Majesty Building, 123 E. Central Parkway, Altamonte Springs
They call it "The I-4 Eyesore," as if the rest of Orlando is some kind of architectural wonder. As if that building sullied the miles of soul-killing stroads, pastel stucco strip malls and bland vacuous nothing of downtown's unremarkable skyline. Sure, the ol' Eyesore is an easy target, out there by its lonesome in Altamonte Springs, its eyesoriness visible for miles around, perpetually under construction and bankrolled by easily duped christofascists. Fair enough. But to act like it's some kind of anomaly here — where so many developers with more money than taste have all but ruined so much of Central Florida's unique natural beauty with their hideous developments ... it betrays an unearned smugness as obnoxious as those living here who persist in the delusion that a climate of swampass for seven or eight months out of the year is some kind of Pure Unadulterated Utopian Paradise.
1st: The Yard, theyardivanhoe.com
2nd: Village at Baldwin Park, villagebaldwinpark.com
3rd: 55 West, live55westorlando.com
1st: The Alfond Inn, thealfondinn.com
2nd: Grand Bohemian Hotel, kesslercollection.com/bohemian-orlando
3rd: The Wellborn, thewellbornorlando.com
1st: Cornerstone Charter Academy, cornerstonecharter.com
2nd: Lake Eola Charter School, lecs.org
3rd: UCP of Central Florida, ucpcfl.org
1st: JCC of Maitland, orlandojcc.org/early-childhood
2nd: Primrose School of Lake Nona, primroseschools.com/schools/lake-nona
3rd: Conway Learning Center, conwaylearningcenter.com
1st: Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, drphillipscenter.org
2nd: Will's Pub, willspub.org
3rd: The Plaza Live, plazaliveorlando.org
1st: Mills 50, mills50.org
2nd: Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour, scenicboattours.com
3rd: Historic Downtown Sanford, historicdowntownsanford.com
1st: University of Central Florida, ucf.edu
2nd: Rollins College, rollins.edu
3rd: Valencia College, valenciacollege.edu
1st: Orlando Fringe Festival, orlandofringe.org
2nd: Come Out With Pride, comeoutwithpride.org
3rd: Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando Paws in the Park, pawsinthepark.org
1st: LGBT Center Pulse Mural, thecenterorlando.org
2nd: Milk District, electrical boxes themilkdistrict.org/mural-map
3rd: Sam Flax, samflaxorlando.com