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Tues-Fri: 10am - 4pm ; Sat: 10am - 2pm ; From July 22 to Aug. 30, the accessibility entrance will be closed for building maintenance.
The Winter Park History Museum seeks to research and preserve the abundant, history of Winter Park and its surrounding area, and tell our town's story through free educational exhibits, lecture series and outreach programs.
Today we honor a long time friend of the WPHM, Bob Miller of Millers Hardware. Bob passed away last week at the age of 97. His family moved to Winter Park in 1939 and Bob`s father opened the Ben Franklin 5 & 10 Cent Store on Park Avenue. A few years later, the Winter Park staple, Millers Hardware, opened in just 800 Sq ft of space. After his Navy service and graduation from University of Florida, he grew the family business to the 13,000 sq ft that is Miller`s Hardware today. Bob served as the WPHM board treasurer during the 1970s when the Museum was estalished.
Throughout the decades Bob was an advisor to and advocate of the Museum and his quick smile and helpful assistance will be missed by the entire Winter Park community.
Our sincere condolences to Bob`s son Steve Miller and family.
The WPHM will be closed tomorrow, Friday July 26th and Saturday July 27th for building maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Thanks to everyone who visited the museum today! 4th of July is such a tradition in Winter Park and was enjoyed by many. Great job once again @winterparkfla! We also received a really cool donation of receipts from 1885-1886 from of The Seminole Hotel and WP Company! So many names of our pioneers that literally built our City! We can’t wait to look at them and share! Happy 4th to all. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Happy 4th from the WPHM, Sam and Christy! Come on by and say hi! Cool off and enjoy some lemonade too! Open till noon today 🇺🇸 🍋
Happy 4th of July everyone! Have a festive, fun and safe day celebrating our country’s independence!! 🎆 #bornintheusa #historyliveshere #wphistorymuseum #wpinspires
So many activities happening in Winter Park tomorrow @winterparkfla 🎆The WPHM will be open!!🎆 Stop by the museum tomorrow 9am-12pm to see “Hello Sunshine” now featuring postcards south Florida and Winter Park homes! 🦚 #historyliveshere #wphistorymuseum #wpinspires
🚒Another neat find!🧑🚒This early photo, circa 1916, shows the men of the Winter Park fire department and their newly motorized wagon which carried 500 ft of hose and their ladder on Park Avenue in front of the Schultz building. See our post from yesterday to learn more about the building’s history! @winterparkfd #historyliveshere #wphistorymuseum #wpinspires #historicwinterpark
🍊New summer features are on display now at the WPHM! ☀️ Come see our historic postcards of Winter Park Homes and from South Florida’s Miami area, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, and Key West! 🏖️ #wphistorymuseum #wpinspires #historyliveshere #postcardplaces #hellosunshine
Archive Rediscovery is a WPHM favorite! Check out these amazing photos from the Schultz family! The family with three sons moved to Winter Park in 1891 from Pennsylvania to a beautiful home on Interlachen and New England Ave, where the Alfond Inn stands today. In 1915 Walter H Schultz built a men’s clothing store which opened in 1916. 10 years later in 1925 he sold his store to RC Baker who continued selling men’s clothing until 1956. The Schultz building still stands today on the corner of Park Ave and Welbourne Ave. #wpinspires #wphistorymuseum #historicwinterpark #historyliveshere
Orange you happy the WPHM has new kitsch on display! Stop by Hello Sunshine! Selling Florida Through the Art of Postcards today to check out the new pieces. 🍊 **South Florida and Winter Park homes feature coming soon!** #wpinspires #wphistory #wphistorymuseum
On this day May 8, 1981, Rose Lake was formed after a sinkhole opened up on the corner of Fairbanks and Denning swallowing up part of a community pool, a auto repair shop and the home of a woman named Rose, who the lake is now named after. #historicwinterpark #wphistorymuseum #wpinspires
It’s Trivia Night!! Cheers to another great night of trivia and fun! Thank you to our sponsor @gulfstreamfirm for making this evening possible, to @curtisearthtrivia for hosting the event, and to @enjoyorchidthai and @winterpark_scenicboattour for tonight’s prizes. We were so glad to present newly elected Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio with one of our limited edition prints.
So excited to finally get Gary White’s new book, Winter Park in the 1960’s, in stock! Stop by the WPHM to pick up a copy today!📚 #1960 #wpinspires #wphistorymuseum
Honored that the talented Charles Dickinson is painting here today for @polasekmuseum Winter Park Paint Out! Charles has been painting since the 1st Paint Out! Can’t wait to see his finished piece. 🖼️ The Farmers Market building was built in 1927 and is on the Historic Register. #winterparkpaintout #wpinspires #wphistorymuseum
Just above the Singing Tower and below the Big Tree, two shell illustrations identify the Shell Museum at Rollins College on the wall-sized map of Florida attractions from 1955 currently on display at the museum. The Beal-Maltbie Center still exits on Holt Avenue – the result of the philanthropy of Dr. James Hartley Beal and Birdsey Lucius Maltbie. The Beal Maltbie Shell Museum opened on February 22, 1941 to display the extensive collection of Dr. Beal’s – his friend B.L. Maltbie would finance the building and furnishing of the shell museum. Admission to the museum was only 30¢ and promotional materials claimed that the collection presented “practically every known type and habitat existing anywhere on the globe.” Maltbie passed away a short time later in 1942 and Beal died in 1945, but the museum continued to operate until 1988. Rollins donated the museum’s collection of shells to the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.
-Rick Kilby, WPHM Board Member
Do you have memories of visiting the shell museum? We’d love to hear them, please share in the comments. And come and see our beautifully illustrated map of Florida attractions, it’s one of the highlights of our latest exhibit “Hello Sunshine: Selling Florida Through the Art of Postcards.”
