Travel back to the future with Mid-Century Modern
It’s the time of year when we’re likely to encounter at least one well-meaning soul who’ll ask us, in the spirit of seasonal chitchat, “Are you ready yet? Lists crossed off? Gifts all wrapped?” To which I will outwardly smile and inwardly utter a little strangled scream.
I am ready in one way at least for the New Year: I’m armed with a nice big calendar, courtesy of Orlando’s Historic Preservation Board, and you can have one, too.
The theme for 2018, Mid-Century Modern, features a style that looked to the future, especially in the 1950s and ’60s — “an exciting and advancing period in American history, including the Space Race, Cold War, and Civil Rights movement,” according to the information-rich notes that accompany each month.
It was time when many Americans “had faith in ourselves that we could do anything,” architect Harold “Bud” Dietrich noted in an article about MidCentury Modern style. “And our homes certainly looked every bit as if they were ready to take us there.”
It’s also a style with many fans, including members of the Nils M. Schweizer Fellows, who have promoted awareness of Central Florida’s MidCentury Modern architecture for more than a decade (see centralfloridamodern.com).
Schweizer, the group’s namesake, was an influential Central Florida architect for 30 years (he died in 1988). A student of Frank Lloyd Wright, he put his stamp on the area in many homes, churches and public buildings. In 1985 Schweizer’s firm designed the expansion of the 1966 Orlando Public Library, which is represented in the 2018 Historic Preservation Board calendar. local design, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Par Avenue, employed concrete block, steel and geometrical shapes of glass. (Lopatka died in 2016 at age 93; his grandson Jarrod Lopatka is also a Central Florida architect.) The calendar’s Mid-Century Modern designs style come from a period that saw Orlando’s greatest period of growth, with the opening of the Glenn L. Martin Co. and Minute Maid headquarters in 1956 and the establishment of Florida Technological University (UCF) in 1968 — the same year Walt Disney announced his plans for the future at the Cherry Plaza Hotel, on the shores of Lake Eola. another great way to learn about historic architecture. Upcoming tour dates include Jan. 5 and Feb. 2. The 90-minute tour begins at the Downtown Information Center, 201 S. Orange Ave., at 9:30 a.m. Details and reservations: Rose Garlick, 407-246-3789.
For more on Orlando preservation programs, visit cityoforlando.net/cityplanning/historic-preservation.
Legendary Highwaymen artists, who began work during the Mid-Century Modern period, will visit the Orange County Regional History today for a free Meet & Greet event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The name “Highwaymen” refers to a group of African-American artists from the Fort Pierce area who began painting distinctive Florida landscapes in the late 1950s. They originally sold their work for as little as $20, packing paintings in the trunks of their cars and making road trips to towns across Florida, where they marketed their work directly to small businesses. Now the artists are members of the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. Details: thehistorycenter.org.