Orlando: A History of the Phenomenal City Hardcover – July 31, 2023

The Phenomenal City, Orlando’s well-earned trademark first introduced in 1886, was changed in 1909 to The City Beautiful. The beautiful sight of orange blossoms appearing on citrus trees the world had assumed were dead inspired the change. One entire decade had passed since the freeze of 1894-95 had wiped out Central Florida’s thriving economic engine, and locals began thinking of their Orlando as a beautiful homeland once again.“The Phenomenal City,” reported the Ocala Evening News, “while not presenting the scenes of a dozen years ago, as the trains rolled in and groups of passengers, prospective settlers and winter visitors stepped from the car steps, yet the streets were quite lively with people many of whom are annual visitors to their cozy winter homes in that pleasant city.” The rebirth of Central Florida’s citrus industry in the early 1900s was merely one of a seemingly endless number of hurdles the Orange County seat had been forced to clear during its brief history. Established in 1857 after a Fort Gatlin landowner used a dash of trickery to make the town official, Orlando was incorporated in 1875, only to be dissolved four years later by Mayor Munger.Orlando truly has had more than its fair share of earthshattering challenges, contests which in turn resulted in the city having more than its fair share of mysteries as well. ‘Orlando: A History of the Phenomenal City,’ is chock full of factual history never-before published, including a history of the town authored in 1884, while James G. Speer was still alive. The most comprehensive history of Orlando, Florida ever, the phenomenal story of Orlando changes much of what we thought we knew of The City Beautiful. Read more