Inside Winter Park History Museum’s “Hello Sunshine” Exhibit
Take a trip into the past with the Winter Park History Museum’s latest exhibit – “Hello Sunshine”, which presents tribute to vintage Florida – sights, destinations, local landmarks, and more. “Hello Sunshine: Selling Florida Through The Art of Postcards” offers a snapshot of local history as well as the history of the travel industry in the form of photographs and postcards. The exhibition postcards feature a lot of quirky and campy illustrations – big, bright oranges, lush beaches, alligators, and tropical plants. Local resident Rick Frazee is responsible for supplying the exhibition from his expansive collection of over 1,000 postcards, pamphlets, cards and other media. Rick is the former owner of the Best Western Mount Vernon Inn, so he has some background experience with the travel industry first-hand. This exhibition was also made possible with partnerships with the Orange County Regional Center, Winter Garden Heritage Center, as well as the Henry B Plant Museum in Tampa.In this exhibition, visitors can enjoy a center-style display of brochures that represent a variety of attractions, which include Winter Park and notable landmarks in its history. There is also a focus on city-centric aspects including lakes and streetscapes.
“It goes back about 30 years,” Frazee says of his collecting hobby, which began with postcards of the small motels along Highway 17-92 and evolved to include vintage and current examples of Winter Park scenery. “I used to go out and search flea markets, and there used to be postcard markets around the state. From there, it just kept expanding.”
Travel Marketing
One of the themes of the exhibition is travel marketing – specifically how Florida was marketed during different economic eras. For instance, postcards from the Great Depression era were hyper saturated, and showcased Florida as a paradise of “full of hope and brilliance”.
Other postcards highlighted Florida’s agricultural industry, which featured paintings by outsider artist Ruby C. Williams. These paintings featured signs and illustrations for roadside fruits and vegetable vendors.
Exhibition Info
The “Hello Sunshine” exhibition (opened Feb 9th) is open from now until the end of the year. Bring your friends and family for a fun day trip to this unique exhibition. Browse vintage postcards and artwork that feature vacation destinations and local landscapes from the 20th century.
Museum Info
The Winter Park History Museum is open Tuesday-Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. The exhibition archives are open for public research. For more information, visit wphistory.org.
Winter Park History Museum
The Winter Park History Museum is located in the heart of Winter Park – at 200 West New England Ave. It’s aim is to research and preserve the abundant history of Winter Park and its surrounding areas as well as telling the story of its residents and visitors. The museum offers free exhibition events, lecture series and outreach programs.
The museums Association fulfills its mission by providing the Winter Park Community with a beautiful and engaging museum. The museum is staffed, and open free of charge, five days a week. The Winter Park History Museum participates in local events including Neighbor Day and the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival.
