These vintage postcards show just how much Orlando has changed in the past century

By Orlando Weekly Staff on Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 7:57 pm

Orlando is a city that's always evolving. Buildings come up and go down pretty quickly, which has been the case for pretty much all of the City Beautiful's history. The small town that had a population of 2,481 in 1900, has now evolved into a major metropolitan area with more than 2.5 million residents across the region. These vintage postcards and captions from the State Archives of Florida show just how much Orlando has changed in the past century, starting in the early 1900s to the late 1990s.

Photos by State Library & Archives of Florida https://www.floridamemory.com/

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State Library & Archives of Florida

Tourists viewing gators at Gatorland, published after 1949.

State Library & Archives of Florida

The fountain at Lake Eola Park in Orlando, published sometime in the 1900s.

State Library & Archives of Florida

Flowers and trees line the drive along Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida, published sometime in the 1900s.

State Library & Archives of Florida

Flamingos at Gatorland Zoo., published after 1949. An accompanying note reads, "Colorful flamingos live happily in their natural habitat at beautiful Gatorland Zoo, the world's largest alligator farm, located between Orlando and Kissimmee, Florida on U.S. Hwy. 17-92-441."