Orlando 1896 to 1920

Orlando 1896 t0 1920

Florida's climate is changing. The Florida peninsula has warmed more than one degree (F) during the last century. The sea is rising about one inch every decade, as the weather becomes more extreme.

Most of greater Miami, the Florida Keys, and Fort Lauderdale are in that highly vulnerable zone. However, Orlando, the vacation mecca in the middle of the state is 82 feet (25 meters) above sea level and not at all vulnerable.

Orlando overcame the disastrous freezes of 1894 and 1895 and prospered as World War I brought new industry to town. The government constructed new facilities, and businesses moved away from wood construction to more permanent brick buildings. Institutions remained mainly downtown, but new houses moved further from the business section. In many cases, older, once-pretentious houses close to the city center were torn down and replaced by business blocks.