RICHES Mosaic Interface

06/01/2026

New Exhibit: From Civil Rights to Civilization: Policy Makers Bring Change to the Diversifying Community of Orlando

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/20thcenturyorlandoofficials

Between 1956 and 1991, Orlando's small 36,736 population jumped drastically to 166,582 inhabitants. Over this 35-year period Orlando could no longer think in the terms of a small town. As its minorities became integrated into the poulation and the masses demanded to be served, the city's policy makers needed to implement change. As the city began to rapidly evolve at a cultural level, a new city hall was built in 1958; it was from this "New City Hall" that Orlando shifted into the thriving and diverse urban mecca that it is today. Between 1958 and 1991, city officials generated change on the contested issues of race, through the introduction of new policies, programs, and procedures.

During this time the sense of community was lacking. As the U.S Supreme Court overturned school segregation in 1962, Orlando city officials began seeking to represent every member of their rapidly diversifying community. Orlando officials adapted to the changing population by implementing policies that adhered to the shift in the social structure of Orlando. The changes were accelerated by the tourism industry, as Walt Disney World opened and the McCory Air Force Base becane the Orlando International Airport. The influx of population demanded a stronger police force, a creative city council, innovative mayors, and a proactive minorty population, to ensure that this tranformation of Orlando progressed as peacefully as possible.

05/22/2026

05/22/2026

Photos from Florida Emancipation Day Celebration at Historic Hopper Academy on May 16, 2026!

05/22/2026

New Exhibit: The Florida Epinal Cemetery Project

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/epinalcemeteryproject

Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial

Our project seeks to tell the stories of the US servicemen from Florida buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial in eastern France. The U.S. Army soldiers and airmen buried in Epinal gave their lives to secure the liberation of France and in the fight against N**i Germany in 1944 and 1945. Starting in 2015, and over the next several years, students in Dr. Amelia Lyons’ classes are writing biographies of the men from Florida to honor them, to learn the skills of historical research, and to bring their memory to a new generation in Florida and in France. Our project was inspired by the collaboration of Dr. Mary Louise Roberts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Association US Memory Grand Est France.

05/18/2026

05/18/2026

New Exhibit: Westinghouse Power Generation in Orlando: A Timeline of Managerial and Organizational Evolution

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/powergeneration

The Westinghouse Electric Corporation, one of America’s foremost industrial companies whose history spanned the 100-year period starting in the late 1800s until the late 1990s. In 1998, PGBU was acquired by Siemens, AG of Germany.

The story of Westinghouse's PGBU in Orlando began around 1980, when it was decided by corporate management that the various segments of the business should be moved from their separate locations in eastern and western Pennsylvania and consolidated into one central operation. A search for a location resulted in selection of the Orlando area, and the large piece of land that was to be developed as The Quadrangle was purchased for the new World Headquarters of Westinghouse Power Generation.

The actual move to Orlando of the Steam Turbine Generation Division (STGD) took place from 1982 to 1983. Initially, the group occupied a vacant shopping plaza on Colonial Drive (Florida State Road 50), while awaiting completion of the new World Headquarters building in November of 1983.

From 1987 to 1988, STGD was joined in Orlando by two other important parts of the Westinghouse Power Generation group: the Combustion Turbine Operations (CTO), which migrated from Concordville, Pennsylvania; and the Power Generation Services Division (PGSD), which relocated from its headquarters in Broomall, Pennsylvania.

This exhibit provides an historical timeline that traces the evolution of the managerial and professional organization of the many people who were Westinghouse Power Generation from the time of its move to Orlando in the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, when major changes in the corporate structure and focus of Westinghouse led to the sale of the PGBU to Siemens, AG of Germany in 1998. The exhibit contains copies of internal memoranda, letters, and organizational charts that were distributed to employees during the period.

The managerial history of Westinghouse Power Generation in Orlando starts under the general management of Dr. Stanley Quick, and continues through the era of Howard Pierce and Bob Ractcliffe, followed by that of Tom Campbell, Frank R. Bakos and Romano Salvatori, and Randy Zwirn, whose leadership at the site spanned the over-20-year period from 1994 through 2016, when he retired as CEO of the Power Generation Services Division of Siemens AG and also serves as President and CEO of Siemens Energy, Inc.

05/14/2026

New Exhibit: A Brief History of Westinghouse Gas Turbines: The First 50 Years

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/westinghouse

05/14/2026

Why is the 5th Annual Sanford's Ride To Freedom a significant ride? This ride is in celebration of Florida's Emancipation Day. On May 20, 1865, enslaved people in our community were finally freed!

This ride will take you through some incredible black communities and historic buildings that help shape Central Florida.

💛Hopper Academy: Historic African American school built in 1906 in Georgetown, a community founded by early Black pioneers around 1870.

💛Georgetown: Established circa 1870 by early Black pioneers who settled east of Sanford Avenue and north of Celery Avenue. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

💛Midway/Canaan City: A historic Black migrant settlement tied to Sanford’s celery boom of the 1920s, with roots dating back as early as 1865–1890. “Midway” referred to its location between two community wells on Sipes Avenue.

💛Goldsboro: Founded by William Clark in 1891, Goldsboro was the second African American incorporated city in the United States before being annexed by Sanford.

💛Crooms Academy: Founded in 1926 by Joseph N. Crooms as Seminole County’s first high school for African American students. Today, it serves as Crooms Academy of Information Technology.

💛Bookertown: Originally known as Monroe’s Colored Section, Bookertown was settled by African American railroad laborers in 1885 and named in honor of educator Booker T. Washington.

Additional Community Gems:

💛 Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB): A unique ride experience through the local airport, including the terminal curbside.

💛Sanford RiverWalk: A scenic multi-use trail along Lake Monroe that began as a sidewalk idea in 1995 and has become a major community destination.

😁And even more, profits from this ride will be donated to Get Sanford Cycling, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization created to empower children in the Sanford community to lead active, healthy lives through cycling.

⚠ https://ExperienceSanfordFL.com/RideToFreedom

04/15/2026

Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Carol Mundy.

The Carol Mundy Collection features books, photographs and artifacts from the Civil Rights Movement, the Jim Crow era and other periods in black history.

12/16/2025

Goldsboro History Harvest at Allen Chapel AME Church, 1203 Olive Ave, Sanford, FL 32771 on Saturday, January 10, 2026, from 1pm to 3pm!