Joy Dickinson & Richard Forbes article

If you haven’t been to a Colonialtown Monthly meeting lately, you’ve missed two of Orlando’s most notable history experts who were our guest speakers; City of Orlando Historian Preservation Officer Richard Forbes & Orlando Sentinel “Florida Flashback” columnist & writer, Joy Wallace Dickinson.

Richard Forbes presented the results of his architectural research of our homes in Colonialtown North. The four predominant periods and architectural styles represented are the Bungalow/Frame Vernacular (1910’s to 1920’s), Spanish Colonial Revival (1920’s and 1930’s), Minimal Traditional (1930’s and 1940’s), and finally the Colonialtown “Mini” Ranch and Atomic Ranch styles (1950’s). Richard also donated a large, 3’ x 4’ mounted map of Colonialtown North with year built dates of each home and lot in our neighborhood. We plan to encase the poster for permanent display at the recreation center. Check out the Colonialtown.org website to view a copy of Richard Forbes Power Point presentation with examples of the four predominant architectural styles in our neighborhood. 

Joy Wallace Dickinson talked about her memories of Colonialtown and downtown Orlando and gave a slide presentation with photos of old, area landmarks. Joy spoke fondly of the times her grandfather used to take her to watch movies at the Vogue theatre which formally stood at the corner of Mills & Colonial (where the present day CVS pharmacy now stands).

Discussion among meeting participants & Joy arose regarding the infamous and dearly missed Ronnie’s Restaurant, located at the original Colonial Plaza. One of the juicy stories also mentioned at the meeting was of the nearby Flamingo Café formally located at 3600 Colonial Drive (currently Herndon shopping center). This swanky club was located just outside the city limits in 1928 (thus avoiding police jurisdiction), bended prohibition laws, and even had an illegal gambling room in the back of the club complete with roulette tables. Joy donated a signed copy of her latest book, “Remembering Orlando: Tales from Elvis to Disney” which details the stories of Ronnie’s Cafeteria and the Flamingo Café.