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