Category: Orlando History

Lil 500 Go-Karts thrilled Fern Park for nearly 54 years. Meet the Kline family, the scorching steel slide, the Fun Spot link, and why it closed.

Ohev Shalom is Orlando’s oldest synagogue. Trace its story from a 1917 one-room building downtown to the lakeside Maitland campus it calls home now.

Dolly Parton died Aug. 25th at 80. Inside her real Orlando history: the Vineland Ave. dinner show, Flight 925 and books still arriving locally.

The Metcalf Building has anchored downtown Orlando since 1923: bank tower, Disney’s secret office, dive bar landmark. Inside its next chapter.

Lee’s Lakeside ruled downtown Orlando dining at Lake Eola for 20 years. The story of Lee Rose, the flaming desserts, and what took over the space.

Cheyenne Saloon & Opera House put downtown Orlando on national TV for eight years. The oak, the barbecue, the boom, the bust and what is left.

Uncle John’s Pancake House sold 49-cent unlimited pancakes until 3 a.m. on East Colonial Drive. Nobody wrote down the day Orlando lost it.

The Orange Court Hotel had an orange grove, a heated indoor pool, and 66 years at Orange and Colonial. How Orlando lost it, and what survived.

Kemp’s Coliseum on N. Orange Ave. hosted big bands, The Who and 50 years of Orlando memories, until a 1972 fire ended an era.