I received some vintage Florida postcards in the mail. I purchased them off eBay and I am so happy with them, they bring me so much joy! Being an (almost) native Floridian- I've lived here since I was a baby, but I was born in Georgia- I have an obsession with all things Old Florida. If I could go back in time, I'd love to see how my state was "in the old days". Even my memories of growing up here in the 80s and 90s are so different then how Florida looks now. There's been so much development. My old elementary school Waterbridge Elementary was surrounded by cow pastures and now there's so many neighborhoods and hotels (the school is in the shadow of Sea World) that it's one of the busiest parts of the city.
Anyways, enough reminiscing, some of the coolest things about these cards are that some of these places I've actually visited.
Downtown Orlando:
Downtown looks quite different now, but some of the historic buildings still remain. Downtown is just such a lovely place, I once heard Orlando was voted as having one of the most beautiful Downtown areas in the nation... which likely lends to our motto "The City Beautiful".
Lake Eola:
Citizens of Orlando are obsessed with Lake Eola, it's a symbol of our city. It's a gathering place and popular for it's fountain, swans, farmer's market, and all-around lovely atmosphere in the center of Downtown. My grandmother would take me here as a child to play on the playground, we have a picnic with KFC chicken. Now, I bring my children to Lake Eola to play on the playground and feed the swans.
Bok Tower and Gardens:
My husband and I just visited Bok Tower and Gardens- famous for it's Singing Tower- a few weeks ago. It was such a lovely place. The tower has the most astounding presence. It's has the ambiance of a spiritual place and seems esoteric in some way. I can't describe it, but you get the feelings that there is or was more going on here. My husband noticed much of the symbolism in the tower art are similar to symbolism used by "secret societies" like the Masons or occult groups.
Here's some pictures of our trip:
Old School House, St. Augustine:
I first visited St. Augustine when I was in 4th grade and on a field trip. Fourth grade is when we learned Florida History. St. Augustine is a wonderful place, it so historic and all-around wonderful. It's also a very affordable day trip for those living in Orlando. I've walked past the Old School House several times (in St. Augustine... it's ALL walking) and I've been inside a couple times.
Mead Botanical Garden:
Mead Botanical Gardens is honestly nothing too special. It's a cool place though, since it's a garden and it's free... but there's not much more to it other than just being a garden and there's not too much to the gardens either. Pretty standard, but again free, and enough to wear out children walking around.
The other cards which I received are for places in Florida I haven't yet visited, my favorite one is this home in Coral Gables. I collect postcards of homes and this one is so Florida! This looks like so many older homes in Florida.
There's also postcards from two hotels, I'm not sure if they are still around, or if maybe the hotels were turned into something else. Both are in Panama City.
This one is for a place called Monkey Jungle near Miami:
Sarasota Jungle Gardens in Sarasota:
Some of them are just miscellaneous:
A few of them are written and stamped, I wish I could read the handwriting better. Most are just short messages, The message on the back of the Hotel Marie postcard in Panama City has an interesting message, it makes me wonder so much about the people who wrote these postcards. The Hotel Marie one was sent to Miss Joyce Kennedy in Brooklyn, New York.
It says, "Hi Honey I am reading your letters at lest once a day. They can sure make me feel good. We're supposed to go out deep sea fishing tomorrow on the Gulf. Maybe my luck will change and I'll catch something. How are all the studies coming along? Tell me do you still remember the date of your first date? (That ought to keep you busy) Love Tommy."
He underline 'love'... however it appears Miss Joyce Kennedy was in Kings County Hospital according to the address. I wonder what the relationship of these two people?
This has really made a little obsessed with vintage postcards, especially old Florida ones. If you want to see some more of my vintage postcards, I have a Collection on Flickr.
Warm Wishes,
Amanda
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