Orlando (Florida)

Orlando
Nickname : The City Beautiful, O-Town, 407
Orlando
seal	flag
County and state location
Basic data
Foundation :	July 31, 1875
State :	United States
State :	Florida
County :	Orange County
Coordinates :	28 ° 32 ′  N , 81 ° 23 ′  W Coordinates: 28 ° 32 ′  N , 81 ° 23 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants : -  Metropolitan Area :	238,300 (as of 2010) 2,474,314 (as of 2016)
Population density :	983.9 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	261.5 km 2  (approx. 101 mi 2 ) of which 242.2 km 2  (approx. 94 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	34 m
Postcodes :	32803-32812, 32817-32822, 32824-32829, 32831-32833, 32835-32837, 32839
Area code :	+1 321,407
FIPS :	12-53000
GNIS ID :	0288240
Website :	www.cityoforlando.net
Mayor :	Buddy Dyer ( D )
Orange County Courthouse

Orlando is a city and county seat of Orange County in the US state of Florida with 238,300 inhabitants (as of 2010). After Jacksonville , Miami , Tampa and Saint Petersburg , Orlando is the fifth largest city in Florida. The city is part of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Orlando – Kissimmee – Sanford (also Greater Orlando for short ) with around 2.4 million inhabitants (as of 2016).

Orlando is best known for the theme parks of Walt Disney World and Universal Studios and is known as the "tourist capital of the USA". In 2014, Orlando was the most-visited tourist destination in the United States, with over 62 million visitors from around the world.

geography

Geographical location

Orlando is located in the center of the Florida Peninsula. Tampa is 120 km, Jacksonville 200 km, Miami 350 km and Tallahassee 400 km away.

According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of ​​approximately 261.5 km² (101 mi² ), of which approximately 242.2 km² (94 mi²) is land. The urban area has a maximum west-east extension of 25 km and a north-south extension of 30 km.

Neighboring communities

Orlando is bordered by the towns of Winter Park (to the north) and Belle Isle and Edgewood (to the south).

City structure

The city is divided into the four boroughs Northwest , Northeast , Southwest and Southeast Orlando , the boundaries of which are based on the two main highways through the city ( I-4 and SR 408 ). Downtown ( Downtown ) itself is located in the southwest of North East Orlando.

climate

The climate in the Orlando region has the characteristics of a tropical rainy climate , but is still described as a subtropical, humid east side climate and given in the Köppen climate classification as Cfa . According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture , Orlando is on the border of USDA Climate Zones 9a and 9b . The weather is generally hot and rainy from May to September (along with the Atlantic hurricane season ), while it is comparatively dry and cool from the end of October to April. The area's warm and humid climate is due in particular to its location at sea level near the Gulf of Mexico and near the Tropic of Capricorn.

During the summer months, the maximum temperatures are between 32 and 36 ° C, while at night the values ​​rarely drop below 21 ° C. Due to the high humidity, the actual temperatures almost never rise to values ​​above 38 ° C, but the perceived temperature ( heat index ) can rise to 43 ° C. On September 8, 1921, the highest temperature ever recorded was reached at 39 ° C (103  ° F ). In summer there are thunderstorms almost every day and, as a result, short but sometimes torrential showers.

During the cooler months, the humidity is lower and the temperatures are more moderate, but are subject to greater fluctuations. The average temperature in January is 15.7 ° C, with night frosts occurring on average 2.4 days a year . The lowest temperature was measured in the course of the cold spell that went down in history as the Great Freeze on December 28, 1894 at −8 ° C (18 ° F). Since the winter climate is rather dry and the coldest air only arrives after the cold fronts have passed through , snowfall is very rare in the region. The winter of 1977, in which Orlando had to report a closed snow cover for the first time, is a specialty.

The average annual rainfall in Orlando is 1,290 mm. Orlando faces significant hurricane risk, although it is classified as lower than southern Florida and generally near the coast. Due to the distance to the Gulf (70 km) or the Atlantic (120 km), the storms lose their greatest force by the time they arrive. Nevertheless, the city was hit directly by several hurricanes, such as Hurricane Donna in 1960 and Hurricane Charley in 2004 , and in some cases severely devastated.

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Orlando, Florida Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 21.5 22.8 25.2 27.8 31.1 32.6 33.2 33.1 31.8 28.9 25.5 22.3 O 28 Min. Temperature (° C) 9.9 11.9 14.0 16.5 19.9 22.9 24.2 24.2 23.4 19.8 15.4 12.1 O 17.9 Precipitation ( mm ) 69.6 71.9 96.3 63.2 83.8 222.0 180.3 198.6 152.9 83.6 61.5 66.8 Σ 1,350.5 Source: Climate data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

history

Beginnings

Before the first settlers from Europe settled in 1836, the Orlando area was sparsely populated by the Muskogee and other Indian tribes. In 1842, shortly after the end of the second Seminole Uprising , more and more settlers began moving to central Florida. One of them, Aaron Jernigan, founded the settlement "Jernigan" near an old army camp, Fort Gatlin. In 1857 the place, which then consisted of just a few huts and three to four saloons, was renamed after the US officer Orlando Reeves, who was killed by the Seminoles in 1835. In the 1850s and 1860s, livestock was still the dominant industry. In 1863 the first courthouse was built, which was used both as a school and a church.

City foundation and upswing

In 1875 Orlando was officially granted city rights with 85 residents. In 1881 the city was connected to the railway network; the population of 200 should grow rapidly in the following years. Two devastating city fires occurred in 1883 and 1884 that eventually led to the establishment of the Orlando Fire Department . In 1890 Orlando already had 10,000 inhabitants , benefiting from the development of the citrus industry . Due to its favorable climate, Orlando became the center of lemon cultivation. In 1894, the largest part of the harvest was destroyed by a frost break , the so-called "Big Freeze", which set the development of the city back by decades. In 1895 only 2,481 inhabitants were counted. It took 30 years for the population to reach 10,000 again. In 1896, the first Orlando City Hall was built. In the 1930 census , there were 27,330 inhabitants and in 1950 51,826 inhabitants.

Orlando at night

The upswing to today's economic importance of Orlandos began only in 1964. Since the early 1960s, anonymous investors had gradually bought cheap marshland independently of each other. It turned out that Walt Disney wanted to build a new theme park on these 150 km² (15,000 hectares) properties . The successful model Disneyland in Anaheim had reached the limits of its growth potential because Disney had not bought enough land there from the start. The Disney World Resort in Orlando should have enough space for expansion. The construction work for this project was completed in 1971, so the park opened on October 1 of the same year.

Disney's competitors saw the potential and didn't hesitate. In the years that followed, other large entertainment companies settled in, and Orlando developed into an unparalleled entertainment hub. The Gatorland reptile animal park , located approx. 20 km south of Orlando, was opened in 1949 under the name Florida Wildlife Institute and renamed Gatorland in 1954.

Demographic data

Lake Eola Park

According to the 2010 census, the then 238,300 inhabitants were distributed over 122,261 households. The population density was 983.9 inh / km². 57.6% of the population identified themselves as whites , 28.1% as African-Americans , 0.4% as Indians and 3.8% as Asian Americans . 6.9% said they belonged to another ethnic group and 3.4% to several ethnic groups. 25.4% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos .

In 2010 children under 18 years of age and 16.8% of all households lived in 28.5% of all households with persons at least 65 years of age. 52.5% of the households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without offspring or one parent with offspring). The average household size was 2.29 people and the average family size was 3.03 people.

24.5% of the population were younger than 20 years old, 37.5% were 20 to 39 years old, 24.8% were 40 to 59 years old, and 13.4% were at least 60 years old. The mean age was 33 years. 48.6% of the population were male and 51.4% were female.

The median annual income was $ 55,462, with 13.6% of the population living below the poverty line.

In 2000, English was the mother tongue of 75.43% of the population, 16.60% spoke Spanish and 7.97% had another mother tongue.

politics

town hall

The city council consists of a mayor-council government with six directly elected city councilors and a directly elected mayor.

mayor

The Democrat Buddy Dyer has been the mayor since February 25, 2003 almost continuously . He replaced the Republican Glenda Hood , who prematurely accepted the office of Secretary of State under Governor Jeb Bush . In the next mayoral election, which took place regularly in the following year, he prevailed against his challenger Ken Mulvaney and was able to narrowly avoid a runoff election. Subsequently, Dyer was accused of fraudulent voting, and an investigation was opened and charges were brought against Dyer. In March 2005, Dyer was suspended from office and Ernest Page was installed pro tempore as mayor . Six weeks later, Dyer's charges were dropped and he could return to office.

Town twinning

Orlando lists nine partnerships :

city	country	since
Curitiba	Brazil	1996
Guilin	People's Republic of China	1986
Monterrey	Mexico	1995
Orenburg	Russia	1997
Reykjanesbær	Iceland	1991
Seine-et-Marne department	France	1991
Tainan	Taiwan	1982
Urayasu	Japan	1989
Valladolid	Spain	2006

Culture and sights

Backstreet Boys

theatre

Orlando has the Orlando Shakespeare Theater , the Mad Cow Theater, and the Bob Carr Theater . The Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival is held annually in May . In Orlando there is the theater and concert hall Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts .

music

The music scenes of hip-hop , metal , rock , reggaeton and Latino can be found in the city. Rock and pop music in particular has stood out since the 1990s. Among others, the Backstreet Boys (founded in 1993), matchbox twenty (1995), * NSYNC (1995) and O-Town (1999) come from Orlando. In 2000 the metal band Trivium was founded and in 2004 the rock band Alter Bridge . Finally, the bands Blood on the Dance Floor (2007), Broadway (2007) and Sleeping with Sirens (2009) emerged.

Buildings

The following properties in Orlando are listed on the National Register of Historic Places :

The city has several shopping centers, the largest of which is the Florida Mall with around 172,000 m² of retail space. Other malls include Orlando Fashion Square , Artegon Marketplace (on International Drive ) and the Mall at Millenia .

Parks and recreation

Walt Disney World Resort

There are 17 different city parks, including Lake Eola Park , Loch Haven Park, and Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake . Sometimes festivals, markets, concerts and other events are held there. The parks can also be rented for private purposes.

Orlando acts as a promoter for a number of well-known theme parks . The Walt Disney World Resort opened in 1971 and is located in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista , around 20 km southwest of Orlando. Four theme and two water parks extend over a total area of ​​around 101  km² . The resort was visited by almost 59 million people in 2019, making it the most-visited theme park resort in the world.

The theme parks of the Universal Orlando Resort opened in 1990 and 1999 and had a good 21 million visitors in 2019. Other parks include the SeaWorld Group theme parks , two Fun Spot America Group theme parks , and the Gatorland and Holy Land Experience attractions . With the exception of Walt Disney World, all parks are located along International Drive , a tourist road that leads from Oak Ridge Road in the extreme southwest of Orlando to World Center Drive . Strictly speaking, despite the “Orlando” marketing, all amusement parks except for the Universal Orlando Resort are outside the Orlando metropolitan area.

Sports

The Amway Center

The Orlando Magic were founded in 1989 and are a basketball team of the National Basketball Association (NBA). You play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference . The team's venue has been the Amway Center since 2010 , previously it was the Amway Arena since 1989 .

The Orlando Solar Bears were founded in 2011 and are an ice hockey team of the third-rate East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). You play in the South Division of the Eastern Conference . Your venue is also the Amway Center. From 1994 to 2001 a previous team of the same name played in the International Hockey League (IHL), which at that time was still based in the Amway Arena. Later, the Orlando Seals existed from 2002 to 2007 (renamed Florida Seals in 2005), which were also active in various professional leagues.

Orlando City is a football - franchise , which in the highest since 2015 Football League of the USA, Major League Soccer plays (MLS). In 2015, the club played its home games in the Orlando Citrus Bowl . The move to the new Orlando City Stadium took place in 2017 . Another franchise of the same name (see same article) played in the United Soccer League (USL) from 2011 to 2014 and was located in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Celebration , around 25 km southwest of Orlando.

Founded in 1991, the Orlando Predators are an arena football team that plays in the South Division of the American Conference within the Arena Football League (AFL). Its current home is the Amway Center. Other home venues were the Amway Arena and the CFE Arena .

Regular events

• Spring: Blues BQ
• July 4th: Fireworks at the Fountain
• November 8: Veterans Day Parade
• December 5th: Holiday Lights

Economy and Infrastructure

The Orlando metropolitan area generated a gross domestic product of 126.8 billion US dollars in 2016, making it 32nd among the metropolitan areas of the United States. Thanks to the booming tourism, Orlando is one of the most economically dynamic cities in the country. The unemployment rate in the metropolitan area was 3.0 percent, below the national average of 3.8 percent. (As of March 2018).

Business district

Orlando Public Library

University of Central Florida

Companies

Significant Orlando-based companies include:

Campus Crusade for Christ Central Florida Expressway Authority Darden restaurants Florida's Turnpike Enterprise

Lockheed Martin Planet Hollywood SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Tupperware Corp.

media

The largest newspaper is the Orlando Sentinel and the third largest newspaper in Florida by circulation after the Tampa Bay Times and the Tampa Tribune . The newspaper also sells the Spanish-language branch El Sentinel . Other newspapers are the Orlando Business Journal and the Orlando Weekly .

Public facilities

Libraries

Orlando maintains a public library, the "Orlando Public Library", which is a subsidiary of the "Orange County Library". In 2014 the County Library owned around 1.6 million books, which were loaned out around 11.8 million times.

Clinics

• Florida Hospital
• Lakeside Alternative Hospital
• Orlando Regional Medical Center

education

• University of Central Florida (approximately 48,700 students)
• Valencia Community College (approx.15,700 students)
• Mid-Florida Tech University (approximately 1,450 students)
• Clinton Technical Institute (approx. 850 students)
• American Academy of Clinical Sexologists (approx. 650 students)
• Florida Metropolitan University North Orlando (approx. 600 students)
• Florida Technical College (approximately 570 students).

traffic

Streets

Interstate 4 in Orlando

Interstate 4 from Tampa to Daytona Beach is the only interstate that runs through the Orlando metropolitan area . This makes Orlando the second largest city in the United States, after Austin in Texas , to be crossed by just one interstate highway. In addition, the urban area is served by several expressways , which have been developed similar to motorways and are subject to tolls. These are the Florida's Turnpike (SR 91), the East-West Expressway (SR 408), the Central Florida GreeneWay (SR 417) and the Martin Andersen Beachline Expressway (SR 528).

Finally, US Highways 17 , 92 and 441 as well as Florida State Roads 15 , 50 , 416 , 423 , 424 , 434 , 435 , 438 , 482 , 500 , 527 , 551 , 552 and 600 run through Orlando.

Rail transport

Orlando Railway Station

The so-called Central Florida Rail Corridor (CFRC) runs through Orlando . It was owned by CSX Transportation until 2013 and was then bought by the State of Florida. On May 1, 2014, the CRFC began operating the SunRail , whose line today runs from Poinciana in Osceola County via Downtown Orlando to DeBary in Volusia County . Other SunRail stations in the metropolitan area include Church Street , LYNX Central and Florida Hospital Health Village .

The Orlando station is located south of downtown. It was built in 1927 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and later taken over by the Amtrak rail company. The Silver Star and Silver Meteor trains serve the station with one pair of trains each to Miami and New York City .

Initial plans to build a high-speed line from Tampa via Orlando to Miami were halted in March 2011, but were picked up again in 2019 by the Brightline high-speed train line operated by the Virgin Group . Which is also Orlando Airport by early 2022 as part of the Bright Line -project to a new route to West Palm Beach , Fort Lauderdale tied, and Miami.

Today, Orlando is connected to freight transport by the Florida Central Railroad and CSX Transportation companies.

Bus transport

Orlando Train Station is connected to the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach long-distance bus network. Greyhound Lines stop is west of downtown. Orlando is also connected to the surrounding area by bus company Lynx .

Airports

The Orlando International Airport is the main airport for Orlando and Central Florida. In 2018 around 23 million passenger boardings were processed here, making it the most popular airport in Florida, followed by Miami Airport . The second airport in the city of Orlando is Orlando Executive Airport , which is used exclusively for private and business aviation. Both airports are operated by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority .

The Orlando Sanford International Airport is located about 30 km north of Orlando near the town of Sanford in Seminole County and managed by the Sanford Airport Authority operated.

crime

The crime rate in 2010 was 526 points (US average: 266 points) in the high range. The police counted 18 murders, 113 rapes, 672 robberies, 1,771 personal injuries, 4,015 break-ins, 10,357 thefts, 1,193 car thefts and 42 arson.

On June 12, 2016, an Orlando massacre left 49 dead and over 50 injured when a gunman shot around in the Pulse nightclub .

Personalities

People who were born in Orlando as well as those who worked in the city without being born here. The list does not claim to be complete.

Web links

Commons : Orlando (Florida)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Wikivoyage: Orlando, Florida  Travel Guide

• The City website (English)
• Orlando Tourist Office website (also in German)
• The Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce (English)
• Full descriptions of the Orlando theme parks

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Surprises in Florida. Focus , accessed April 13, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Officials: Orlando Was Top US Tourist Destination in 2014. ABC News , accessed April 13, 2015 . 
3. ↑ What is my arborday.org Hardiness Zone? The Arbor Day Foundation, accessed April 13, 2015 . 
4. ↑ Weather Almanac for January 2002. The Weather Doctor, accessed April 15, 2015 . 
5. ^ Joy Wallace Dickinson: Orlando: City of Dreams . Arcadia Pub., Charleston, SC 2003, ISBN 0-7385-2442-5 , pp. 21-22.
6. ^ Joy Wallace Dickinson: Orlando: City of Dreams . Arcadia Pub., Charleston, SC 2003, ISBN 0-7385-2442-5 , pp. 24-25.
7. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.cityoforlando.net/fire/history/
8. ↑ Income In The Past 12 Months (In 2018 Inflation-adjusted Dollars). United State Census Bureau, accessed July 2, 2020 (American English). 
9. ^ Poverty Status In The Past 12 Months (2018). United State Census Bureau, accessed July 2, 2020 (American English). 
10. ↑ Language distribution 2000 . Modern Language Association . Retrieved April 14, 2015.
11. ↑ ORLANDO CITY COUNCIL. City of Orlando, accessed April 14, 2015 . 
12. ↑ OFFICE OF THE MAYOR. City of Orlando, accessed April 14, 2015 . 
13. ↑ Orlando Mayor Back After 40 Days in Political Wilderness. Los Angeles Times , accessed April 14, 2015 . 
14. ↑ INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS. City of Orlando, accessed August 10, 2015 . 
15. ↑ FLORIDA - Orange County. National Register of Historic Places , accessed April 14, 2015 . 
16. ↑ The numbering in this list column is based on the order of the entries presented by the National Park Service ; the colors distinguish different types of protected areas of the National Park System with national significance (e.g. National Historic Landmarks ) from the other entries in the National Register of Historic Places .
17. ^ National Register Information System . In: National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service . Retrieved July 9, 2010.
18. ↑ FAMILIES, PARKS AND RECREATION - cityoforlando.net
19. ↑ ^{a b} TEA / AECOM 2019 Theme Index and Museum Index. TEA / AECOM, July 19, 2020, accessed on July 24, 2020 . 
20. ↑ CITY OF ORLANDO SIGNATURE EVENTS. City of Orlando, accessed April 15, 2015 . 
21. ^ US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic Analysis: Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved July 4, 2018 (American English). 
22. ↑ Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Economy at a Glance. Retrieved July 5, 2018 . 
23. ^ Florida newspaper circulation falls. Tampa Bay Times , accessed April 15, 2015 . 
24. ↑ Annual Report 2014. Orange County Library, accessed April 15, 2015 . 
25. ↑ filings detail Virgin's plan for high-speed rail to Tampa. In: FOX 13 Tampa Bay. May 7, 2019, accessed June 12, 2020 . 
26. ^ Gregg Turner: A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing , Mount Pleasant 2014, ISBN 978-1-439642-54-2
27. ↑ Preliminary CY 2018 Commercial Service Enplanements. In: Faa.gov. Retrieved June 12, 2020 . 
28. ^ Crime rate in Orlando, Florida (FL) - police officers statistics
29. ↑ Disco Massacre in Orlando: "A Tragedy for the Entire Nation". Retrieved June 17, 2016 .