the Cafe’s parking lot. The restaurant itself was in the Read More...
The domes of the building once known as the Booby Trap pointed skyward for more than 40 years. But while the original owner had some last-minute thoughts of salvaging part of the building — two parts of it, anyway — a bulldozer finally put an end to the party, knocking down the former adult club in Winter Park on Wednesday. Purchased by the city last month, the former club — also known over the years Read More...
The best, can smell it as soon as you come around the corner on I-4 in Orlando
Whether you are a fan of classic suspense filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock, you love a good Halloween movie, or you’re an annual visitor to the Halloween Horror Nights house at Universal Orlando Resort, then you surely know of the film Psycho. Hitchcock’s Psycho has been paving the way for both horror films as well as boys with mommy issues since 1960. When people think about Universal’s film lots, typically it is Universal Studios Hollywood that comes Read More...
On Nov. 1, the Parliament House held its “Last Dance on OBT.” Days before, however, the new owners of the property had already filled out the paperwork to have the 1962 motel property demolished. For the LGBTQ community, the closure of the Parliament House was a huge loss. The roadside motel became a gay resort in 1975 providing a place for people to be themselves and meet one another. During the AIDS crisis in Read More...
Tinker Field was an outdoor baseball stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States. Named after Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Tinker, it was located in the West Lakes neighborhoods of Downtown Orlando, adjacent to the Camping World Stadium and one mile west of the Amway Center. In April 2015 the City of Orlando tore down the grandstands and removed all other extant buildings. Constructed in 1914, Tinker Field was the spring training home of the Brooklyn Read More...
During Church Street Station’s heyday, the street was closed to motor vehicles each evening and the complex of bars and restaurants became one large street party. But Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando eventually built their own nighttime-entertainment venues, and Church Street Station fell into decline through a series of different owners.
The Mystery Fun House was located on International Drive from 1976 to 2001.
David Clevinger, artistic director of Terror on Church Street, arranges a tribute in May 1999 as rising rent and falling attendance scared the ghouls from the attraction at Orange Avenue and Church Street.
The Xanadu House in Kissimmee was built in the 1980s to showcase modern technology in the U.S. It closed in 1996.
The sorcerer’s hat at Disney’s Hollywood Studios park at Walt Disney World is seen with the tip removed. The structure was removed after sitting in a prime spot in the park since 2001.
The “Desert Inn” sign came down Thursday from the iconic beachside hotel that’s now being renovated into a four-star Hard Rock Hotel. Built in the 1950s and expanded significantly the following decade, the hotel was once a draw for conventions and high school proms and was known as a Spring Break hot spot. It fell on hard times before its purchase in 2013 by Summit Hospitality Group, which is overseeing the renovations. In 2011, the Read More...
