{"id":66661,"date":"2025-12-01T16:43:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T16:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/66661\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T16:43:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T16:43:08","slug":"orlando-history-center-examines-cypress-gardens-colonial-plaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/66661\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando history center examines Cypress Gardens, Colonial Plaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orange County Regional History Center<\/a> will play host to multiple public events in December, including sessions that look back at Cypress Gardens<\/a> and return to the early days of Orlando\u2019 s Colonial Plaza<\/a> shopping center.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 5, the downtown Orlando museum\u2019s Lunch & Learn session is titled \u201cThe Legacy of Cypress Gardens.\u201d\u00a0 Jeremy Hileman, assistant curator of collections, will guide participants through the origins of the Winter Haven attraction, its famed ski shows and its large gardens.\u00a0 Cypress Gardens opened in 1936 and is now the site of Legoland Florida<\/a> theme park.\u00a0 Admission is $5 ($17 with pre-ordered lunch option).<\/p>\n

On Dec. 6, a former history center Lunch & Learn ventures out of downtown for \u201cColonial Plaza and the Era of the Malls.\u201d It will be held at the Nook on Robinson<\/a>, a tavern that\u2019s one block south of the shopping complex, which opened in 1956. The session, set for a 7 p.m. start, will be led by history center historian Rachel Williams.\u00a0 The session looks at suburban grown and retail in Central Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

SENTINEL FILE<\/p>\n

Astronaut John Young rides in a parade at Colonial Plaza Mall on John Young Day after his Apollo 10 flight in 1969. (Orlando Sentinel file)<\/p>\n

During daylight hours of Dec. 6., the history center hosts \u201cHighlights of the Museum,\u201d<\/a> featuring guided tours to explain how its artifacts are preserved and catalogued. Tours are scheduled for 10:30 a.m., 12 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Also at the museum now are \u201c125 Years of Audubon in Florida,\u201d<\/a> a pocket display about the organization\u2019s conservation efforts for birds and their habitats in the state, and \u201cOrlando Collected,\u201d<\/a> a large display that covers 150 years of the City Beautiful. Its run ends Jan. 11.<\/p>\n

History center: New \u2018Orlando Collected\u2019 exhibit marks city\u2019s 150th birthday<\/a><\/p>\n

For tickets and more information, go to thehistorycenter.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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