Downtown Orlando
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The downtown area of Orlando, Florida is far removed from the famous attractions that draw tourists to the region.
There are several areas of downtown Orlando:
- Uptown is bounded by Colonial Drive on the South and Lake Ivanhoe on the North.
- Eola is one bounded by Rosalind on the West
- Parramore is bounded by Hughey on the East
- The Central business District is bounded by The East-West Expressway on the South and Colonial Drive on the North
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[edit] Overview
Downtown Orlando contains a number of highrises that dot the downtown area. They include Bank of America Tower at 408 feet tall and 29 stories, Orange County Courthouse at 417 feet and 24 stories, and SunTrust Center Tower at 441 feet and 32 stories.
The main route through downtown is Orange Avenue, a one-way street on which traffic flows to the south. It is known by locals for its nightlife and for the tall office buildings that dot the roadway. Other main roads include Magnolia Avenue, Central Boulevard, Hughey Avenue, and Colonial Drive (SR 50). Two main highways that run through downtown are Interstate 4 and the East-West Expressway (Toll SR 408).
Downtown is home to many urban amenities such as an 18,000 seat arena known as the TD Waterhouse Centre which hosts the Orlando Magic NBA team and the Orlando Predators Arena Football League team.
Downtown Orlando has many parks. Lake Eola, known for its fountain, also has swan boats for rent.
[edit] Uptown
Uptown is very similar to the Central Business District but is still developing a character. It has much open space left for an area of downtown, yet has high aspirations too. With, among other things, the significant planned retail space, Uptown is expected to drastically change it's skyline from the current three under 300' buildings. Lake Ivanhoe at the North has a significant gay community with several nightclubs and a number of antique shops which is increasing every year.
[edit] Parramore
The area is located just west of the Central Business district. The area was once a vibrant neighborhood, but since then crime and prostitution have increased significantly. The Parramore area was established in the 1800s as the hub of Orlando's African American community.
It is significantly residential, with a large number of high intensity entertainment and office institutions such as the TD Waterhouse Centre, Bob Carr Performing Arts Center, Federal Courthouse, and Police Headquarters. Significant projects have yet to emerge, yet city-funded and citizen-encouraged redevelopment projects continue to pour into this region to improve this area.
[edit] Central Business District
The CBD is the most recognized and urban region of downtown. It consist mostly of high-level highrises with an occasional skyscraper and contains many nightclubs and bars including Blue Room, Big Belly Brewery, Antigua, Mako's, The Lodge, Rhythm & Flow, and the several bars and restaurants that comprise Wall Street Plaza. Additionally, on Dec 31, 2004, celebrity Paris Hilton's Club Paris opened at the Church Street Ballroom. There are a number of office towers, including offices for Bank of America, SouthTrust Bank, and Wachovia. SunTrust Center and City Commons are two large multi-building office complexes within the CBD. SunTrust Center includes SunTrust Tower and Lincoln Plaza, along with several parking garages and smaller office buildings. CityCommons includes CNL Centers I and II, City Hall, and a large parking garage.
This area is by far the busiest and is encountering intense development, some of which include the 400' 55 West on Church Street, The Vue a 426' condo development soon to be the second tallest in the city, Tradition Towers, twin 415 ft buildings just west of Lake Eola, and PremierTrade Plaza, a large mixed-use development consisting of two office towers and a residential tower, called Solaire. A 12-screen movie theatre is planned as well.
[edit] Visiting Downtown Orlando
Downtown Orlando has been criticized as only being home to college bars, and basically dead clubs. The arts have and continue to suffer in Orlando due to the population's dull understanding of modern culture. There is very little in the way of non-musical theater and almost no decent big city bars.
[edit] Parking in Downtown Orlando
Many city streets have metered parking during the day, but parking meters are not enforced after 6pm and on weekends. The City of Orlando offers free* on street parking during holidays and hours after 6 pm Mon. – Sat. Free all day on Sundays and on City holidays. [1] There are several city-run parking garages, including the Central Parking Garage, and the Library Garage. In addition, on nights and weekends there are many privately operated lots where you can park for the evening for a flat fee (typically $5.00). Downtown Orlando is home to some very overly aggressive tow truck companies, so when parking in the downtown area, it is important to park in a legal space.
[edit] Getting around
There are two large companies that operate cycle rickshaw services in downtown: Bill's bums(yellow), consisting mainly of homeless people, and Main Street Pedicab (red). However, questionable business practices and illegal activities involving narcotics are threatening to put the former out of business and the latter in control of the local pedicab industry. A few independent operators have appeared over the last twelve months, and have given the two larger companies a run for their money. There is no fee for a ride, however, a gratuity of $1-$3 is customary, depending on the distance and number of passengers. Several taxi companies provide curbside service throughout the city.
In recent years, the Orlando Police Department has been closing Orange Avenue to all automobile traffic in the late evening hours (after 12am) on weekend nights as a safety precaution. In addition, abundant construction projects cause periodic street closures.
The Lynx bus service operates a free bus service called the Lymmo that travels in a circular route around the downtown area.
