The Orange County Regional History Center
The Orange County Regional History Center
The Orange County Regional History Center
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
The Orange County Regional History Center, housed in a restored historic 1927 courthouse in downtown Orlando, showcases the vast collections of the Historical Society of Central Florida. Three floors of permanent exhibits showcase 12,000 years of Florida history. The museum, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate and AAM accredited museum, also presents nationally important limited-run exhibitions.
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Downtown Orlando
How to get there
- Church St Station • 6 min walk
- Lynx Central Station • 9 min walk
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4.5
176 reviews
Excellent
98
Very good
58
Average
18
Poor
2
Terrible
0
Bob S
Cincinnati, OH2,509 contributions
Feb 2023
We visited the Orlando/Central Florida History Center on Magnolia Street in Orlando. It's an old courthouse that has been converted to a history center. The Upper floors detail the earliest days of Florida and the Spanish occupation in the 1500's. The exhibits highlight the orange growing business and lead up to 1971 with the opening of Disneyworld. A separate exhibit highlights the underground and punk rock movements in Orlando starting in the 1970's. Entrance fee is $7 with 2 hours free parking in the adjacent Public Library garage.
Written 18 February 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sharon S
Port Saint Lucie, FL18 contributions
Feb 2022
Seeing the history of Florida from very early years thru current time. Interesting to learn about the boom times brought by the railroad, then the space industry and then Disney. 2 floors dedicated to this section. Older children/ teens interested in history may like, but requires a lot of reading to learn and appreciate the museum offerings. Some special exhibits also there that turn over after a number of weeks. One exhibit is from African American history.
Written 5 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kirbyk
Portsmouth, VA544 contributions
Oct 2022 • Solo
Every city of Orlando’s size needs a museum like this to tell its origin story. The problem seems to be that they don’t have enough space to do the job. There are 6 exhibition halls on three floors of the old County courthouse. Two focus on pre-European history, one on the period from 1820-1950 or so, one on history since 1950, including Disney and NASA, one on civil rights and the final hall is used for rotating exhibits, currently 1990 indie music. One hall is a partially reconstructed courtroom. Although the building looks very wide from the outside it is not particularly deep which probablylimits the available display space.
What’s presented is well organized but it leaves the visitor wanting to know more and this curiosity cannot be satisfied by the minimal gift shop. Allow 1-2 hours but prepare to be use the internet to fill out the story.
What’s presented is well organized but it leaves the visitor wanting to know more and this curiosity cannot be satisfied by the minimal gift shop. Allow 1-2 hours but prepare to be use the internet to fill out the story.
Written 30 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
77maple123
Vancouver, Canada205 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
Learned a lot about Florida. Arrived around 1pm when all the school kids were leaving. Lovely old building exhibits very interesting if you know nothing about Floridas past takes less than two hours when you read a lot. Just parked in first parkade we saw don't think it was library cost $10 but easy and cheap.
Written 13 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Starviagera
Florida2,082 contributions
Mar 2023
It is a bit dated. Needs a refurbish. The temporary exhibit about ponk rock was very uninteresting to us. The area is full of bums so be careful as the sun goes down the cardboard boxes come out.
Written 28 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OnAir541390
5 contributions
Nov 2020
The Ocoee Massacre exhibit is very well done. We are so glad we chose to visit. So many things to learn about an area we thought we knew well. Quite painful to be confronted by such hatred and bigotry from your own ancestors. I feel if more people visited and acknowledged the changes we still need to make, we would live in a better country.
Written 8 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JackofPBFL
Palm Bay, FL1,182 contributions
Aug 2021
We had some time to kill between a medical appointment and picking someone up at the airport. So, we visited this museum and I am glad we did. It was well done an interesting. it started with the indigenous people of the area and progressed through time. I learned a lot there in a relatively short amount of time. Highly recommended.
Written 24 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nancy U
Altamonte Springs, FL1,816 contributions
Aug 2021 • Friends
I’ve lived in Orlando for almost 50 years and never knew about this place. There are several floors of great Orlando history from the orange groves to Walt Disney World. I loved learning a few new pieces about Orlando. Go for a could of hour and then enjoy a walk around Lake Eola.
Written 5 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fletch1946
Fair Haven, NJ971 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
We stopped by the Regional History Center mid afternoon. We had about 2 hours before the Center closed. That was about perfect. It has very instructive sections on the early history of the area, the cattle in dusty, the citrus fruit industry, and the “Crackers.” I had always taken that to be a derogatory term, but here is presented as a term applied to early settlers who valued their freedom over wealth. The museum is very well done.
Written 16 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shefayim
Amsterdam, The Netherlands239 contributions
July 2024 • Solo
It’s a nice museum about the history of Florida in general and Orlando in particular. The part how Disney changed Orlando was very interesting. But by far was the exhibition about the alternative music scene of Orlando very good. Great artwork, the full story and good music on the background. I enjoyed it very much.
Written 8 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, I would like to visit but I am not hiring a car whilst in Orlando. I am staying near Disney. What bus route would you recommend from Disney to the history centre in Downtown Orlando. I would like to visit the downtown area for the day and see the historical sites. What would be the best way of getting there on public transport and the best way of getting around during that day?
Written 5 October 2018
You should take an Uber because the Lynx is the bus system, however because Orlando is spread out and downtown is about 30 minutes distance from Disney area, you will spend possibly hours getting from there to downtown.
Written 25 November 2018
Anywhere from $8 to free - they have a ton of discounts. Check their rates online by googling orange county regional history center admission
Written 28 February 2017
dnulik
Tampa, Florida
In case my previous attempt at asking a question did not go through. Do you have any examples of early Spanish muskets circa 1560-1750, particularly with a Mikolet lock?
Thanks
Doug
Written 10 February 2017
i'm sorry, i dont work there. I visited. However, the people at the main desk are very helpful. They may be able to put you in touch with a curator! They do have a FB page, you might consider posting your question there or calling (407) 836-8500
Written 11 February 2017
Are we allowed to take pictures inside? I'd like a picture of the desk Ted Bundy sat at during his trial
Written 15 April 2016
I just saw this, sorry. I went into the courtroom in the History Center and that must be the desk you're talking about. I didn't see any signs that said no, nor any guards saying no, so i'd say yes!
Written 11 February 2017
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