eq1974

The Tuesday morning sun has started to shine on downtown. I think I hear hundreds of A/C units turning on.

For some reason I still remember…it was a Taurus.

Some random pictures taken one afternoon in 1986. Yes or No. Has anybody ever seen old downtown from this angle before? I think know the answer… Looks pretty much the same today. No cars (or future Lymo). It must have been the weekend. Enjoying her reign as the city’s tallest (forget you saw the Copper Whooper down the street earlier) though looking across the street she is going to realize all reigns come to an end. The end.

I still miss my Schlotzsky's.... I guess some people can’t let go!

The Radius has 389.

A progressing photo that’s a little bit different this month. Note: you can see glass that has been added, bottom left on the building.

While you were buying your dress I was down by the corridor near Robinson’s that began at B Dalton’s Bookseller renting a tux for my prom at Mitchell’s.

Well someone is made of money. Merry Go Round for me. Sales rack. I am stuck wearing last year's pastels.

Are my old Disney Dollars worth it's currency?

The Port has come a long way sine the 80's when once in a while my friends and I would splurge and drive from Orlando to let "Sea Escape take you on a day cruise!" Man those ships were...umm...not Wonder of the Seas... But look at the price and we always had a good time. Though between us friends we always drew straws to see who drove all of us from Orlando because back then your car wasn't in the most safe location. At least I wasn't there the day there was some sort of miscommunication and no body could get their car to drive home when ship returned and docked at night because the parking lot fence was locked and no one was around with a key! Actually in 2000 we did Premiere's Big Red Boat for a week. Got back after a week in the morning and disembarked, and the next group of passengers got on. The next day at the first port the boats were seized, the Big Red Boat was no more, and I think the passengers had to find their own way back to Florida. Ahh...good memories...just kidding. It's been nice to see the Port beef up it's game over the years.

“Ice Cold Auto Air”….as the arrow moves back and forth…a favorite…

Whoops! Anyways, the AmScot on the opposite corner was a Mobile for years and offered free air.

They had a fire 10 ish (?) years ago and the awning and store facade were rebuilt/replaced with the store design at the time.

I went to an afternoon get together in Longwood as a guest of a friend who lives off Oakridge in old of the older housing developments near I Drive. I drove so when I picked him up we entered the Express lanes from a new overpass/entrance ramp near Universal (can’t remember the street name). It cost me $2 total but man was it cool sailing past three I4 bottle necks on a Saturday afternoon. I repeated the route coming home. I loved seeing our downtown live from an angle/height I have never seen before.

As Madeline Ashton said to Helen Sharp in a taunting tone, “I can see right through you!” (Death Becomes Her. Man I love that movie!)

Suck it Burj Khalifa!

Up and framed against a cloudless sky:

Downtown early Tuesday morning…

She may be getting tall on her own but I guess she will always be in the shadow of her taller nearby sister. Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!

Catching the morning light. Still a favorite after all these years.

I did the downtown walking tour this morning that started at the DTO office. Office and store. The tour, my first, was interesting and I did hear some details of Orlando history that I hadn’t before. From hearing people’s conversations between tour stops I felt that most of members of the tour were from out of town. It was a pleasant hour and a half. Did you know that the Bumby building (first picture) off Church Street that opened in 1886 opened as a hardware store and NOT a Hamburger Mary’s?

Let’s see if next month I have to find another framing marker other than those palm planters at the bottom left because she’ll be to tall to fit.

My visit to ClickOrlando for the article included access to a sponsored article link called “What your bowel movements say about your health”. Is that a bad omen for a food hall? Lol

FYI: I got a text with a short video from my sister at the game about an hour ago. She and her friends are having a great time and are just reveling in the crowd’s energy.

I started to wonder that back in the 80’s with the completion of Gateway Center right across the street from Radisson near Ivanhoe. Right-across-the-street… And Gateway’s main design is lost to most people unless you are going the wrong way down a one way road. Weird.