Exploring Orlando “Off the Beaten Path” has been the theme for our trip and I intend to explore the Central areas of the Sunshine State, and flush out all those unexpected and unconventional destinations in and around Orlando. In my discoveries of Orlando, I have been working closely with the Orlando Visitor and Convention Bureau, to get the input of local experts and work out an itinerary for our two weeks in Florida, without setting foot once into a theme park.
One of the first places they suggested was the Orange County Regional History Center, home to the varied and extensive collections of the Historical Society of Central Florida. Located in the heart of downtown Orlando in the beautifully restored five-story Orange County Courthouse, The History Center is continuously distinguished as the area’s “Best Museum”. When the History Center was built as a courthouse in 1927, the jail was on the top floor, with quarters for the jailer and his wife, an infirmary, and separate cellblocks for white women, white men, black women and black men.
With an exciting roster of ever-changing exhibits on display and travelling exhibits on loan to...