As the Orlando Sentinel celebrates its 150th birthday today, a new museum display showcases the newspaper\u2019s long history and its place in the lives of Central Florida residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cExtra! Extra! The Orlando Sentinel Turns 150,\u201d<\/a> a pocket exhibit produced by the Orange County Regional History Center<\/a>, is now available to the public. It features photos and artifacts from the history center\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to really prioritize things that not only showed the history and that were interesting, that people wouldn\u2019t see all the time, but also things that highlight the role that the paper played in the community,\u201d said Katie Kelley, curator of exhibitions. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the news; it is an institution of a community.\u201d<\/p>\n She also explored the human angle of stories, such as home-grown astronaut John Young<\/a>, who was part of NASA\u2019s Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a photograph of John Young\u2019s parents holding the Sentinel from when he touched down for one of the missions, and then we have the cover of that newspaper also,\u201d Kelley said.<\/p>\n The exhibit includes a full reproduction of \u201cThe Galley Proof,\u201d created by Martin Andersen<\/a>, who came to Orlando in 1931 to run the Sentinel and its companion newspaper, the Reporter-Star and then became their owner in 1945.<\/p>\n \u201cAndersen actually created a newsletter that he would send during World War II to his friends and locals who were serving overseas to keep them aware of what was happening at home,\u201d Kelley said.<\/p>\n Some documents from the museum archives are too fragile to put on display, so they were reproduced on panels, including a ledger from the late 1890s.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all the people that were subscribed,\u201d Kelley said.<\/p>\n The newspaper\u2019s longtime downtown headquarters, located near the crossroads of Orange Avenue and Colonial Drive, is included.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have photographs of that building from the collection from the 1950s and \u201860s, and then we sort of referenced the fact that it was in use until COVID hit, and everybody went remote,\u201d Kelley said.<\/p>\n Orlando Sentinel employees worked from those offices from 1951 until October 2020. More than 10,000 residents toured the space when it opened under Andersen\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things they got to show off was one of, if not the first, escalators in Orlando,\u201d said Roger Simmons<\/a>, current executive editor of the Orlando Sentinel.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the community took pride in the fact that the newspaper built this great building, but it was built for the community to help make sure that we could serve it in the years ahead,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cThat building served us well into the 2000s.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Andersen also emphasized the role of the region\u2019s roads, Simmons said.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that was very big on his list of priorities for the region was improving roads. \u2026 You go, \u2018Well, that\u2019s not like a critical issue to be pushing,\u2019 but it\u2019s what led to the growth of tourism here,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t get to Orlando without these great roads, and that was also one reason Walt Disney picked Orlando.\u201d<\/p>\n Key dates in Orlando Sentinel\u2019s 150-year history<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cExtra! Extra!\u201d is installed in the space to the right of the history center\u2019s lobby, the former location of its gift shop. It is scheduled to be there through Jan. 3. Previous pocket exhibits have included looks at vintage hotels, the women\u2019s soccer personalities known as the \u201885ers and Tupperware pioneer Brownie Wise.<\/p>\n The temporary exhibits are chances \u201cto highlight some artifacts in our collection that really haven\u2019t had the opportunity to be on display,\u201d Kelley said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really cool that the history center is doing this to celebrate the history of the Sentinel, because we\u2019ve been dedicated for the past 150 years to writing the first draft of history for Orlando<\/a>,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we take great pride in, and a legacy that we\u2019re going to continue going forward, hopefully, for the next 150 years.\u201d<\/p>\n