The Orange County Regional History Center
Located in the heart of downtown Orlando, the History Center is another location I pass on a daily basis whether on my daily runs or driving to/from work. I've really never thought much about it before, but with this new challenge I had added it to my list of placed that were no-brainers for me to visit. The history center offers three floors of permanent exhibits that explore 12,000 years of Central Florida history. In addition to the permanent exhibits, there are a ton of limited-run exhibitions they bring in throughout the year. A free audio-tour of the History Center's permanent exhibits is available at admissions.
Well, I finally made it over to the History Center and during my visit there were two "visiting" exhibitions: "Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television" and "Lights! Camera! Action! Filming in Paradise". These two exhibits were worth the entrance fee alone ($9.00 with AAA discount). I first went through the "Lights! Camera! Action! Filming in Paradise" exhibit and this was really pretty fascinating. It breaks down all the individual jobs on a movie set from the Script Writer to the Make-up Artist to the people responsible for the Craft Table. And I didn't know that movie making actually began in NYC, but they ran into troubles so it was relocated to Florida for the colder winter months... and Florida played such a large role in movie making (way before and outside of Universal Studios and Disney's MGM). Pretty fascinating stuff. On the other side in the"Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television" exhibit, there were a ton of original costumes worn in various movies from Star Trek, Batman and Star Wars.
The next floor up showcases eras such as "Disney: The Day We Changed" and "Destination Florida: Tourism Before Disney" which were equally as fascinating to me due to my professional background routed in hospitality. There is all kinds of information covered such as how Aviation and the Wars played a role in Central Florida's growth, the first European and Spanish contact in the area as well as the history and importance behind the Citrus industry. All critical to Central Florida and how its developed over time. One photo was extremely fascinating to me (see below). Overall, I can't believe I've never been to the History Center before! I'll definitely consider going in the future when there are special exhibitions visiting or events taking place of interest. Check them out on the web:www.thehistorycenter.org
A few photo opps throughout so you can snag your photo with your favorite character
The costume exhibit - all originals. Mostly they looked a lot "cheaper" in person than on screen.
Yeah... if you know me, just being silly here. :)
Interesting... I'm so used to WholeFoods around the corner and Publix downstairs.. .what WOULD I pack?!
And no suitcases or coolers.. but these barrels?! I'm appreciate modern technologies even more right now...
A very neat arial of Central Florida..
Favorite photo I saw - this is the oldest known photo of Orange Ave and Central Ave - I work on that corner! Looks VERY different now.
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