Central Florida Regional History Center

The faithful patrons of the greater Orlando area are well aware that their City Beautiful is not characterized by mouse ears alone, despite everything the airports, grocery stores and google searches of “Orlando, FL” may imply. As for the tourists who are altogether unfamiliar with the charm provided by the extenuating districts in the region, one can only hope that those visiting our city are at least minimally disenchanted by the stretch of pseudo-“entertainment” that constitutes International Drive.

So for those of us who know that Orlando exists in greater depth than the grinning costumed characters parading around Disney next door, be glad for such exhibits as the Orange County Regional History Center that is offering free admission to all of its displays as a part of these 10 Days of ArtsFest.

From the lobby, peering up through a layered collection of cartoonized historical factoids is enough to draw in a younger crowd, and as for the older generations, each succeeding floor offers an extensive collection of material, each piece conducive to the appreciation of Orlando’s rich history, and gathered by virtue of the museum’s continuously developing labor of love.

The glass cases preserve countless trinkets and memorabilia, attained through the museum’s laborious effort to locate and re-appropriate each piece individually from the homes of previous owners. Some, such as bayonets and family portraits, attest to Florida’s dominant role during the Civil War, and still others prod even deeper into the dark, primordial recesses of Central Floridian history, exploring the eclectic birth of Orlando as a cultural hotspot and tourist destination even before the inevitable monopolization of the area by Disney and Universal Studios.

What the Orange County Regional History Center really has to offer is a comprehensive defense for the true identity of Orlando, one dissociated from the entertainment empire and theme parks that, however enjoyable, don’t serve as an accurate depiction of the ethnic roots from whose influence modern Floridian culture continues to draw.

The History Center provides much needed punctuation in the continuous stream of advertisements promoting the commercialized entertainment industry that has become synonymous with Central Florida, offering residents a relief permanently embossed in the documented experiences of real people, encountering real, historically pivotal conditions, who emerged to cultivate the admirable nature of Central Florida- one accentuated by organic art and artists- that is Central Florida we know to be real.