Winter Garden Heritage Foundation facts for kids
Former ACL Depot, now the Winter Garden Heritage Museum headquarters.
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The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation (WGHF) is a special group that works to save and share the history of West Orange County, Florida. They help people learn about the past and why it's important.
Contents
What the Foundation Does
The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is located in downtown Winter Garden, Florida. They run two cool museums: the Winter Garden Heritage Museum and the Central Florida Railroad Museum. Their main office, called the History Research, Education, and Visitors' Center, is also where you can find a gift shop.
The WGHF does many things to protect history. They find, record, and look after important historical places and stories in West Orange County. They also teach people about history through:
- School visits
- Walking tours of historic areas
- Special heritage events
- Workshops
- Displays
- Books and other learning materials
- Online presentations
Winter Garden Heritage Museum
The Winter Garden Heritage Museum is in an old train station built in 1923. This station used to belong to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The museum shows what life was like in the area long ago.
Inside, you can see:
- Old labels from local citrus fruit companies.
- Tools and items left by the first people who lived there.
- Things from the railroad, like old train parts.
- Historic photographs that show how Winter Garden has changed.
The museum often changes its exhibits, so there's always something new to discover!
Central Florida Railroad Museum
The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation also works closely with the Central Florida Railroad Museum. This museum is in another old train station, built in 1913. It's a fantastic place for anyone who loves trains!
The museum has a huge collection of items that tell the story of trains in Central Florida. You can see:
- Lots of old photographs.
- Maps and brochures from train lines.
- Detailed diagrams of trains.
- A large collection of dishes and glasses used on old trains.
People from all over the world visit this museum to learn about Florida's train history.
Garden Theatre's History
In 2008, the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation finished restoring the Garden Theatre. This beautiful theatre is in historic downtown Winter Garden. It first opened in 1935 as a movie theatre.
The theatre was very special inside, with:
- A Spanish tile courtyard.
- Balconies that looked like something from "Romeo and Juliet."
- Lanterns in the windows above the stage.
- Palm trees decorating the sides of the stage.
- A dark blue ceiling with sparkling stars.
Over the years, the theatre was changed a few times. It closed in 1963 because more people started watching TV instead of going to the movies. The foundation took over the building in 2004.
The foundation had two main goals for the theatre. First, they wanted to make the building look just like it did when it first opened. This helped keep the historic feel of downtown Winter Garden. Second, they wanted the theatre to become a lively place for performances, movies, and other events. They achieved these goals, and now the Garden Theatre is a separate non-profit organization that runs on its own.
