MOUNT DORA Season 2 - The First Mount Dorans - Part 3

 

Part 3: The Grandview Hotel, Mount Dora

 

Grandview Hotel circa 1920, Florida Memory Project

 

Mount Dora’s Grandview Hotel and Grandview Street have nothing more in common than a grand vista which each enjoyed when the lakeside town of Mount Dora was founded. Trees in an all- grownup city currently block the view of three lakes once said to be visible from Grandview Street, whereas the site of the one-time Grandview Hotel, despite its absence, continuers to afford a splendid view of charming Lake Dora.

Excerpts from Chapter 17, Page 168 of my NEW MOUNT DORA book

New to the Cronin family of central Florida history books.

Book now available! See details below.

“Its history as a leading-hostelry dates to the founding of the city.” Such was the assessment made by Mount Dora Topic in an August 1, 1929, article reporting on a ‘Big Cash Sale” of a local Mount Dora Hotel. The hotel was the Grandview, first known as Bruce House Hotel when the facility first opened its doors to receiving guests in the early 1880s.

A parking lot today, Grandview Hotel once graced the corner of 5^th Avenue and McDonald Street. For years, the hotel remained popular with snowbirds and tourists alike, due in large part to its splendid Lake Dora view and proximity to Mount Dora Yacht Club. The Bruce House was built on three town lots facing McDonald Street, but by 1929, and operating under the name Grandview Hotel, the hotel’s property extended down the hill to the lakeshore.

Byron & Carrie Bruce of Lorain County, Ohio purchased the hilltop lots overlooking Lake Dora from John & Annie Donnelly on May 13, 1884. Identified as Block 4 of the original town of Mount Dora, the Bruce House Hotel was listed in the Orange County Gazetteer of 1887. Sanborn Insurance surveys of 1912 and 1920 identify the hotel first as Bruce House, and then, as you can see on the exhibit below, as the Grandview Hotel. 

1912 Bruce House (left), and 1920 Grandview Hotel (right)

Sold for cash in 1929 to Northern investors, two months before the Stock Market crash of 1929, the Grandview Hotel purchase, said Mount Dora Topic, came about because of the “outstanding desirability of Mount Dora as a tourist resort.”

The same article mentioned completion of the new “Federal Road” would serve the Grandview Hotel well. The Federal Road, currently Old U S 441, or Fashionable 5th Avenue as I like to call it, rerouted traffic arriving from Tavares and points North. Prior to this rerouting, vehicles arrived in Mount Dora via Tavares Road (11^th Avenue of today). Traffic then drove south on Donnelly Street into the city. 

Connecting Lakeshore Drive with 5^th Avenue meant vehicles instead arrived in downtown Mount Dora via 5^th Avenue, passing by the Grandview Hotel on their way into town.

Continued below.

MOUNT DORA

The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

BUY IT NOW AT AMAZON

Click on Book Cover above to buy at Amazon

OR: Buy a signed copy November 1, 2021, at the Official Book Launch;

OR: Buy it now, then bring your book on November 1 for signing.

The Green Room, Mount Dora Community Center

November 1, 2021, 5:30 to 7:30 PM

Details of my November 1 book launch to follow 

Baker Street in historic downtown Mount Dora

 

Grandview Hotel continued:

The Grandview Hotel survived the founder’s 1917 death. An Ohio native, Byron Bruce died at Mount Dora and was buried at Pine Forest. His wife Carrie, also an Ohio native, had preceded Byron in 1913. In the 1900 census, both Byron and Carrie were listed as Hotel Operators. In 1910, both are listed as managers of “Bruce House” Hotel, but by 1919, the hotel’s name had changed to Grandview Hotel.

Renovations were reported underway in 1967 that were to cost more than $40,000. “Four old buildings will be torn down, reported Mount Dora Topic, “and a new dining room structure will be erected at the east side of the Grandview, according to Lt. Col. & Mrs. Charles Lewis, owners.” The new building, it was reported, “will have the old “New England” look in keeping with the beautification project of downtown Mount Dora.

Questions and/or comments, email: MountDora@CroninBooks.com

Mostly a gravel parking lot today, the historic Grandview, a hotel begun in the early 1880s as the Bruce House Hotel, was one of three original hotels in operation by 1883, two years after the town’s founding. Guests first arrived at the hotel aboard steamboats on Lake Dora, coming south to escape the harsh northern winters.

Among regular winter guests of the Grandview was a gentleman from East Liverpool, Ohio - one of several East Liverpool snowbirds to adopt Mount Dora as a winter retreat. This particular resident of East Liverpool however decided to acquire property across 5th Avenue and build a winter cottage. His name was Thompson, and our next installment will resume with the story of his Thompson House. The problem is though, discussing the Thompson House is like starting in the middle of history. Chapter 28, on page 238 of Mount Dora, explains - and I will try to do so in abbreviated form September 15th, in my next installment of this First Mount Dorans series.

We are getting ever closer to Lake Dora's shore, as well as the conclusion of this series. On September 15th is The Thompson House; followed October 1st with Gould's Lake Dora. 

MOUNT DORA Season 2 - The First Mount Dorans - Part 2:

The First Mount Dorans

Season 2 - Part 2: Filler up Please!

 

Fifth Avenue (Main Street), Mount Dora Amoco (1935)

Fifth Avenue in downtown Mount Dora is likely the last place one would search for fuel for the family car today, but this hasn’t always been so. There was a time when drivers seeking gas had a choice between three ‘Filling Stations’ downtown on Fifth Avenue alone, another on Fourth, and several others on the outskirts of town.

Directly across Fifth Avenue from Princess Theatre, where this blog last left off, the Smith & Kirkland Amoco opened its doors in October 1935. The building, long-since remodeled, still stands today. Catty-cornered from the Amoco, at Fifth and Alexander Street, Mosteller Brothers Gulf Station had already begun pumping “Good Gulf Gasoline’ a year earlier.

“Simpson’s Fashionable Fifth Avenue,” as I refer to this downtown artery in my upcoming Mount Dora book (75 days to book launch!), quite suddenly became popular during the 1930s with service station operators, and for good reason. Fifth Avenue of Mount Dora had become part of this Nation’s original Interstate Highway System. It’s true! During the Roaring Twenties, popular named national roads such as The Dixie Highway and Lincoln Highway, for which there were many, got a bit out of control. Signs with arrows attached to power poles were often the only directions available for the wandering motorist. And so, in 1927, The Interstate Highway System eliminated named highways and began numbering roads. A fourth “Alternate” for north-south Highway 41 became US 441, and presto, just like that, Mount Dora became a stop on America’s new Interstate Highway System.

Dixie Highway had, prior to this, arrived in Mount Dora via present day Eleventh Avenue, a road that began life as Scott Avenue (maiden name of John Donnelly’s mother), then changed to Tavares Road. Standard Oil Company first opened a ‘Filling Station’ in 1926 at Tenth & Donnelly, saying “it is so arranged as to prove easily accessible from either the Tavares, Eustis, or local streets.” Tourists therefore first arrived at Mount Dora via old Eustis Road (at the Limit Avenue & Donnelly Street intersection today), or via Tavares Road (now Eleventh Avenue at Donnelly).

    The Lure: Coming soon to CroninBooks.com

"The new railroad intersects Mrs. Donnelly's grove, running close to the dwelling."

An announcement in Mount Dora Topic of May 24, 1934, also told of change that had come to the city itself: ‘Mosteller Bros. have taken over the Gulf Service Station on the Federal and State Highway, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Alexander Street.” Fifth Avenue, which originally terminated in the west at Lake Dora’s edge, was made part of a new lakeshore highway running west to Tavares. This road became US 441 – the “Federal Highway”, which then delivered tourists into Mount Dora via Fifth Avenue.

Brothers Ernest (1903-1952) and Andrew (1896-1958) Mosteller had opened a service garage in 1925 at Fourth and Baker. But the brothers soon realized the place to be in 1934 to pump gas was on the new Federal Highway, aka, US 441, aka, “Simpson’s Fashionable Fifth Avenue.”

Tourists arriving from the north in the 1930s were entertained first by splendid views of Lake Dora as they drove east from Tavares, and then, as they rounded the corner onto Fifth Avenue in their approach to Mount Dora, visitors were greeted next by one the city’s earliest hotels - just before arriving at Mosteller’s Gulf Station or the Smith & Kirkland Amoco, where they could fuel up.

Chances are, if the new arrivals stopped for gas and a recommendation on where to stay the night, they would be directed to the neighboring hotel, the one with that “grand-view’ of Lake Dora. We too are heading there next, when this series returns September 1, 2021.

The Lure. The Founding. The Founders. 

Season One of this First Mount Doran Series began a historic Mount Dora Fifth Avenue walk first taken in 1848 by Surveyor James M. Gould. We began the walk at Tremain Street & 5^th Avenue, and trekked westward toward Lake Dora. We are getting ever closer to the lake’s edge, and ever closer to the launch date of my next book. 300 Plus Pages! Includes Exhibits, and Extensive Bibliography for those who question the history, and a convenient Topic Index to easily locate people, places, and events. 

Want to know more about my book and its availability, email me at MountDora@CroninBooks.com   

MOUNT DORA

The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

 

By the author of Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

Official Book Launch Monday, November 1, 2021

The Green Room, Mount Dora Community Center

Request details at MountDora@CroninBooks.com

MOUNT DORA: Season 2, First Mount Dorans - Part 1

The First Mount Dorans – Season 2

Part One: The Princess Theatres

Mount Dora's Second Princess Theatre, 5th Avenue

Forty-four years after the New Princess Theatre opened its doors on Fabulous Fifth Avenue in downtown Mount Dora, the theatre took one final bow before the doors closed forever in 1973. 

Sold at auction as one complete package, the theatre seats, curtains, equipment, and you name it were packed up and shipped off to the Honduras. Having spent an entire day of January 10, 1929 preparing to show the first movie, workers stayed busy January 25, 1973 packaging the last of the movie theatre’s inventory. Born during the industry's earliest days, the Princess died a result of the fast paced, ever-changing movie industry. The New Princess had first opened on 5th Avenue in the early 20s, but was then destroyed by fire in 1928, and replaced by a Newer, New Princess.

The Princess of Mount Dora being dismantled (1973)

The very first Princess Theatre was located on the east side of Donnelly Street north of Fourth Street, and began showing silent movies in what was then the Town Hall. Original managers Heller & Harding worked to keep the Princess as modern as possible. On December 20, 1920, “Blackbirds, starring Justine Johnstone, one of the five most beautiful women in the world”, became one of the theatre’s earliest hits. Just prior to showing the Blackbirds, the managers had "installed another new machine, making two first-class projectors in our booth. No more stops between reels."

Heller & Harding also "added a larger screen making our pictures much larger and better". 

MOUNT DORA: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

By the author of Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

Official Book Launch - Monday, November 1, 2021

Request details as MountDora@CroninBooks.com

 

Mount Doran David S. Simpson developed the south side of Fifth Avenue from Dora Ann Drawdy Alley west to Alexander Street in 1920, and in 1925, he sold that entire half-block to an investor from Yonkers, New York. In exchange for $90,000, that investor acquired the buildings containing “the Princess Theatre; City Market; City Bakery; Western Union Telegraph; the Town Clerk’s office and the Chamber of Commerce, with living apartments on the second floor.”

The post-fire Princess had seating for 600 persons with fire exits designed to empty the movie theater in less than a minute. Theatre manager William J. Gorman said the “latest approved type of Phototone is being installed, declared “to give a perfect reproduction of disc records, so well, in fact, that it is as good as if an orchestra or artist were in the auditorium”. (In October of 1931, Mount Dorans were shocked by news of the beloved theatre managers death. William and wife Margaret both died in an auto accident near Schenectady, New York). 

Motion Picture history was made at the Princess Theatre in Mount Dora on February 14, 1929 when, for the first time ever in Lake County, “Talking Movies” appeared on the big screen. “This will be accomplished by means of the Synchrotone", Gorman had said, "one of the latest talking devices, somewhat similar to the Vitaphone”.

And for the record, both movie houses consistently spelled their movie house as “Theatre”.

"Airport" the Movie at Princess Theatre, Mount Dora

Season One of this First Mount Doran Series began the historic Mount Dora Fifth Avenue walk first taken in 1848 by Surveyor James Gould. We began this walk at Tremain Street and 5^th Avenue, and then trekked westward toward Lake Dora. Our walk reached Dora Ann Drawdy Alley by Part Four. A special Mother’s Day edition then took us on a side trip to the crest of a hill overlooking Lake Dora, where a historic citrus grove – one first planted in the 1870s by the mother of Mount Dora, had just then been cleared to make way for a new 2021 housing community.   

Season Two continues our journey to the lake’s edge. The history presented above of two Princess Theatres of Mount Dora is borrowed from my Chapter 26 of soon to be released, Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

Next up: August 15^th we cross over to the north side of Fabulous Fifth Avenue to hear the sound of yesteryear, a couple “dings” followed by a check under the hood!

TAVARES: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County, is available now at Amazon or buy a signed copy at my CroninBooks booth at Wooten Park in Tavares, August 28th - 11:00 AM to 3 PM. 

MOUNT DORA: A Special Mother's Day Edition

 

First Mount Dorans - A Mother’s Day Special Blog

 

 

A historic Mount Dora Scenic Overlook – while it lasts that is!

 

Happy Mother’s Day! This Special Edition of The First Mount Dorans is taking an interesting detour today. Rather than walking Mount Dora’s historic 5^th Avenue in downtown (Parts 1 – 4), we will instead take to the car, join my Lake County Drives series, and celebrate Mother’s Day atop a spectacular scenic overlook. But this blog comes with a warning – the overlook will not be visible for long. A wall, I am quite certain, will hide the view very soon.

I only recently happened upon this spot, a place that can only be described as the most historic spot in all of Mount Dora., while researching my upcoming book, Mount Dora, and The First Mount Dorans. A construction site exposed the scenic view – which is why I suspect a wall will soon hide it from view.

Our short and yet historic Mother’s Day drive begins at the corner of 5^th Avenue and Alexander Street in downtown Mount Dora. Depart 5^th Avenue by turning north on Alexander Street, one of the original Mount Dora streets named for Attorney turned town co-founder, John Alexander.

Alexander arrived in Florida about a year after the village of Mount Dora was established. It seems neither his wife, Anna Townsend (Axwater), nor daughter, Lizzie (Alexander) Rhodes, desired to live in Florida full time. Lizzie’s husband however, George A. Rhodes, did serve as Mount Dora’s first Postmaster. We only drive one block on Alexander Street, so, since our drive on this street is brief, so too will the Alexander family biography. (More on this Mount Dora family later this year). For now, after driving one block, make a left (west) at Sixth Avenue.

This November: The First Mount Dorans by Richard Lee Cronin

 

Continue west on Sixth Avenue as we cross McDonald Street, yet another original Mount Dora artery honoring the first of The First Mount Dorans. Recorded history got confused at times as to who really was the first, but her timeline establishes Annie (McDonald) as the real-true Mount Doran. Much more on Annie as this drive continues.

First though, the apartment complex on your right (north) at sixth and McDonald was built in 1968. Prior to that, Hotel Villa Dora was located on this exact spot. Begun in 1887 as a guest house, in 1914 a lady referred to as “Miss Nan Thorne” took over the facility and converted it into a popular hotel. The Hotel Villa Dora was described as situated “on one of the highest spots in Mount Dora commanding a striking view of Lake Dora.” Miss Thorne’s new design included a large picture window in the lounge, an expansive window “overlooking beautiful Lake Dora”.

Gertrude Thorne had served first as the private nurse to Edward & Kate Smith, owners of the house. After Edward’s death, Gertrude purchased the house, managing the hotel until 1925 when she sold to Fred Graves of Massachusetts.

 

Gertrude Thornes Hotel Villa Dora, Mount Dora, Florida

As for our drive, turn right at Helen Street, onto a road named for a person who helped raise our first Mount Doran. Helen McDonald – a relative on the father’s side - stepped in and assisted in raising the McDonald children after the mother, Keziah (Saffel) McDonald, died at the young age of 25. Daughter Annie (McDonald) was then only 8 years old. Helen, it appears, must have made a great stand-in mother for the little girl who later established her very own town, in the wilderness, and named a street in honor of Helen.

After two blocks, slow where EIGHTH Avenue is on your right. Off to the left, where the tall hedge hides a house, try and visualize how Eighth Avenue merged with ‘Coliseum Way’, a circular road that was planned to slope down to the railroad tracks and the shore of Lake Dora.

Having trouble imagining such an intersection? Well, City Council members had trouble as well way back in 1929. At an August 8, 1929 hearing, a petition to eliminate Coliseum Way was read but then tabled “due to a lack of definite information as to the exact location of the street in question”. Apparently, the detailed new survey of 1928 had failed to resolve matters.

The resolution obviously passed eventually because today a house occupies Coliseum Way.

 

1928 Survey showing "Coliseum Way" west (left) of "Helen Street".

 

Proceed north on Helen Street - past Ninth and Tenth Avenues – and then turn left on Eleventh, (Scott Avenue as it was known in 1920). Back in 1920 I would have said continue straight, but once again a house is in our way today. The next crossroad north – Twelfth Avenue – was first known as Lila Avenue.

Lila (Griffeth) Cartledge was a granddaughter of Annie (McDonald) Stone-Donnelly. Born at Mount Dora in December 1894, Lila married Elmer V. Cartledge, one-time President of Bank of Mount Dora. She had one son, Donald V. Cartledge, who became a World War II Veteran.

As we turn onto Eleventh Avenue heading west, look soon after for Annie Street on the right. This was originally a cross street, continuing south to terminate at Coliseum Way. That part of the street south of Eleventh Avenue was abandoned by the City in January 1946.

Annie Griffeth was Annie (McDonald) Stone-Donnelly’s first grandchild, and when this area was originally platted, Annie Street was designed to extend south and connect with Coliseum Way. The citrus grove preceded all development in this area, planted before Mount Dora was established as a town. Now, 140 years later, the historic grove has been cleared to make way for new homes.

 

Aerial of Historic Mount Dora Grove (source: Lake County Property Appraiser)

 

When I recently visited this site, a large Oak tree provided me shade to view Lake Dora from the crest of this one-time grove, a grove that itself is now history. But because the orange trees were cleared, it became possible to experience a view the founder first enjoyed from her homestead in 1870s.

 

Nellie (Stone) Griffeth, the daughter of Annie (McDonald) Stone-Donnelly, was the mother of Annie and Lila Griffeth. Nellie had been 9 years old when with her parents they first saw Lake Dora from this homestead, and merely 11 years old when her father, William Stone, abandoned his family in 1877. A divorce decree one year later gave the homestead to Annie.

Annie and Nellie lived on the homestead another four years before Annie remarried, and prior to her marriage to John P. Donnelly, a village parcel was sold and a deed issued, a deed describing the land as located, “on the homestead of Annie E. Stone”.

Much has been said of the historic Donnelly House on Donnelly Avenue, the residence of John & Annie Donnelly beginning in 1892. But Annie first arrived in 1875, was divorced in 1877, and lived on her homestead, with daughter Nellie, – the original Mount Dora - for four years prior to marrying John Donnelly.

The original village of Mount Dora, in its entirety, was located on the homestead belonging to Annie E. (McDonald) Stone.

A year after Annie and John Donnelly married, a guest wrote of his visit. The year was 1882, and the writer said the home of “Mrs. Donnelly” was built on high ground, “amidst an orange grove of 400 trees high above the water, and the path from house to lake is a perfect little Eden of trees, vines and drooping moss a la nature.”

Annie’s first home of the 1870s is long gone. Her citrus grove of 400 trees is now gone as well. Soon, the roadside view from Eleventh Avenue from Mount Dora’s historic grove will soon be gone too.

 

1920 Sanborn Insurance survey of Annie Stone’s Homestead

 

It is in fact amazing that Annie’s grove survived until now. Homes currently surround acreage long identified on plats as a citrus grove. Sanborn Insurance, in 1920, sketched the town of Mount Dora – or more accurately, the homestead of the then deceased Annie (McDonald) Stone -Donnelly. A red square on that survey, added by me, highlights the grove of 1920. And note too how Annie Street runs along the east side of the grove to connect with Coliseum Way.

As late as the 1920s, John P. Donnelly, together with Annie’s grandchildren, planned to keep alive the memory of Mount Dora’s first mother, Annie (McDonald) Stone-Donnelly. She was truly the “Mother of Mount Dora.”

To every mom out there – as well as to two Annie’s, Lila, and Helen, I wish you a wonderful Mother’s Day. My thanks to each of you for all you do, and all you have done.

 

 

The First Mount Dorans will meet next back on Fifth Avenue, while my Lake County Drives series will return soon to Villa City Road, where two mom’s, Emma and Desire, were likewise memorialized by loving family members. In the meantime, I invite you to check out the scenic overlook while you can, and I will continue my research into, The First Mount Dorans.   

 

AND NOW, A WORD OR TWO FROM MY SPONSOR. ME!

This series is created from research for my next book, MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans. a book planned for release in November, in time for holiday gift giving.

 Add your name now to reserve a signed copy of my book once it is released. PAY NOTHING NOW. Reserve your copy by emailing me at LakeCountyLakes@CroninBooks.com You will receive ONE reply confirming your request, and the next email will not be sent until the book is ready for purchase. You can then decide if you want to proceed with buying it. 

MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans will be a detailed history of the people and events that shaped Lake County's beloved town on Lake Dora, Mount Dora. 

This series also includes research generated while writing my book, Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County. Specifically, Chapter 26, MOUNT DORA: The Eastern Gateway. This book is available now at Amazon.com

CLICK ON BOOK COVER TO BUY IT AT AMAZON

ABOUT MY TAVARES BOOK 

Lake County, established May 27, 1887, was carved from portions of Orange and Sumter counties. The Legislature had defined borders but allowed the 2,200 plus registered voters to decide where to place the county seat. Four elections and a courthouse battle later, Tavares, on August 10, 1888, finally became the official seat. The selection process lasted 440 days from start to finish.

TAVARES: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake county, is a history of how Florida's Great Lake region transitioned from a wilderness into a vibrant Citrus Belt district. Amazing pioneers dared to dream big - dared to imagine such places as Leesburg, Lady Lake, Mount Dora, Montverde, Eldorado, Eustis, Umatilla, Astor, Clermont, Yalaha and Tavares, to name a few. A section on each place is found in this book.

RATED 5 STARS from Four Amazon verified readers, this is a story of triumph over tragedy; of homesteaders becoming town builders; of steamboats and railroads forging a new homeland, and of remarkable men and women who made it happen. There is even a touch of mystery and intrigue.

The story of the earliest days of settlement of Florida's Lake County, a history you can buy now at Amazon simply by clicking on the book cover above.

Visit my Website at CroninBooks.com

MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans - Part Four

 The first Mount Doran’s

Part 4 of my series: a stroll along historic 5th Avenue

 

Mount Dora Bank & Trust and the Simpson Building

Our stroll down Mount Dora’s 5^th Avenue paused in my last installment at the southeast corner of 5^th and Donnelly. Having begun a 1,538’ trek westward from Tremain Street, our walk thus far has covered nearly half the distance. One entire city block was the subject of Part 3, but the final half-block, you may recall, was an area I referred to as the start of a “Simpson Territory”. Monroe & Martha (Pike) Simpson, and later their son Otto, owned the half-block stretch from Royellou Alley west to the corner at Donnelly Street.

Today, after we cross Donnelly Street, still following the 1848 footsteps of Surveyor James M. Gould, we resume walking through “Simpson Territory”. James Simpson, a younger brother of Monroe, acquired the southwest corner of 5^th and Donnelly – and all land west to Dora Ann Drawdy Alley, on April 22, 1924. This parcel, located in Block 3 of John & Annie Donnelly’s town of Mount Dora, was where the Mount Doran Stowe family had built their residence at the turn of the 20^th century. That house was still standing, as best as I can determine, when James Simpson bought the land – but he had something totally different that a personal residence in mind.

 

Two Simpson brothers owned one entire city block of the southside of 5^th Avenue in the mid-1920s, a half-block on each side of Donnelly Street. Soon after buying the Block 3 parcel, James & Edna Simpson conveyed the corner lot at 5^th and Avenue. on August 5, 1925, to a new bank. After personally overseeing construction of a new bank building (see photo above), James Simpson served as the bank’s first President.

“When the Mount Dora Bank & Trust Company opens its doors next Monday,” reported Mount Dora Topic of March 25, 1926, “it will be found in new quarters. The work has been under the personal supervision of James Simpson, President of the Bank”. The article went on to say that one of the features of the new building will be “electric lighting”.

 

James Simpson Building, 5^th Avenue, Mount Dora Block 3

Next, adjacent to the bank building, James Simpson built the three-story Simpson Building, a brick structure having a hotel on the upper two floors, and a restaurant plus retail stores on ground level. When walking 5^th Avenue in this block look up – where you will see the weathered hotel sign still on display.

 

Simpson Hotel Sign, 5^th Avenue, Mount Dora Block 3

   

Americans during the Roaring 20s were changing how they traveled, trading trains for personal automobiles. That change also resulted in a shift in the center of downtown Mount Dora, and two Simpson brothers positioned themselves to be at the center of that change.

 

The Dora Canal completion in 1882 made it possible for steamboats to bring settlers and tourists to a new village of Mount Dora. A town center grew up around the wharf, and the town expanded outward, even more so after the first train arrived in 1886. The depot overlooked the Mount Dora wharf. By the 1920s however, snowbirds and tourists began arriving in Florida by car, many via a ‘Tavares to Mount Dora highway’, aka a route later designated as U. S. Route 441. The road from Tavares came into downtown Mount Dora along the lakeshore and then connecting with 5^th Avenue.

The personal automobile therefore shifted the city center of Mount Dora north, toward 5^th & Donnelly, where James Simpson had spearheaded the building of Mount Dora Bank & Trust, his hotel, and his brother’s novelty store across Donnelly Street.

Dubbed “old 441” today, 5^th Avenue was part of the historic Dixie Highway system, stretching from Michigan’s UP south to Miami Beach - and points in between.

Westbound on Mount Dora's 5th Avenue at Donnelly Street in the 1930s

Above: Mount Dora Bank & Trust on left, Donnelly Building on right

The two-story Donnelly Building, across on the northwest corner of 5^th & Donnelly Street, had preceded Simpson’s bank and hotel by nearly a dozen years. It too found new life as cars delivered newcomers to the town. Known as the Mardi Gras Building today, the building was home to numerous restaurants and shops throughout its 110 years at this intersection. Upstairs was divided into four apartments, while on ground level, when James Simpson opened wide the doors to his new bank across the street, Mount Dora Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons, reported Mount Dora Topic, “displayed a new electric sign on the Donnelly Building, corner 5^th & Donnelly. The sign is of the flashing type and attracts all.”

The historic Donnelly Building today goes by the name Mardi Gras Building, and is dressed for the name with its handsome New Orleans style ornamental iron exterior. Mount Dora Bank & Trust Building is now at times referred to as the Shamrock Building – named for the building's one-time occupant, Keith Shamrock Realty, who in 1991, acquired the Mount Dora office of Huskey Realty.

And so once again, our 1,538’ stroll along 5^th Avenue has advanced only one-half block in this installment. But I do have a good excuse this time. “City Block menaced as Princess Theater burns.” Part 5 of my series will continue once all the smoke clears.

AND NOW, A WORD FROM MY SPONSOR. ME!

This series is created from research for my next book, MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans. I expect the book to be released in November, in time for the holiday gift giving season. Add your name now to receive a signed copy of the book once it is released. PAY NOTHING now, but reserve your copy my emailing me at LakeCountyLakes@CroninBooks.com You will receive one reply confirming your request, but your next email will not be until the book is released for purchase. You can then decide if you want to proceed with buying the book. MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans will be a detailed history of the true origins of Lake County's beloved Mount Dora. 

This series was also created from research generated while writing my book, Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County. Chapter 26 of my book is MOUNT DORA: The Eastern Gateway. 

CLICK ON BOOK COVER TO BUY IT AT AMAZON

 Lake County, established May 27, 1887, was carved from portions of Orange and Sumter counties. The Legislature had defined borders but allowed the 2,200 plus registered voters to decide where to place the county seat. Four elections and a courthouse battle later, Tavares, on August 10, 1888, finally became the official seat. The selection process lasted 440 days from start to finish.

TAVARES: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake county, is a history of how Florida's Great Lake region transitioned from a wilderness into a vibrant Citrus Belt district. Amazing pioneers dared to dream big - dared to imagine such places as Leesburg, Lady Lake, Mount Dora, Montverde, Eldorado, Eustis, Umatilla, Astor, Clermont, Yalaha and Tavares, to name a few. A section on each place name will be found in this book.

RATED 5 STARS from Four Amazon verified readers, this is a story of triumph over tragedy; of homesteaders becoming town builders; of steamboats and railroads forging a new homeland, and of remarkable men and women who made it happen. There is even a touch of mystery and intrigue.

The story of the earliest days of settlement of Florida's Lake County, a history you can buy now at Amazon simply by clicking on the book cover above.

MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans - Part Three

 

The first Mount Dorans

Part 3 of our historic stroll along Mount Dora's 5th Avenue

Parkview Building, 5th Avenue, Block 2, Town of Mount Dora

You can buy locally made crafts today at Mount Dora Center for the Arts, where, in November 1954, diners at Peppermint Stick Restaurant enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal, with all the fixings, for $1.50. Afterwards, stuffed patrons could even take home a box of Pink Cottage Candies. The restaurant, on the ground level of 5^th Avenue’s historic Parkview Building, often ran ads mentioning they were across from Donnelly Park’s shuffleboard courts. Ice cream is now scooped up next door, whereas way back in 1975, bargain hunters scoured Village Green Antiques in search of that perfect something for their home.

Peppermint Stick Restaurant, June 26, 1975 Mount Dora Topic

The appropriately named Parkview Building turns 100 soon. Built in 1923, the building has a pair of storefronts at ground level and seven (7) rental apartments on a second level. Outside, the dark red brick building appears much as it has throughout the building’s history.

Widower John Donnelly, in 1910, sold the vacant lot to snowbirds Washington & Sarah Tallon of Beaver County, PA. The Tallon’s did not relocate to Florida, but instead held the property for 13 years, selling the undeveloped land in June 1923. Parkview was built that year, and the new owner, William Ingram of Chester, West Virginia, also remained a snowbird. Ingram kept the building as an investment property for 23 years.

Rear of Parkview Building today, down Royellou Alley

The sidewalk out front of Parkview Building is steep, so watch your step if you choose to follow our 1,538’ stroll west in the footsteps - the mission of this series – of Surveyor James M. Gould in 1848. At that time though this was all wilderness, so each new present-day footstep we take is also steeped, pardon my pun, in 175 years of fascinating Mount Dora history.

Alongside Parkview Building on the west is Royellou Alley, halfway point of 1882 Mount Dora’s Block Number 2. This city block runs from Baker Street to Donnelly. A worthwhile side trip is to visit the Historical Museum, down the alley in the back of Parkview Building, but as we are on a historic mission ourselves, we need to continue west, entering a “living history museum” of its own. But to the casual observer the history could easily be missed.

 

Southside of 5^th Avenue, Mount Dora, Sanborn Insurance Survey (1920)

The Sanborn Insurance Company surveyed downtown Mount Dora in 1920. One portion of that survey, the south side of 5^th Avenue between Donnelly & Baker Streets, is shown above. Note the small building identified as [A], left (west) of the alley. It is described as a “Dwelling”, and the building still exists today. A restaurant now, this structure was built in 1917. The Parkview Building location, identified by me as [B], is not shown on the survey right (east) of the alley because it was not yet built in 1920. The 1920 survey however does show a structure at the corner of 5^th Avenue and Donnelly, identified by me as [C] and noted by Sanborn Insurance as “D. G. Notions”. In 1920 this was a Dry Goods notions store.

West of Parkview Building, west of the alley, our stroll enters Simpson Territory, home to one of Mount Dora’s remarkable pioneer families. The Simpson’s first laid down roots in these parts before John & Annie Donnelly ever platted a town here. In the 1950s and 1960s, a descendant, Otto M. Simpson, operated his Simpson Realty here at 116 E. 5^th Avenue. But a quarter century prior to Otto selling real estate here, his parents, Monroe & Martha Simpson, listed their home address as 112 E. 5^th Avenue. That same year, 1926, Simpson & Son was listed as the dry goods and notions store at 422 Donnelly Street, at the corner of 5^th and Donnelly.

Keep in mind we have not yet crossed Donnelly Street, where we will again encounter more of the Simpson family property.

I first wrote of the Simpson’s in my Orlando Lakes: Homesteaders & Namesakes. In 1890, the official Orange County map of that year identified a large lake on the line separating Lake and Orange County as Lake Simpson. Milton and son David Simpson had homesteaded 320 acres on this lake in the late 1870s. And grove owner M. M. Simpson is mentioned as a Mount Dora pioneer in my, Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County. David & Mollie Simpson, landowners near Lighthouse Park, are also mentioned in my Tavares book.

Lake Simpson, upper right corner of this 1890 Orange County

Then too, John A. MacDonald, author of the 1882 publication, Plain Talk about Florida, told of how he had tried to “induce” a friend to buy the Simpson Place (near Lighthouse Park) in 1880 at $3,600. MacDonald’s friend backed out, so John then partnered with a gentleman named Alexander to buy the place.

My point for now is this, one cannot tell the story of Mount Dora without mentioning the name Simpson – and doing so often!

Meanwhile, back at 5^th and Donnelly Street, Monroe Simpson had married Martha Pike, and this enterprising couple had a son. Otto, who was born at the turn of the 20^th century - likely right here at 5^th and Donnelly Street.

 Looking west toward Lake Dora from 5^th and Donnelly Street (1930) Florida Memory Project

We now have traveled nearly 12 chains in the first three parts to this series. That is about half the distance of 23.30 survey chains, the distance James M. Gould traveled in 1848. Seems like a good place to take a break as well. Next, in Part 4, we will venture across Donnelly into more of the Simpson territory and more of the First Mount Dorans. See you then!

This series is created from research for my next book, MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans. I expect the book to be released in November, in time for the holiday gift giving season. Add your name now to receive a signed copy of the book once it is released. PAY NOTHING now, but reserve your copy my emailing me at LakeCountyLakes@CroninBooks.com You will receive one reply confirming your request, but your next email will not be until the book is released for purchase. You can then decide if you want to proceed with buying the book. MOUNT DORA: The First Mount Dorans will be a detailed history of the true origins of Lake County's beloved Mount Dora. 

This series was also created from research generated while writing my book, Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County. Chapter 26 of my book is MOUNT DORA: The Eastern Gateway. 

CLICK ON BOOK COVER TO BUY IT AT AMAZON

 Lake County, established May 27, 1887, was carved from portions of Orange and Sumter counties. The Legislature had defined borders but allowed the 2,200 plus registered voters to decide where to place the county seat. Four elections and a courthouse battle later, Tavares, on August 10, 1888, finally became the official seat. The selection process lasted 440 days from start to finish.

TAVARES: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake county, is a history of how Florida's Great Lake region transitioned from a wilderness into a vibrant Citrus Belt district. Amazing pioneers dared to dream big - dared to imagine such places as Leesburg, Lady Lake, Mount Dora, Montverde, Eldorado, Eustis, Umatilla, Astor, Clermont, Yalaha and Tavares, to name a few. A section on each place name will be found in this book.

RATED 5 STARS from Four Amazon verified readers, this is a story of triumph over tragedy; of homesteaders becoming town builders; of steamboats and railroads forging a new homeland, and of remarkable men and women who made it happen. There is even a touch of mystery and intrigue.

The story of the earliest days of settlement of Florida's Lake County, a history you can buy now at Amazon simply by clicking on the book cover above.