Orlando is a major city in
the central region of the U.S.
state of
Florida
. It is the county
seat of Orange County
and the center of the Greater
Orlando metropolitan region. According to the
United States Census Bureau the
estimated population of the city is approximately 230,514; and of
the metropolitan area, 2,054,574. It is the fifth largest city in
Florida by city proper population. It was incorporated on July 31,
1875, and became a city in 1885.
Originally
the center of a major citrus-growing region, Orlando is now best
known as the home of amusement attractions, including the Walt Disney
World Resort
, the Universal Orlando Resort
, and SeaWorld
.
These destinations helped make Orlando the third most visited
American city among travelers in the year 2007.
Since the
establishment of destination tourism in the 1970s, the local
economy has diversified, and today the region is the center of
operations for companies servicing Central Florida
. Orlando is also home to the University of
Central Florida
, the largest university campus by student
enrollment in the state of Florida and among the largest in the
United States.
History
Lake Lucerne in c.
Before European settlers arrived to the area in 1836, Orlando was
sparsely populated by the
Creek and
Seminole Native
American tribes. However, very little, if any, archaeological
sites exist today. Prior to being known as its current name,
Orlando was known as Jernigan, after the first permanent settler,
cattleman
Aaron Jernigan, who
acquired land along Lake Holden by the terms of the
Armed Occupation Act of 1842. But most
pioneers did not arrive until after the
Third Seminole War in the
1850s. Most of the early residents made their living by
cattle ranching.
Local legend says the name "Orlando" was derived when a soldier
named
Orlando Reeves allegedly died
in the area during the
Second
Seminole War.
It seems, however, that Orlando Reeves
(sometimes Rees) operated a sugar mill
and plantation about 30 miles
(50 km) to the north at Spring
Garden in Volusia
County
. Pioneer settlers simply found his name
carved into a tree and assumed it was a marker for his grave site.
They then referred to the area as "Orlando's grave" and later
simply Orlando.
A memorial beside Lake Eola
designates the spot where the city's namesake
fell. Another popular local legend says the city was named
after one of the main characters in the Shakespeare play
As You Like It. One of the main streets in
downtown Orlando is named Rosalind
Avenue.
Rosalind was the
heroine of Shakespeare's play.
During the
Second
Seminole War, the
U.S.
Army established an outpost at
Fort Gatlin, a few miles south of the modern downtown, in 1838. But
it was quickly abandoned when the war came to an end.
After
Mosquito
County
was divided in 1845, Orlando became the county seat
of the new Orange County in 1856. It remained a rural
backwater during the
Civil War,
and suffered greatly during the
Union
blockade. The
Reconstruction Era
brought a population explosion, which led to Orlando's
incorporation as a town on July 31, 1875, and as a city in
1885.
The period from 1875 to 1895 is remembered as Orlando's Golden Era,
when it became the hub of Florida's
citrus
industry.
But the Great
Freeze of 1894–95 forced many owners to give up their
independent groves, thus consolidating
holdings in the hands of a few "citrus barons" who shifted
operations south, primarily around Lake Wales
in Polk County
.
The Wyoming Hotel in c.
There were a couple of notable homesteaders in the area, including
the Curry family. Through their property in east Orlando flowed the
Econlockhatchee River, which
travelers crossed by
fording. This
would be commemorated by the street's name, Curry Ford Road. Also,
just south of the airport in the Boggy Creek area was of property
homesteaded in the late 1800s by the Ward family.
This property is
still owned by the Ward family, and can be seen from flights out of
MCO
southbound immediately on the south side of
SR-417.
Orlando, as Florida's largest inland city, became a popular resort
during the years between the
Spanish-American War and
World War I.In the 1920s, Orlando experienced
extensive housing development during the
Florida Land Boom. Land prices soared.
During this period several neighborhoods in downtown were
constructed, endowing it with many
bungalows. The boom ended when several
hurricanes hit Florida in the late 20s, along with
the
Great Depression.
During
World War II, a number of Army
personnel were stationed at the Orlando Army Air Base and nearby
Pinecastle Army Air Field. Some of these servicemen stayed in
Orlando to settle and raise families. In 1956 the aerospace/defense
company
Martin Marietta (now
Lockheed Martin) established a plant
in the city. Orlando AAB and Pinecastle AAF were transferred to the
United States Air Force in
1947 when it became a separate service and were redesignated as Air
Force Bases (AFB).
In 1958, Pinecastle AFB was renamed McCoy Air
Force Base
after Colonel Michael N.W. McCoy, a former
commander of the 320th Bombardment Wing at the installation, killed
in the crash of a
B-47 Stratojet bomber north
of Orlando. In the 1960s, the base subsequently became home to the
306th Bombardment Wing of the
Strategic Air Command (SAC), operating
B-52 Stratofortress and
KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, in addition to
detachment operations by
EC-121 and
U-2 aircraft.
Orlando
is close enough to Patrick Air Force Base
, Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station
, and Kennedy Space Center
for residents to commute to work from the city's
suburbs. It also allows easy access to Port
Canaveral
, an
important cruise ship terminal.
Because
of its proximity to the Space Coast near
the Kennedy
Space Center, many high-tech companies have shifted to the
Orlando area.
Lucerne Circle in c.
Perhaps
the most critical event for Orlando's economy occurred in 1965 when
Walt Disney announced plans to build
Walt Disney
World
. Although Disney had considered the regions
of Miami
and Tampa
for his
park, one of the major reasons behind his decision not to locate
there was due to hurricanes— Orlando's
inland location, although not free from hurricane damage, exposed
it to less threat than coastal regions. The famous vacation
resort opened in October 1971, ushering in an explosive population
and economic growth for the Orlando metropolitan area, which now
encompasses Orange, Seminole
, Osceola
, and Lake
counties. As a result,
tourism became the centerpiece of the area's
economy. Orlando is consistently ranked as one of the top vacation
destinations in the world, and now boasts more
theme parks and entertainment attractions than
anywhere else in the world.
Another
major factor in Orlando's growth occurred in 1962, when the new
Orlando Jetport, the precursor of the present day Orlando
International Airport
, was built from a portion of the McCoy Air
Force Base. By 1970, four major airlines (
Delta Air Lines,
National Airlines,
Eastern Airlines and
Southern Airways) were providing scheduled
flights.
McCoy Air Force Base officially closed in 1975, and most of it is now
part of the airport. The airport still retains the former Air
Force Base airport code (MCO).
In
addition to McCoy Air
Force Base, Orlando also had a naval presence with the establishment of
Naval Training Center Orlando on the former Orlando AFB in
1968. The newest of three Naval Training Centers in the
United States providing training to recruits, as well as being a
base for selected post basic training programs for enlisted
personnel, NTC Orlando also conducted nuclear power training for
commissioned officers and the base had a prominent presence in the
area. In 1993, the
Base Realignment and
Closure Commission ordered that NTC Orlando be closed, along
with a companion installation, NTC San Diego. NTC Orlando continued
in a diminished capacity until the base closed for good in 1999
with the last graduates of the base's
Naval Nuclear Power School
leaving in December 1998. The former base has been developed into
tracts for upscale housing called
Baldwin
Park.
Other than Reserve and National Guard
activities, the Orlando area's remaining military presence is the
Naval
Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division/Naval Support
Activity Orlando, located just east of the city limits in the
Central
Florida Research Park
. The U.S. Army's Program Executive Office
for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI), the
United States Army Research, Development and Engineering
Command's,
Simulation and
Training Technology Center , the
U.S. Marine Corps' Program Manager for
Training Systems (PMTRASYS) and the U.S. Air Force's Agency for
Modeling and Simulation are also collocated at this location.
Lake Eola in 1911
The
SunTrust Center, the tallest building
in Orlando at 441 ft (134 m), was built in 1988. The second
tallest building is the VUE at Lake Eola (2008, tall, but with 35
stories it will have more stories than the SunTrust Center.
The third
tallest is the Orange County Courthouse
(1997, . The next tallest buildings
are
the
Bank of America Center (Formerly
Barnett Plaza), built in 1988, ,
Solaire at the Plaza, 2006, and the Orlando
International Airport ATC Tower (2002,
. The SeaWorld SkyTower, at tall, is the tallest tower in Orange
County outside Orlando proper. There are also
several tall transmission towers in Orange County, the tallest of
which is the WFTV
transmission
tower in Christmas
at 1,617 ft (491.6 m) tall.
In the hurricane season of 2004,
Hurricanes Charley,
Frances, and
Jeanne battered the Orlando area, causing
widespread damage and
flooding and impeding
tourism to the area.
Geography
Topography
Orlando is located at (28.533513, -81.375789).According to the
United States Census
Bureau, the city has a total area of 261.5 km²
(101 mi²). 242.2 km² (93.5 mi²) of it is land and
19.3 km² (7.5 mi²) of it (7.39%) is water. Orlando is, on
average, above sea level.
Climate
Orlando has a warm and
humid
subtropical climate, and there are two major seasons each year.
One of those seasons is hot in rainy, lasting from the break of
June until late September (roughly coinciding with the
Atlantic hurricane season). The
other is the dry season (October through May) that brings more
moderate temperatures and less frequent rainfall.
The area's warm and
humid climate is caused primarily by its low elevation and its
position relatively close to the Tropic of Cancer
, and many characteristics of its climate are a
result of its proximity to the Gulf
Stream.
During the height of Orlando's very humid summer season,
temperatures rarely fall below 70 °F (21 °C), and daytime highs
average in the 90s (32-37 °C). Although the city rarely records
temperatures over 100 °F (38 °C), extreme humidity can push the
heat index to over 110 °F (45 °C). The
city's highest recorded temperature is 101 °F (39 °C), set July 2,
1998. During these months, strong afternoon thunderstorms occur
almost daily.
These storms are caused by air masses from
the Gulf of
Mexico
and the Atlantic Ocean
colliding over Central Florida. They are
highlighted by spectacular
lightning and
can also bring heavy
rainfall (sometimes
several inches per hour) and powerful
winds as
well as occasional damaging
hail.
During the cooler seasons, humidity is lower and temperatures are
more moderate, and can fluctuate more readily. Average nighttime
lows in January are around 50 °F (10 °C), and average daytime highs
are about 72 °F (22 °C). Temperatures rarely dip below 32 °F (0
°C). Because the winter season is dry and rare freezing
temperatures occur after cold fronts (and their accompanying
precipitation) have passed, Orlando experiences no significant
snowfall (only once has measurable snow accumulated since recording
began at the airport in 1948). Very rarely do the ingredients come
together for flurries to occur, commonly
ocean effect snow. The area around Orlando
recorded up to 6" (15 cm) in 1977 during a snowstorm (which
partly contributed to the idea of Disney's blizzard Beach Water
Park 20 years later). Reports of flurries in the Central Florida
area include December 23, 1989, January 24, 2003, November 24,
2006, and January 3, 2008.
The average annual rainfall in Orlando is 50.1 in. (128 cm),
most of it occurring in the period from June to September. The
months of October through May are Orlando's driest season. During
this period (especially in its later months), there is often a
wildfire hazard. During some years, fires have been severe. In
1998, a strong
El
Niño caused an unusually wet January and February, followed by
drought throughout the spring and early summer, causing a record
wildfire season that created numerous air quality alerts in
Orlando.
Orlando
has a considerable hurricane risk,
although it is not as high as it is in South Florida
's urban corridor or other coastal regions.
Since the city is located 42 miles (68 km) inland from the
Atlantic and 77 miles (124 km) inland from the Gulf of Mexico,
hurricanes usually weaken before arriving. Storm surges are not a
concern since the region is 100 ft (30 m) above sea level.
Despite its location, the city does see strong hurricanes. During
the notorious
2004
hurricane season, Orlando was hit by three hurricanes that
caused significant damage, with
Hurricane Charley the worst of these. The
city also experienced widespread damage during
Hurricane Donna in 1960.
Demographics
According to the 2005–2007 American Community Survey estimates, the
city's population was 45.8% White, 40.2% non-Hispanic White, 34.3%
Black, 23.7% Hispanic, 13.6% Hispanic White, 2.7% Asian, 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native, 9.6% from some other race, and
2.1% from two or more races.30.1% of the city's population had a
Bachelor's degree or higher.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 185,951
people (2008 estimate counted 230,514 people), 80,883 households,
and 42,382 families residing in the city. The
population density was 767.9/km²
(1,988.9/mi²). There were 188,486 housing units at an average
density of 365.4/km² (946.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was
61.10%
White, 26.70%
African American, 1.43%
Asian, 0.34%
Native American, 0.08%
Pacific Islander,
5.41% from
other races,
and 2.54% from two or more races. 17.79% of the population was
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. Non-Hispanic Whites
made up 50.8% of the population.
There were 80,883 households out of which 24.5% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 32.4% were married couples living
together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 47.6% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up
of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the
average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age
of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to
64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
The
median income for a
household in the city was $35,732, and the median income for a
family was $40,648. Males had a median income of $30,866 versus
$25,267 for females. The
per capita
income for the city was $21,216. About 13.3% of families
and 15.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 27.0% of those under
age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.
Orlando is also home to one of the nation's highest population
percentage of
LGBT people.
According to a study
by UCLA
, 7.7% of
Orlando's population is gay, lesbian, or bisexual and with 5.7% of
the entire metropolitan population, it ranks 9th in the
nation.
Crime
In 2006, based on the Department of Justice's FBI Criminal Justice
Information Services Division, Orlando reported 4,300 violent
crimes including 49 murders, a record number since 36 in 1982.
Crime in Orlando has been up 329% since 2006. Based on the
Morgan Quitno Press "Safest and Most Dangerous
Cities of 2008", Orlando ranked as the 18th most dangerous city in
the country.
Crime is being attacked by Orlando authorities with the
installation of security cameras in Orlando. Traffic lights are
merged with cameras capable of detecting out of ordinary activity.
Once a smart camera detects this activity, it will zoom in on
people of interest in an effort to identify them, and can also zoom
in on a license plate.
In 2008, 123 people were slain in Orlando and unincorporated Orange
County, a new record. In 2009 Forbes magazine named Orlando the
nation's sixth most dangerous city in the United States. Forbes
reports its data showed the Orlando-Kissimmee metropolitan area has
a population of 2,020,346 with 845 violent crimes per 100,000
people.
Languages
As of 2000, 75.43% of all residents speak
English as their
first language, while 16.60% speak
Spanish, 1.93% speak
Haitian Creole, 1.33% speak
French, and 0.99% of the population speak
Portuguese as their
mother language.
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Orlando is the hub city of the
Orlando-Kissimmee,
Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, colloquially known as
"Greater Orlando" or "Metro Orlando".
The area encompasses
four counties (Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake), and is currently the
27th-largest metro area in the United States with a 2007
Census-estimated population of 2,032,496.
When
Combined Statistical Areas
were instituted in 2000, Orlando was initially joined together with
The
Villages, Florida
, Micropolitan Statistical Area, to form the
Orlando-The Villages, Florida, Combined Statistical Area.
In 2006,
the metropolitan areas of Deltona
(Volusia County
) and Palm Coast
(Flagler
County
) were added to create the
Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, Florida, Combined
Statistical Area. This new larger CSA has a total
population (as of 2007) of 2,693,552, and includes three of the 25
fastest-growing counties in the nation—Flagler ranks 1st; Osceola,
17th; and Lake, 23rd.
Economy
Metro Orlando has a rapidly growing $13.4 billion technology
industry employing 53,000 people, and is a nationally recognized
cluster of innovation in digital media, agritechnology, aviation,
aerospace, and software. More than 150 international companies,
representing approximately 20 countries, have facilities in Metro
Orlando.
A vital
part of the Orlando area economy is involved in the tourist
industry, with the city being known for its wide range of its
attractions including Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, and Sea World Orlando
. Over 48 million visitors came to the
Orlando region in 2004. The convention industry is also critical to
the region's economy.
The Orange
County Convention Center
, expanded in 2004 to over two million square feet
(200,000 m²) of exhibition space, is now the second-largest
convention complex in terms of space in the United States, trailing
only McCormick
Place
in Chicago
. The city vies with Chicago and Las
Vegas
for hosting the most convention attendees in the
United States.
Metro
Orlando has the 7th largest research park in the country Central
Florida Research Park with over 1,025 acres. It is home to over
120 companies, employs more than 8,500 people, and is the hub of
the nation’s military simulation and training programs. Metro
Orlando is home to the simulation procurement commands for the U.S.
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.
Orlando is a major industrial and hi-tech center.
Lockheed-Martin has a large manufacturing
facility for missile systems, aeronautical craft and related high
tech research.
Other notable engineering firms have offices
or labs in Metro Orlando: KDF, General Dynamics, Harris, Mitsubishi
Power Systems, Siemens, Veritas/Seagate,
multiple USAF facilities, Naval Air Warfare
Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD),
Delta Connection Academy, Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University
, GE, Air Force Agency for
Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS), U.S.
Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and
Instrumentation (PEO STRI),
United States Army Research, Development and Engineering
Command United
States Army Simulation and Training Technology Center (STTC),
AT&T,
Boeing, CAE
Systems Flight & Simulation Training,
HP, Institute for Simulation and Training,
National Center for
Simulation,
Northrop Grumman,
and
Raytheon Systems. The Naval Training
Center until a few years ago was one of the two places where
nuclear engineers were trained for the
US
Navy. Now the land has been converted into the
Baldwin Park development.
Another
developing sector is the film, television, and electronic gaming
industries, aided by the presence of Universal
Studios
, Disney's Hollywood Studios
, Full Sail
School, the Florida
Interactive Entertainment Academy
, and other entertainment companies and
schools. Numerous office complexes for large
corporations have popped up along the Interstate 4 corridor north of Orlando,
especially in Maitland
, Lake Mary
and Heathrow
. The U.S. modeling,
simulation, and training
(MS&T) industry is centered around the Orlando
region as well, with a particularly strong presence in the Central
Florida Research Park adjacent to UCF. Nearby Maitland is the home of Tiburon, a division of the video
game company Electronic Arts.
Originally Tiburon Entertainment, it was acquired by EA in 1998
after years of partnership, particularly in the famous
Madden NFL series and
NCAA Football series of video
games.
Orlando is the home base of
Darden
Restaurants, the parent company of
Red
Lobster and
Olive Garden and the
largest operator of restaurants in the world by revenue. They are
building a new world headquarters and central distribution facility
on John Young Parkway.
Orlando has two non-profit hospital systems:
Orlando Health and
Florida Hospital. Orlando Health's
Orlando Regional Medical
Center is home to Central Florida's only Level I
trauma center, and
Winnie Palmer
Hospital for Women and Babies and
Florida Hospital Orlando have the
area's only Level III
neonatal intensive care units.
Florida Hospital's main campus is ranked as one of the best
hospitals in the nation, and has a renowned
brain
attack facility.
Orlando's medical leadership will be further
advanced with the completion of UCF's College of Medicine and a new VA Hospital, both of which
will be located in a new medical district in the Lake Nona area of
the city.
Historically, the unemployment rate in Greater Orlando was low,
which resulted in growth that led to
urban
sprawl in the surrounding area and, in combination with the
2007 Subprime
mortgage financial crisis, to the rising cost of home prices.
Today, according to
Workforce
Central Florida, the March 2009 unemployment rate in Central
Florida has increased to 9.9 percent
Sentinel. Housing prices in Greater Orlando
went up 34% in one year, from an average of $182,000 in August 2004
to $245,000 in August 2005, and eventually to a record $255,000 in
February 2007. They are tapering off, however, down to $211,000 in
April 2008.
Culture
Puerto Ricans
Metropolitan Orlando has the largest population of
Puerto Ricans (over 250,000) in Florida. As a
result, a high number of Puerto Rican restaurants, businesses,
media, and neighborhoods are in the city. The area around Semoran
Blvd and Curry Ford Rd in east Orlando is known as "Little San
Juan". Many Puerto Rican Heritage festivals are held annually in
Orlando including "Calle Orange" (the largest) and "Festival in the
Park". Also, an annual Puerto Rican parade runs down Orange Ave in
downtown Orlando.
Orlando's
Puerto Rican population has recently become politically active and
wields similar influence compared to the Cuban
population of Miami. Many
organizations are in Orlando that assist Puerto Ricans in
relocating from the island and obtain housing and jobs. As of 2009,
Orlando is the fourth largest metropolitan area for Puerto Ricans
in the United States.
Tourism
- For tourist information, see Wikitravel:Orlando.
The
Orlando area is home to a wide variety of tourist attractions,
including the Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld
Orlando
and Holy Land
Experience. The Walt Disney World resort is the area's
largest attraction with its many facets such as the Magic Kingdom
, Epcot
, Disney's
Hollywood Studios, Disney's Animal Kingdom
, Typhoon Lagoon
, Blizzard
Beach
, and Downtown Disney
. SeaWorld Orlando is a large park that
features numerous zoological displays and marine animals alongside
an amusement park with roller coasters and water park.
Universal Orlando,
like Walt Disney World, is a multi-faceted resort comprising
Universal
Studios Florida, CityWalk, and the Islands of
Adventure
theme park. Orlando attractions also
significantly appeal to many locals who want to enjoy themselves
close to home.
Orlando
has the second largest number of hotel rooms in the country (after
Las
Vegas, Nevada
), and is
one of the busiest American cities for conferences and conventions
with the Orange County Convention
Center, the country's second largest in square
footage. It is also known for its wide array of golf
courses, with numerous courses available for any level of golfer.
Located
several miles away from the main tourist attractions, Downtown Orlando is undergoing major
redevelopment with a number of residential projects, commercial
towers, and major public works projects including the Amway Center
and the Dr. P.
Phillips
Orlando Performing Arts Center. Orlando ranks as the fourth
most popular city, based on where people want to live, according to
a 2009 Pew Research Center study.
Entertainment and performing arts
The
hip hop music scene,
metal scene,
rock
music scene,
reggaeton and
Latino scene, are all active within the city, which
is largely home to the
Florida
Breakbeat movement. Orlando has also been called Hollywood East
because of numerous cinematic enterprises in the area.
The Universal Studios globe
Until
recently, Walt Disney Feature Animation operated a studio out of
Disney's
Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort. Feature Animation-Florida was primarily
responsible for the films Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and the early
stages of Brother Bear and contributed on various other projects.
Universal Studios's Soundstage 21
is home to The
TNA Impact Zone.
Nickelodeon Studios, which through the 90s produced hundreds of
hours of GAK-filled game shows targeted at children, no longer
operates out of Universal Studios Florida. The Florida Film
Festival in nearby Maitland is one of the most respected regional
film festivals in the country and attracts budding filmmakers from
around the world. In addition, the implosion of Orlando's previous
City Hall was filmed for the movie
Lethal Weapon 3. Orlando's indie film
scene has been picking back up since Haxan Film's The Blair Witch
Project (1999) and a few years later with Charlize Theron winning
her Academy Award for Monster (2003). A Florida state film
incentive has also helped increase the amount of films being
produced in Orlando and the rest of the state.
The Orlando Metropolitan Area is also home to a substantial theatre
population. Several professional and semi-professional houses and
many community theaters dot the area including
Orlando Shakespeare Theater,
Orlando Repertory Theatre (Central Florida's only Professional
Theatre for Young Audiences), Orlando Theatre Project, Mad Cow
Theatre, Theatre Downtown, The Osceola Center for the Arts, Winter
Park Playhouse, Theatre Winter Haven, and IceHouse Theatre. Disney
also a cast theater company known as S.T.A.G.E. as well as Encore,
a cast choir and orchestra whose annual charity concerts have
raised thousands of dollars.
Additionally, both University of
Central Florida and Rollins College
(Winter Park) are home to well respected Theatre
Departments that provide an influx of young artists to the local
area.
In
addition, the Bob Carr Performing Arts
Centre
brings national tours through town on a regular
basis. This venue, built in 1926, will be replaced by the
Dr.
P. Phillips Orlando
Performing Arts Center in 2012.
Each spring, local theaters and downtown venues play host to the
Orlando
International Fringe Theater Festival, which draws touring
companies from all around the world as well as readings and fully
staged productions of new and unknown plays by local artists. Also
in the spring, there is The Harriett Lake Festival of New Plays,
hosted by Orlando Shakespeare Theater.
Shopping malls
Orlando has become one of the fastest growing retail markets in the
USA with at least five major upscale department stores opening in
2008 alone and more than of shopping space in Central
Florida.
- The Florida Mall
is the largest mall in Orlando, one of the
largest single-story malls in the USA at over with over 250 stores,
seven anchor department stores, and the Florida Mall Hotel &
Conference Center Tower.
- The Mall at Millenia
is a contemporary two-level upscale
shopping mall, including the world-famous department stores of
Bloomingdale's, Macy's
, and
Neiman Marcus. The mall covers
an area of 1,118,000 ft² (103,866 m²). IKEA Orlando opened adjacent to the mall on November
14, 2007.
- Orlando Fashion
Square is the nearest indoor shopping mall to Downtown Orlando. The mall features 4
anchor department stores and a 14-screen Premiere Cinema
theater.
- Festival Bay Mall
on International Drive is home to stores,
a skate park, and a theater.
- Waterford lakes
town center on S. Alafaya Trail just North of SR 408.
An Open-Air mall featuring many large chain stores, small shops,
restaurants, doctor's offices, and Regal Waterford Lakes Stadium 20
with 3D and IMAXDigital.
Sports
Orlando
is the home city of the Orlando Magic
NBA team and the
UCF
Knights
college athletics teams. It has also been
home to several successful minor league sports teams which have won
two
Arena Bowls, two titles in
ice hockey, three titles in
minor league baseball, one title in
soccer, one title in
American football, and one title in
roller hockey.
Orlando has produced several major athletes, such as baseball
players
A.J. Pierzynski and
Johnny Damon, football players
Warren Sapp,
Daunte
Culpepper,
Brandon
Meriweather,
Deacon Jones,
Brandon Siler,
Mike Sims-Walker,
Brandon Marshall, and
Kevin Smith, basketball players
Amar'e Stoudemire and
Darius Washington, and soccer player
Michelle Akers. Orlando is also home
to many current and notable former athletes as well, including
baseball players
Carlos Peña,
Frank Viola,
Ken Griffey, Jr., and
Jonathan Aldridge, basketball player
Shaquille O'Neal, and many golfers,
including
Tiger Woods,
Mark O'Meara and
Arnold Palmer.
Media
Newspapers
Radio
Television
Government
Orlando is governed via the mayor-council system. The mayor is
elected in a citywide vote. The six members of the city council are
each elected from districts.
State and federal representation
The
United States Postal
Service operates post offices in Orlando.
The Orlando Main Post
Office is located at 10401 Post Office Boulevard, adjacent to
Orlando
International Airport.
Education
Public primary and secondary education is handled by
Orange County Public Schools.
Some of
the private schools include Orlando Lutheran Academy
, The Geneva
School, Forest Lake Academy,
The First Academy, Trinity
Preparatory School
, Lake Highland Preparatory
School
, Bishop Moore High School
Pine Castle Christian Academy and Orlando Christian Prep.
Area institutions of higher education
The University of Central Florida
Full Sail University
State universities
State colleges
Private universities, colleges, and others
- Asbury Theological Seminary
, Orlando Campus
- Columbia College,
Orlando Campus
- DeVry University
, Orlando campus
- Dwayne O.
Andreas School of
Law
- Florida Institute of
Technology
, Orlando campus
- Florida Metropolitan
University, Orlando campus
- Full Sail University
(in Winter Park
)
- Herzing College (in Winter
Park)
- Hindu University of
America
- International
Academy of Design & Technology-Orlando
- Nova Southeastern
University, Orlando campus
- Reformed Theological
Seminary, Orlando campus
- Rollins College (in Winter Park)
- Strayer University, Orlando
campus
- University of Florida
College of
Pharmacy (in Apopka
)
- University of Phoenix,
Orlando campus
- Webster University
, Orlando Campus
Infrastructure
Airports
- The
Orlando International Airport (MCO) is Orlando's primary airport,
currently the busiest airport in the State of Florida. The
airport was ranked by passengers as the #1 airport in the nation
according to J.D.
Power & Associates.
The airport features 2 terminals with radiating air-side terminals,
flyers are transported via elevated trams. The airport also houses
an on-site Hyatt Regency hotel. Prior to being converted into a
civil airport, the land was used as McCoy Airforce Base, however
the call sign was never changed and remains "MCO".
- The
Orlando Sanford International
Airport
(SFB) located in Sanford, FL (northern
suburb) serves as a secondary airport, mainly for European discount
carriers and charters.
- The
Orlando
Executive Airport
(ORL) located near Downtown Orlando serves
primarily executive jets, flight training schools, and general
small-aircraft aviation.
Roads
Major highways
Interstate
4 is Orlando's primary interstate highway. Orlando is 2nd
largest city serviced by one interstate, preceding Austin, TX
and is the largest metropolitan area in the US
serviced by a single interstate expressway as well.
The
interstate begins in Tampa, Florida
and travels across the mid-section of the state
directly through Orlando ending in Daytona Beach
. As a key connector to Orlando's suburbs,
downtown, area attractions, and both coasts; I-4 commonly
experiences heavy traffic and congestion. I-4 is also known as
State Road 400.
East-West Expressway (Toll 408) is a
major highway managed by the Orlando-Orange County
Expressway Authority. The highway intersects with I-4 in Downtown Orlando providing a key artery for
residents commuting from eastern and western suburbs including the
University of
Central Florida area. The highway also intersects with the
Central Florida Greeneway
(Toll 417) and Florida's
Turnpike
. In late 2006 the I-4/408 interchange
finished undergoing a major overhaul that created multiple fly-over
bridges and connectors to ease heavy traffic flows. In addition,
lane expansions, new toll plazas, and sound barriers are being
added throughout the highway.
Beachline Expressway (Toll 528)
provides key access to the Orlando International Airport and serves as a gateway to the Atlantic coast,
specifically Cocoa
Beach
and Cape Canaveral.
Central Florida Greeneway (Toll 417)
is a key highway for East Orlando, the highway is also managed by
the Orlando-Orange County
Expressway Authority and serves as Orlando's eastern beltway.
The highway intersects with the East-West Expressway (Toll 408), the
Beachline Expressway (Toll
528), and begins and ends on Interstate 4. The highway is often
praised for its green scenery and generally light traffic, however,
recently the highway has seen a rapid rise in drivers during rush
hours.
Daniel Webster Western Beltway (Toll
429) serves as Orlando's western beltway. The highway serves as a
new "back entrance" to Walt Disney World from Orlando's
northwestern suburbs including Apopka.
John
Land Apopka Expressway (Toll 414) The newest East-West
expressway to be built and the first since SR 408. Phase I opened
on February 14, 2009 and extends from US 441
to Florida State Road 429.
Phase II will link SR 429 to US 441 several miles west of the
current SR 429 intersection.
Florida's Turnpike (Toll 91) is a major highway that connects northern
Florida with Orlando and Miami. It is the gateway to Miami.
Rush hours and traffic
According to a recent national study by the Texas Transportation
Institute, the average Orlando resident spends about 54 hours per
year waiting in traffic. Heavy traffic is unpredictable; however,
rush hours (peak traffic hours) are usually weekday mornings (after
7am) and afternoons (after 4pm). There are various traffic advisory
resources available for commuters including dialing
5-1-1 (a free automated traffic advisory system
provided by the
Florida Department of
Transportation, available by cellphone or landline by dialing
511), visiting the Florida 511 Web site, listening to traffic
reports on major radio stations, and reading electronic traffic
advisory displays (also called Dynamic Message Signs, information
is also provided by FDOT) on the major highways and roadways.
The Orlando Regional Traffic Management Center (or Orlando RTMC for
short) serves as the central hub for traffic operations in the
region. It monitors traffic conditions on
Interstate 4,
Interstate 95, The
OOCEA
Toll Roads, and other major surface streets throughout the DOT's
District 5 and relays the information to motorists through the use
of Dynamic Message Signs and the Florida 5-1-1 system.
There is
also a free roadside assistance service on Interstate 4 provided by
LYNX
called I-4 Road Rangers. These road rangers
patrol during the weekdays looking to help stranded motorists who
are in need of tire changing, a tow, or gas. Road Rangers also
assist in debris removal on highways and traffic diversion during
vehicle crashes. These trucks are highly identifiable by the red
and white paint scheme and their FDOT Seals. Recently,
State Farm Insurance company has taken
over funding and sponsorship of the program. Each truck is also
equipped with large light up message board on its roof, usually
displaying an arrow or urgent message. The toll roads have a
similar service provided through OOCEA which is funded on toll
fares.
Florida's
Turnpike Enterprise
operates its own separate Road Ranger
program. Road rangers from I-4 or the OOCEA Toll Road
network will not respond to motorists on State Road 91 otherwise known as Florida's
Turnpike.
Rail
The Orlando area is served by one through railroad,
CSX Transportation's A line (formerly the
Atlantic Coast Line
Railroad's main line), and some spurs, mostly operated by the
Florida Central
Railroad.
Amtrak passenger service runs
along the CSX A line. See also
a map of these
railroads.
The following major railroad stations have existed in Orlando:
Commuter rail
In 2005,
Federal and state funding was granted for the establishment of
SunRail, a local commuter rail service, to operate on the CSX A
line tracks between DeLand
and
Poinciana
, passing through the downtown area and surrounding
urban neighborhoods along the way. The service was expected
to substantially reduce traffic congestion along the I-4 corridor,
especially between Downtown Orlando and the suburban communities in
Seminole and Volusia Counties. The Federal and state funds would
have covered approximately 80% of the estimated $400 million cost
for track modifications and construction of stations along the
route. The counties involved had approved local matching funds in
2007 and the line was projected to begin operations in 2011.
However, the project was ultimately voted down by Florida State
Senate in 2008 and again in 2009 due to an amendment that would
have approved a $200 million insurance policy for the system.
Although there has been growing concern the system may be scrapped,
a deadline extension combined with a new insurance arrangement with
CSX has brought new hope that SunRail will be completed after
all.
Attempts to establish a smaller
light
rail service for the Orlando area were also considered at one
time, but were also met with much resistance and opposition.
High speed rail
Orlando is being considered as a major hub for the proposed
Florida High Speed Rail
system, which was mandated by state referendum in 2000 – but
repealed in 2004. Nonetheless, the Florida High Speed Rail
Authority continues to meet and communicate with the
Governor of Florida.
Bus
Regional
Orlando
is served by LYNX; it provides local transit service covering a
five-county area: Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, and Volusia. Bus route schedules and maps can be found
at
LYNX Official Website.
National
Additionally,
Greyhound Lines offers
intercity bus service from Orlando to multiple locations across the
country. The Orlando Greyhound Station is located west of Downtown
Orlando.
Sister cities
Orlando has nine International Sister Cities as listed by the City
of Orlando Office of International Affairs.
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Marne La
Vallée, Anaheim, and Urayasu are connected to Orlando as homes of
other Disney theme parks (Disneyland Resort Paris
, Disneyland Resort
, and Tokyo Disneyland
, respectively).
Foreign consulates
Given Orlando's status as a busy international tourist destination
and growing commerce industry,
Mexico and the
United Kingdom opened
consulates in Orlando.
In Popular Culture
Portions
of the 1959 novel Alas, Babylon by
Pat Frank take place in Orlando including
McCoy Air
Force Base (now Orlando International
Airport). One of the
nuclear bombs in the novel destroy Orlando and
the Air Force Base.
The low-budget films
Ernest Saves
Christmas,
Larry the Cable Guy:
Health Inspector, and
Never Back
Down take place in and were filmed entirely in Orlando. Other
movies filmed in Orlando include
Passenger
57,
D.A.R.Y.L.,
Jaws 3,
Parenthood,
Problem Child 2,
The Blair Witch Project,
Lethal Weapon 3,
Dead Presidents,
The
Waterboy,
Olive Juice, and
Monster.
Exterior shots of Orlando's Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium were used
in the television series
Coach, starring Craig
T. Nelson as Coach Hayden Fox. In the show, the Citrus Bowl was the
home stadium of the fictional
Orlando
Breakers franchise, which Coach Fox led during the series'
final 2 seasons (1995-1997).
Orlando contributed heavily to the
Boy Band
craze of the mid-90's. The groups
The Backstreet Boys,
NSync, and
O-Town all started in
Orlando before becoming nationwide successes. The Alternative
groups
Matchbox Twenty and
Seven Mary Three are from Orlando.
Orlando is also home to
hip-hop artists
DJ Magic Mike, Wes Fif, Jon Young, and
the group Treal. Orlando is represented in the hip-hop songs
Perfect Gentleman by
Wyclef Jean, "Whoot! There it is" by
95 South, and "I Am Not Locked Down" by
Treal.
See also
References
External links
(Sanford
, Oviedo
, and
Altamonte
Springs
)
(originally built by ACL to replace Church
Street Station, the only one still in use)
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