Pictures of Historic Kissimmee

[prahaboheme]

I was in Kissimmee today so I snapped a few before the weather decided not to cooperate.

A few years ago the downtown area of Kissimmee and the adjacent Beaumont neighborhood became registered historic districts, and since then a lot of renovation/restoration has taken place. I was actually pleasantly surprised, things are starting to look quite good with new shops and restaurants as well as tasteful infill. Unfortunately I only got a few pictures, but I plan on hitting it up again for a more comprehensive tour in the future, especially the lakefront area.

Before the new courthouse was built, the old historic one was the oldest in the State still in commission. Now its a museum:

Love those old oaks (even if they did hang people from them until the 1950s).

The new, and larger, courthouse. They really did a nice job on this square.

It was my intent to take more pictures of the homes in the area. Some are renovated, some aren't, but all are interesting. There are some great Victorians, Queen Anne, and Florida Vernacular styles, some just dying to be bought and restored. Luckily it seems this is happening.

Broadway Ave:

An old theater:

Hurricane damage? It looks like they are trying to save it.

Why does this conjure up thoughts of The Crucible?

Once gritty:

That's the Greyhound station on the right.

Newly restored apartments. Looks like they have DirecTV.

[bobliocatt]

Great pics. Downtown Kissimmee still represents the old Florida feel the area had before sprawl and Disney took over Osceola County.

[prahaboheme]

Thanks for the response Lakelander. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this area in the future with the new proposals to make over the entire area. The most interesting plan IMO is to rebuild the luxury hotel that once stood on the lakefront. Apparently it was quite the place to be in its day.

[I-275westcoastflorida]

Nice pics its hard to see that side of Kissimee

[RiversideGator]

That looks great. I had heard of the old downtown Kissimmee, but had never seen photos. I'll have to visit. This is much better than the new Central Florida of theme parks and tourists.

[Brickell]

Thanks for the pics. It's great to see "downtown" kissimmee slowly picking up steam. It's just unfortunate that the whole area has been taken over by sprawl. It's hard to tell where Orlando stops and Kissimmee begins, much less any sense of dowtown. Hopefully they can get some density in there without destroying the historic character they have kept. That will be the only option for saving it in my opinion.

[Urban_Legend]

Wow. I never knew all that was there. Darn you, tourist distractions!

[wolfdawg54]

Kissimmee is really a neat town that represents the old look of Florida. The pictures really capture the historical aspect of the town. Nice!