Orange County Regional History Center — Attraction in Orlando

The Orange County History Center is a fascinating place in the heart of Downtown Orlando where anyone can gain an immeasurable amount of knowledge into Orlando's past along with the rest of Orange County and the state of Florida itself. There's more to the museum than meets the public eye as this is where the County stores massive amounts of artifacts, anywhere in age from centuries old to less than a year old - all in climate-controlled rooms designed for the perfect preservation of various types of artifacts. With the terrible tragedy that took place in Orlando on June 12th, 2016 the center took it upon themselves to immediately start a plan to preserve as much of what they possibly could from the massive amounts of memorabilia that came pouring in at sites across the City, and have since still been very transparent in just how much they're preserving and how they're doing so. The second floor of the museum has a large section dedicated to the LGBT history of Orlando, with a newly-added wall dedicated to the memory of Pulse Nightclub and the 49 victims of the attack. Just this weekend, November 10th to the 13th of 2016, as a part of Orlando's annual Gay Pride weekend - titled 'Come Out With Pride Orlando' - a room on the 4th floor was dedicated solely to a display of 49 individual wooden crosses... one for each victim that have uniquely immortalized the memories of each person. These crosses are kept in pristine condition away from as much of the natural elements as possible with the hopes of preserving them for centuries to come; all of this is just one example of what the museum does for the entire community. Today was my first time visiting; and I was told a great deal of information about how the exhibits work (just as anyone can who simply asks a curator or tour guide) and for such a small admission fee, it is in my opinion very, very well worth the price of admission to learn the intricate past of where we live and how it came to be today. To all people... both locals and visitors from out of the state/country; I highly recommend taking the time to visit this place. Everyone who steps through here will leave having learned something about this beautiful city and state that they didn't...

The Orlando Regional History Center is located in the old Neoclassical Orlando courthouse built in 1927. One of the most famous trials held here was for Ted Bundy. When the city outgrew the courthouse they built a new annex next door in 1960. In 1995 community leaders voted to make the 1927 courthouse a regional history museum. By this time the courthouse annex had been closed down due to asbestos. In 1998 it was torn down and Heritage Park was built on the site. The Orange County Regional History Center opened in the restored courthouse in 2000. Parking for the museum is available at the Central Boulevard garage across from the Orlando Public Library.

There are four floors of exhibits starting from 12,000 years ago. The fifth floor houses the Joseph L. Brechner Research Center. The story of Florida's history in the museum starts with Native American settlements that turned into pioneer towns that raised cattle and farmed citrus. In the 1970's the tourist industry blossomed turning Florida into the vacation destination it is today. More current events like the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the trial of Casey Anthony,and the 2016 Pulse Nightclub mass shooting are also examined. Exhibits focus on African American history, aviation, the cattle and citrus Industries, the history of tourism in Florida, Florida's indigenous people, the first settlers, the environment, and the impact of the theme parks. One exhibit I really liked was the recreated court room. On one of the tables the name Ted Bundy has been carved. Whether it was actually by him is up for debate. In addition to the permanent collection, the museum also showcases special exhibits. They also offer camps, workshops, lectures, and activities.

This museum is associated with the Smithsonian. The museum offers free admission on the third Thursday of each month from 6 to 9 PM. It will also offer free admission on April 4, 2020 for Museum Day. Regular adult admission is $8 but I saved money by purchasing a Groupon. That is a great, inexpensive activity. Lake Eola is nearby and there are a ton of great places to eat in the area. I highly recommend this...

I was looking forward to visiting this place and a few others on my trip down to Orlando as I grew up in Orlando. I grew up in Orlando back when it was a sleepy little town totally changed today in fact I barely recognized it today? I was looking forward to reliving some of my past memories there but that really didn't happen? I had high hopes for this place also one of the reasons I drove down was to do some exploring while see my family but what I wanted to see was another story? I had called in advance and planed on looking at the archives & records section as I was interested in the old Lake Eola bandshell and some other historic items but was not able to see anything because everybody was busy until next week? Sadly as a member I kind of felt let down as everybody was too busy or just did not have the time to do what I requested or want me to come back at a different time which was why I was really disappointed. I felt this was more of a tourist attraction for kids then serious historic viewers with very little history of the real old Orlando. Nothing was mentioned about many of the things I grew up around very generic and no meat? I did enjoy the Dr. Phillips actor & the Citrus section which was a big endity in the 50's & 60's. I wanted to take a nice picture of the old court house clock but much of it was thrown away as well as other historic items. The lighting above and reflections from the plastic made it not picture worthy so much for that venture as others? Guess my expectations was just too high for this place or I knew more than others maybe my timing was totally off who knows but was not impressed overall. The gift shop was nice and the staff but I felt empty inside.Not what I would have expected from a so called...