Thornton Park

[spenser1058]

The former Stockton, Wheatley and Davin building on the NW corner of Mills and Robinson (‘70’s, maybe?) is finally getting some love. It looks like they’re working on the entry and other areas so not just a paint job. It’s been looking down at the heels for a while so good to see this.

Meanwhile, the Thornton Park Neighborhood sign across the street has been knocked down again. I’m not sure why folks keep hitting it.

[spenser1058]

Feel the Bern in Thornton Park!
 

Fhttps://www.instagram.com/p/CKbuFQmrpTC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

[spenser1058]

Dexter’s to become “The 808”, a Hawaiian restaurant and bar. Book it, Dan-o?

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2021/03/22/original-dexters-location-in-thornton-park-to-become-hawaiian-restaurant-from-owners-of-stardust-lounge-the-abbey?utm_source=feature&utm_medium=home&utm_campaign=hpfeatures&utm_content=HomeTopFeature

From The Orlando Weekly

[spenser1058]

Scott J stops in to Ootoya at TPC for sushi:

https://www.scottjosephorlando.com/reviews/71-sushi/5664-ootoya-sushi-lounge

[spenser1058]

So, Howard got a new electronic marquee that does all the flashing messages and such. It certainly gives a little pizazz to the Summerlin-Robinson intersection. Is this what happens when you become an arts magnet?

Edited May 22, 2021 by spenser1058

[spenser1058]

I notice the Hennig Professional Building (at Central and Summerlin), which looked like something out of the video for The Boss’ “My Hometown” has gotten a spiffy new paint job and some work on the eaves.

Also the old music school on Summerlin just south of Anderson St. which has always been a good looking structure, is getting some restoration work done.

Finally, the Delaney Street Baptist Church Family Life Center has gotten a new paint job in a new greenish color that stands out nicely.

As Rollins alum Fred Rogers would croon, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood”.

Edited May 28, 2021 by spenser1058

[nite owℓ]

On 5/28/2021 at 2:05 PM, spenser1058 said:

I notice the Hennig Professional Building (at Central and Summerlin), which looked like something out of the video for The Boss’ “My Hometown” has gotten a spiffy new paint job and some work on the eaves.

Also the old music school on Summerlin just south of Anderson St. which has always been a good looking structure, is getting some restoration work done.

Finally, the Delaney Street Baptist Church Family Life Center has gotten a new paint job in a new greenish color that stands out nicely.

As Rollins alum Fred Rogers would croon, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood”.

Those were some specific updates... especially since the former school is further down Summerlin in Lake Cherokee neighborhood. Since you moved to Jaxonville, how did you know about this? Or have you been house hunting...

Edited June 13, 2021 by nite owℓ

[spenser1058]

6 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

Those were some specific updates... especially since the former school is further down Summerlin in Lake Cherokee neighborhood. Since you moved to Jaxonville, how did you know about this? Or have you been house hunting...

I come down every other week. Orlando will always be home, it’s just a matter of waiting and working for better days to arrive in The City Beautiful. 

It’s not unlike the last term of Carl Langford, when the city all but ground to a halt (Carl even appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss why he had just applied for grants for downtown as a “depressed area” even as Epcot was being built). When I couldn’t take that anymore, I moved to Nashville.

Like in the the current days of Buddy’s similar hands-off mayoralty, we wondered if our hometown would ever bounce back. As it happened, Mayor Bill replaced Carl in 1980 and the excitement over the restoration of downtown was palpable. I was happy to come running and get involved.

In the meantime, that sense of glee is already underway in Jax and I’m proud to be here.

When a path for downtown Orlando to get moving again and includes all its citizens instead of just a bunch of developers and NBA owners who do not represent the city’s values, I’ll be back again. We may have a 2023 announcement about that later this year.
 

 

[AmIReal]

58 minutes ago, spenser1058 said:

I come down every other week. Orlando will always be home, it’s just a matter of waiting and working for better days to arrive in The City Beautiful. 

It’s not unlike the last term of Carl Langford, when the city all but ground to a halt (Carl even appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss why he had just applied for grants for downtown as a “depressed area” even as Epcot was being built). When I couldn’t take that anymore, I moved to Nashville.

Like in the the current days of Buddy’s similar hands-off mayoralty, we wondered if our hometown would ever bounce back. As it happened, Mayor Bill replaced Carl in 1980 and the excitement over the restoration of downtown was palpable. I was happy to come running and get involved.

In the meantime, that sense of glee is already underway in Jax and I’m proud to be here.

When a path for downtown Orlando to get moving again and includes all its citizens instead of just a bunch of developers and NBA owners who do not represent the city’s values, I’ll be back again. We may have a 2023 announcement about that later this year.
 

 

Be sure to check back in and let us know when Jax pulls out of this 30 year down cycle they've been in. Currently the downtown RE market is underperforming DAB. It'll be nice to see Jax core revitalized... I hope I live to see it.

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, AmIReal said:

Be sure to check back in and let us know when Jax pulls out of this 30 year down cycle they've been in. Currently the downtown RE market is underperforming DAB. It'll be nice to see Jax core revitalized... I hope I live to see it.

More new and restoration projects are proposed for downtown Jax than they’ve seen in ages. The GOP controlled government needs to be ousted after ignoring downtown for ages and trying a slick move to privatize JEA (funny that Buddy tried that nonsense with OUC when he first got in office but also got his head handed to him), but then that’s why I’m here :-).

We’ve already noted the three proposed riverfront projects announced in the last couple of weeks elsewhere. There are also several others I’ve added in the last year to the Cool Stuff In Other Cities thread and The Jaxson has stories on others.

More in my wheelhouse are these restoration projects downtown, which make me bemoan just how ignored Orlando’s historic core is these days and with the imminent demolition of the Sentinel newsroom:

https://www.naihallmark.com/industry-news/downtown-jacksonville-revitalization-and-development/

Mayor Bill began a process of preserving what history Orlando had in 1980 and became a model for other cities in the state. While all that came to a dead stop in 2003 when the bulldozers rolled, Jacksonville, which slept through (and worse)the restoration phase that Orlando began, is now going in the right direction. With new leadership, some of us hope Orlando will awaken from its 18-year slumber as well.
 

Edited June 14, 2021 by spenser1058

[jgardnerucf]

Stop at Buc-ee's and get a brisket sammich while you drive back to boring duval. You seem hangry. Lol.

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, jgardnerucf said:

Stop at Buc-ee's and get a brisket sammich while you drive back to boring duval. You seem hangry. Lol.

Duval has beaches, the ferry and more BBQ than you can shake a stick at (did I mention the Nordstrom?) Just those alone  mean I’ll never be bored here…

[spenser1058]

Once the home of Orlando’s oldest Publix, The 808 is scheduled to reopen at long last this afternoon in the Dexter’s space:

https://bungalower.com/2021/06/22/new-hawaiian-inspired-restaurant-in-thornton-park-opens-this-week/

From Bungalower 
 

[prahaboheme]

6 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

Once the home of Orlando’s oldest Publix, The 808 is scheduled to reopen at long last this afternoon in the Dexter’s space:

https://bungalower.com/2021/06/22/new-hawaiian-inspired-restaurant-in-thornton-park-opens-this-week/

From Bungalower 
 

Great to see some life back in this building.  

[spenser1058]

1 hour ago, prahaboheme said:

Great to see some life back in this building.  

On my next trip back, I wonder if they’ll let me sing like Don Ho? 
I also do a lovely version of Merv Griffin’s “What a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts”.

Edited June 23, 2021 by spenser1058

[nite owℓ]

On 5/28/2021 at 2:05 PM, spenser1058 said:

Also the old music school on Summerlin just south of Anderson St. which has always been a good looking structure, is getting some restoration work done.

She can now be yours for a cool 1.9M:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/625-Palmer-St-Orlando-FL-32801/46267170_zpid/

[spenser1058]

11 minutes ago, nite owℓ said:

She can now be yours for a cool 1.9M:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/625-Palmer-St-Orlando-FL-32801/46267170_zpid/

An awesome restoration. My best friend in elementary took piano lessons there and, given it was the ‘60’s with shag carpeting you had to rake, I was struck by how traditional it was when I went for a recital. After having gone to Princeton for two years and then visiting Engel (I couldn’t remember the name for the life of me - I kept confusing it with the Ebsens’ dance school on Hyer) I first started to realize how much I preferred buildings like those to most modern architecture.

If only I had $2 mil laying around… guess I’ll have to start selling lots of Amway.

[nite owℓ]

16 hours ago, spenser1058 said:

An awesome restoration. My best friend in elementary took piano lessons there and, given it was the ‘60’s with shag carpeting you had to rake, I was struck by how traditional it was when I went for a recital. After having gone to Princeton for two years and then visiting Engel (I couldn’t remember the name for the life of me - I kept confusing it with the Ebsens’ dance school on Hyer) I first started to realize how much I preferred buildings like those to most modern architecture.

If only I had $2 mil laying around… guess I’ll have to start selling lots of Amway.

I think they renovated around 2008, listed it for sale a year or two later but it never sold (probably because it doesn't have a backyard and it directly abuts Cherokee school without any kind of buffer).

IMO, this recent renovation was not an improvement... looks amateurish. They should've hired an interior designer to help them find the right balance of old & new (transitional). I don't think they did a very good job of marrying all the different styles in the home so now there is a jumble of modern, traditional & historic elements all rolled into one confusing mess. Kinda sad really.

The house hasn't retained much of the historic details inside over the years. I think this was one of the last "untouched" rooms in the house and I don't know if the tile was original, but I would think people buy historic homes for details like this:

 

Instead they put down modern tile and covered up the fireplace with stacked stone tile. Why??

Edited June 27, 2021 by nite owℓ

[popsiclebrandon]

Agreed. Don't buy an historic home then gut it down to make it look like brand new spec home construction. What a shame they did that. No taste at all.

[nite owℓ]

On 6/27/2021 at 11:57 AM, popsiclebrandon said:

Agreed. Don't buy an historic home then gut it down to make it look like brand new spec home construction. What a shame they did that. No taste at all.

I totally agree... I feel like they disfigured the home. Now compare it to this other home in Lake Cherokee which, once again, was stripped of its historic elements and pretty much gutted down to the studs (for some reason) by an investor years ago. Even though the following owner/developer basically had to start from scratch, they did a better job of remodeling w/new materials while keeping the time period of the home in mind:

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/627-Cherokee-Cir_Orlando_FL_32801_M59893-28880#photo27

Edited June 29, 2021 by nite owℓ

[popsiclebrandon]

11 hours ago, nite owℓ said:

I totally agree... I feel like they disfigured the home. Now compare it to this other home in Lake Cherokee which, once again, was stripped of its historic elements and pretty much gutted down to the studs (for some reason) by an investor years ago. Even though the following owner/developer basically had to start from scratch, they did a better job of remodeling w/new materials while keeping the time period of the home in mind:

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/627-Cherokee-Cir_Orlando_FL_32801_M59893-28880#photo27

Yeah that is way better. Being rich looks fun.

[spenser1058]

Good heavens - someone listened to my rant! I’m in town this weekend and, as I long suggested, the silly flashing ped lights  at Summerlin and E. Washington St. have been replaced by a 4-way stop. 

Many thanks to Buddy, Patty and all the city staff involved, as well as to those of us who asked for this.
 

[spenser1058]

The dark gray paint job with white trim fits very well with the black tile at The 808. I wish they had done more to honor its homage as the oldest Publix in town (Dexter’s did a good job with that). Nevertheless, no one cranked up a bulldozer, so we’ll consider it a win. The pedestrians are back out at TP and Publix was busy. The Watermark house is still empty - hopefully, someone will give it a shot soon.

[AmIReal]

On 7/11/2021 at 7:39 PM, spenser1058 said:

The dark gray paint job with white trim fits very well with the black tile at The 808. I wish they had done more to honor its homage as the oldest Publix in town (Dexter’s did a good job with that). Nevertheless, no one cranked up a bulldozer, so we’ll consider it a win. The pedestrians are back out at TP and Publix was busy. The Watermark house is still empty - hopefully, someone will give it a shot soon.

Food was so-so. Place was pretty empty. Server was very nice.

[spenser1058]

Scott J stops in at The 808. He seems to be… whelmed. He is on the lookout for some poi, which he doesn’t find, but finds a tasty SPAM appetizer:

https://www.scottjosephorlando.com/reviews/51-american/5719-the-808