Photos: View Orlando Then & Now

THEN: Joseph Bumby, Sr. and his family came to Orlando from England in 1873. Looking west across the railroad tracks, photographer Stanley Morrow took this image of Orlando’s Church Street around 1886, showing the building that would house the Bumby family’s hardware business for generations. It was completed in 1886. The South Florida Railroad Station above preceded the much larger, brick Victorian station that still stands on Church Street and was the centerpiece of the Church Street Station entertainment complex. The Bumby Building is still there, too. Both are among downtown’s oldest buildings.

©Photography Collection, State Archives of Florida.

NOW: Looking west on Church Street in downtown Orlando toward the rebuilt train station. SunRail now runs past the train station; behind it lies the Church Street entertainment district.

Photo by Roberto Gonzalez.

THEN: In the mid-1880s at the southwest corner of Orange Avenue and Pine Street, photographer Stanley Morrow captured what would become early Orlando’s most iconic image. The fellow with the reptile is most often identified as Bunk Baxter, although Yates family members have said he’s their ancestor John Burl “Bud” Yates II. The critter’s pointy snout suggests it may be a crocodile rather than an alligator.

Born in 1843 in Wisconsin, Morrow learned his way around a camera from the famous Civil War photographer Matthew Brady. In 1882, he moved to the fledgling city of Orlando because of his wife’s health, and the South Florida Railroad hired him to photograph scenes to use in promoting the area to tourists and businesses. The Morrows moved on to Atlanta around 1888 and then to Texas, where Stanley Morrow died in 1921.

Photo courtesy of ©Orange County Regional History Center.

NOW: A man walks with his dog at the corner of Orange Avenue and Pine Street. The city’s “Unbelievably Real” mural is in the background, making for an iconic modern-day portrait of the downtown area.

Photo by Roberto Gonzalez.

THEN: Traffic heads south on Orlando’s Orange Avenue in a view from Pine Street looking north around 1958. Orange and Magnolia avenues were widened in 1956 with federal aid, according to a July 1957 Orlando Sentinel article, with the pair each becoming a one-way street through the city’s main commercial district in early 1957. Orange became a one-way thoroughfare southbound and Magnolia a one-way northbound, to the consternation of many downtown merchants.

©Collection of Joy Wallace Dickinson.

NOW: Traffic heads south near the intersection of Orange Avenue and Pine Street. The City of Orlando refers to this area as the City District Main Street, and it is a major artistic hub.

Photo by Roberto Gonzalez.

THEN: Orlando pioneer Joseph Bumby, Sr. poses with his sons at the Bumby Hardware Building on Church Street in an undated image. Left to right are Harry, Alfred, Charlie, Joseph Sr., Frank, Leonard and Joe Bumby. Born in 1843 in Gloucestershire, England, Joseph Bumby, Sr. died in 1911 at the age of 67.

©Orange County Regional History Center.

NOW: Built in 1884, the Bumby Hardware Building still stands at 102-110 W. Church St. It was designated an Orlando Historic Landmark in 1978.

Photo by Roberto Gonzalez.

THEN: According to writing on the back of this 1913 snapshot, a man identified only as Uncle Bert, a young boy named Alvin and a dog named Sixtoe sit on the grassy shore of Lake Eola, watching two white swans (middle of image) and two black swans. The big, beautiful birds are part of a long heritage at the city’s renowned Lake Eola Park. According to Orlando lore, some may trace their lineage to the fabled Billy the Swan. He’s on display at the Orange County Regional History Center as part of its “Orlando Collected” exhibit, showcasing 150 rarely seen items from the 150 years since Orlando’s incorporation as a town in 1875.

©Collection of Joy Wallace Dickinson.

NOW: Lake Eola is still one of Orlando’s most cherished destinations. About 50 swans of five species live near the park and have annual vet check-ups.

Photo by Roberto Gonzalez.

THEN: Large signs adorn the Angebilt (left) and San Juan hotels (right) in a view looking south on Orlando’s Orange Avenue from Washington Street in the 1940s, when Rutland’s men’s store occupied the Art Moderne building at the southeast corner of the intersection. Designed by Murry S. King, Florida’s first registered architect, the Angebilt opened in 1923 as one of Orlando’s first “skyscrapers” and is now an office building. The San Juan was torn down in 1980.

©Collection of Joy Wallace Dickinson.

NOW: Looking south on Orange Avenue from Washington Street. The brick building was the Angebilt Hotel, built in 1923; it is now a coworking space.