Winter Park & Maitland

[AmIReal]

Sorely missed (or maybe just somewhat missed) writer Liz Langley walks Mr. Rogers neighborhood for WaPo.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/mister-rogers-rollins-college-walking-tour/2021/12/09/42922f18-53a2-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by AmIReal

[smileguy]

These photos of the new WP Library from Dror Baldinger are stunning.  Still haven't made it over there to check it out myself.  After all the Holiday events, for sure.

[dcluley98]

That night shot looks amazing.  

This building somehow screams "old Florida" to me despite also being a modern design. It is a great addition to the area as an instant icon, IMHO. 

[dcluley98]

I went and walked the site...

 

OMG, That is such a gem and a site. Even better in person. 

 

You did welll ..  WP, and All of  the designers and visioneers! 

Edited December 17, 2021 by dcluley98

[dcluley98]

OMG, this is an Architectural gem. .. 

 

Instant classic and will be remembered for a while:

 

David Adjaye

https://www.adjaye.com/?s=Thank+you+for+your+Florida+design+in+the+Winter+Park+Library.+.++.+Amazing+and+classic+at+the+same%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.surfacemag.com%2Farticles%2Fwinter-park-library-florida-adjaye-associates%2F

https://www.adjaye.com/?s=Thank+you+for+your+Florida+design+in+the+Winter+Park+Library.+.++.+Amazing+and+classic+at+the+same%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.surfacemag.com%2Farticles%2Fwinter-park-library-florida-adjaye-associates%2F

Edited December 17, 2021 by dcluley98

[dcluley98]

(Sorry if not crediting the photo, not wanting to take credit for you at all, just trying to share the beauty) 

Edited December 17, 2021 by dcluley98

[dcluley98]

I can't explain it really,

 

It's like, wait, what? it's just a library?  

 

and then you walk from the parking lot underneath and out to the back and then . . . . 

[dcluley98]

OMG, thats Flipping' amazing and in our backyard. . . Holy amazing. . . .

 

That is so good.. . . . .. Go look at this architecture right now in Winter Park! 

Thank you David Adjaye! 

[prahaboheme]

And an ode to our brutalism Orlando Public Library! 

Always happy to have another fan of brutalism on the forum! 

[dcluley98]

It reminds me of the old "coquina stone" used on the fort at St. Augustine and sea walls. 

[JFW657]

On 12/17/2021 at 5:14 AM, dcluley98 said:

That night shot looks amazing.  

This building somehow screams "old Florida" to me despite also being a modern design. It is a great addition to the area as an instant icon, IMHO. 

 

2 hours ago, dcluley98 said:

It reminds me of the old "coquina stone" used on the fort at St. Augustine and sea walls. 

I didn't think much of the design at first, but now that it's done, I am in total agreement with you that it is quite impressive and bound to become iconic.

But I don't get the same impression re: old Florida and coquina stone. 

To each his own though!!!  

Anxious to visit now.

[dcluley98]

Interesting. . . 

I took this building design as the "pedestal" and the "foundation" of the community connected to the old Florida environment. 

The rocks upon which Florida was built, and connected to the site and gazing out upon it. 

One can step down into or up out of the Florida.

The interpretion of great works is always in the eyes of the beholder, of course. 

Edited December 18, 2021 by dcluley98

[jack]

On 12/18/2021 at 3:58 PM, dcluley98 said:

Interesting. . . 

I took this building design as the "pedestal" and the "foundation" of the community connected to the old Florida environment. 

The rocks upon which Florida was built, and connected to the site and gazing out upon it. 

One can step down into or up out of the Florida.

The interpretion of great works is always in the eyes of the beholder, of course. 

That building is beautiful. 

[spenser1058]

Wow, I’m sad about this one. Lil 500, the go -kart track on 17-92 in Maitland for over half a century, is closing.

It was a regular stop for birthdays when I was a kid and for date nights and hanging out in high school.

Along with stops at the long-departed Goony Golf (right by the train overpass), that was how we had fun in O-town as The Mouse was just heading into town:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-lil500-go-karts-maitland-closes-20220105-54eeusq5s5civlaefg3gb2wpn4-story.html

From The Sentinel 
 

Edited January 6, 2022 by spenser1058

[codypet]

I have driven by there a million times over the years and never knew it was there.  Which was weird because I used to frequent those places when I was younger.  Unfortunately I never made it to the I-drive Fun N Wheels Behind Popeye's either before they closed.  Of course the place to be for us in the late 90's and early 00's was a little hole in the wall called Fun Spot which at the time was the 4 tracks, Ferris wheel and the arcade.

Edited January 6, 2022 by codypet

[jliv]

On 12/20/2021 at 11:56 AM, jack said:

That building is beautiful. 

I was making the drive from Trader Joe's down Morse the other day and the new buildings just popped out as a stunning contrast to all the bland boxes with have been popped up along that stretch.  I used to live in Whitechapel in London where many of Mr. Adjaye's early buildings are, including the Shoreditch Library.   One thing you can say about his designs are that they are unique!  Would love to see more like those in the Orlando area...

Edited January 6, 2022 by jliv

[spenser1058]

Joy Wallace Dickinson at The Sentinel takes the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour. She notes the tours date back to 1938 by the head of Correct Craft (one of our most well-known formerly locally-owned companies). 

1938 makes it perhaps our oldest attraction (even older than Gatorland!).

She sees the changes along the route in the last forty years and the megamansions spreading like kudzu that threaten the city’s scale. Winter Park has no desire to be Isleworth.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-fe-joy-wallace-dickinson-0123-20220123-gysvadyi4vh3ncfvwso6qpooxe-story.html

Edited January 23, 2022 by spenser1058

[angela1117]

The scenic boat tour is always a suggestion when out of town friends visit.  Also a nice walk around Lake Eola.

[AmIReal]

OBJ has a list of the largest proposed road projects in Orange. This was of particular interest...

"$18.2 million: This project would include pedestrian, bike and traffic improvements on U.S. Highway 17-92 from south of Nottingham Street to south of Monroe Avenue over 2.096 miles. That would include changes to median entrances, traffic signal improvements at certain intersections and additional left turn lanes."

https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2022/02/03/road-widening-lead-largest-orange-fdot-projects.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_11&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s

This segment begins roughly 500 yards north of Lee Rd and goes roughly 500 yards south of Orange Ave. This area is a mess on a good day. I can't imagine what it would be like during the construction.

https://www.cflroads.com/project/408429-2

[bqknight]

SIAP: Did we know that WP Village has an upcoming overhaul being planned?

Orlando Weekly: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2022/02/10/sixty-years-ago-winter-parks-mall-was-a-retail-revelation-a-revamp-looks-to-make-it-a-mall-of-the-future-again

Sales Site: https://wpvnext.com/

[AmIReal]

1 hour ago, bqknight said:

SIAP: Did we know that WP Village has an upcoming overhaul being planned?

Orlando Weekly: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2022/02/10/sixty-years-ago-winter-parks-mall-was-a-retail-revelation-a-revamp-looks-to-make-it-a-mall-of-the-future-again

Sales Site: https://wpvnext.com/

It was discussed here back in Dec 2020, but has been silent since then.

[JFW657]

1 hour ago, bqknight said:

SIAP: Did we know that WP Village has an upcoming overhaul being planned?

Orlando Weekly: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2022/02/10/sixty-years-ago-winter-parks-mall-was-a-retail-revelation-a-revamp-looks-to-make-it-a-mall-of-the-future-again

Sales Site: https://wpvnext.com/

I think it's great that they're adding fountains and expanded park areas, but judging from the renderings, the architecture still looks kind of cold and uninviting. 

I had no idea there had been a massive fire in the old mall.

[klstorey]

1 hour ago, bqknight said:

SIAP: Did we know that WP Village has an upcoming overhaul being planned?

Orlando Weekly: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2022/02/10/sixty-years-ago-winter-parks-mall-was-a-retail-revelation-a-revamp-looks-to-make-it-a-mall-of-the-future-again

Sales Site: https://wpvnext.com/

Thanks for the link love! 

I tried my best to nail down some specifics from Ruth's Chris for the piece but they're just not ready to talk. With the HQ in the same complex, I have to assume this will be a flagship location. Casto also declined to share any details on the artwork planned for the complex so take all those sculptures and such in the renderings with a grain of salt. About 20 years ago, just after the complex opened, Casto tried to add a parking garage just north of the Cheesecake Factory building, wrapped with apartments but couldn't ever come to an agreement with the city on the plan. I wouldn't be surprised to see that dusted off if this update proves popular. 

I'm still sad that the plaza across the street wasn't reworked into an urban village when it was remodeled a few years back. Together, these two could really create a nice urban village for that area. 

[jliv]

Thanks for the link love! 
I tried my best to nail down some specifics from Ruth's Chris for the piece but they're just not ready to talk. With the HQ in the same complex, I have to assume this will be a flagship location. Casto also declined to share any details on the artwork planned for the complex so take all those sculptures and such in the renderings with a grain of salt. About 20 years ago, just after the complex opened, Casto tried to add a parking garage just north of the Cheesecake Factory building, wrapped with apartments but couldn't ever come to an agreement with the city on the plan. I wouldn't be surprised to see that dusted off if this update proves popular. 
I'm still sad that the plaza across the street wasn't reworked into an urban village when it was remodeled a few years back. Together, these two could really create a nice urban village for that area. 

I seem to remember a quote from the developer a while back expressing regret that they built so much surface parking during the various compromises during planning. A lot of these “lifestyle centers” built across the US in the 2000’s are awkward; a half-hearted attempt at an “urban” layout resting in a sea of asphalt parking lots. When they were planning Millenia back in the 1990’s to market the property, the original designs were for a neo-trad urban village. Again, terrible compromises have turned out a bloody nightmare (meanwhile, Austin got the Domain around the same time period, a better-executed version of the modern upscale mixed-use village)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[spenser1058]

7 hours ago, JFW657 said:

I think it's great that they're adding fountains and expanded park areas, but judging from the renderings, the architecture still looks kind of cold and uninviting. 

I had no idea there had been a massive fire in the old mall.

It started in the Singer sewing center, one of the smaller stores on the east side of the mall.