Old Florida #1 - Fogarty House

"Old Florida" means different things depending on your point of view. As a native of advanced age, to me it is the Florida I remember as a child - smallish sleepy southern towns (Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville being the only cities of any size in the late 1940's and early 1950's). Orlando had a population of about forty thousand. Cows grazed where huge shopping malls stand now, I could bicycle safely with my little girlfriends all over town, and the bus drivers on our local transport used to let kids ride for free. The street I grew up on was inside the city limits, but was not yet paved. There was no air conditioning and precious little mosquito control.

The advent of air conditioning and the NASA space program perked things up a bit, but it wasn't until Disney moved into the area that things really started to change.

Some of you may have been to the Central Florida theme parks and attractions. It is a popular vacation/honeymoon/conference destination for people from all around the world.

It certainly is not "my" Florida, however!! Not that I'm totally opposed to growth and change (I'm blipping, aren't I?) but there remains a Florida that is now largely hidden by billboards, glitz, super highways, and high rise hotels.

Don't know how many of 'Old Florida" architecture/history blips I'll post, but it will be an adventure for all of us. I'm new myself to this particular part of the SW coast and still have many exploratory adventures ahead. Just this morning in a two block area I took more than 50 photos of interesting old houses. I'm starting with this one because its history is documented. If you're interested, to see additional views and also for photos of the history plaque that is posted outside the house, click here.

Many, many thanks for all your sweet and encouraging comments on my 100th yesterday! I'm getting to individual thank-you's as fast as I can ;-0 Love you all.....