Commonly nicknamed “The City Beautiful”, Orlando is the county seat of Orange County. Orlando is located in central Florida, and is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area. The population as of 2016 is 2.38 million, making it the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.
You can find the symbol for The City Beautiful at Lake Eola. Uncommonly, Orlando is also “The Theme Park Capital of the World” and in 2014 more than 62 million visitors were drawn into Orlando. Orlando grew rapidly in the 1980’s due to the success of Walt Disney World, which opened Oct. 1st, 1971. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, which is the largest university campus in the United States in terms of enrollment, as of 2015. Today, the historic core of “Old Orlando” resides in Downtown Orlando along Church Street, between Orange Avenue and Garland Avenue.
Urban development and the Central Business District of downtown have rapidly shaped the downtown skyline during recent history. The present-day historic district is primarily associated with the neighborhoods around Lake Eola where century-old oaks line brick streets. These neighborhoods, known as “Lake Eola Heights” and “Thornton Park”, contain some of the oldest homes in Orlando. The geography of Orlando is mostly wetlands, consisting of many lakes and swamps.
