College Park, Orlando, Florida
College Park is a distinct neighborhood within the city of Orlando, Florida, deriving its name from the many streets within its bounds that were named for institutions of higher learning such as Princeton, Harvard, and Yale. Its close proximity to downtown has made it a popular residential area for over a century among seniors and young professionals. According to the 2000 census, most residents are of working age (between 18 and 49) and are homeowners. 65.5% of households include no children.
Citrus grower John Ericsson built the first known home in College Park at 19 West Princeton, in the middle of what was then an 80-acre (320,000 m2) grove. Other settlers soon followed, especially after the arrival of the South Florida Railroad in 1880, including: Adam Given, Marshall Porter, James Wilcox, Algernon Hayden, John W. Childress, and George Russell.
The Great Freeze during the winter of 1894-5 halted growth in the neighborhood for over a decade.
New residents began arriving in large numbers during the real estate boom of the 1920s, when the City of Orlando expanded its northern boundary north to Par Street to include College Park. It was during this decade that many of the neighborhood's best-known subdivisions were platted, including:
The boom turned into a bust during the Great Depression of the 1930s, but savvy businessman Welborn C. Phillips began buying up many of the remaining vacant lots in College Park—particularly those west of Edgewater Drive—and was well-positioned for the post-World War II boom.
During the post-war years, the neighborhood was home both to astronaut John Young, who grew up in his parents' home at 815 West Princeton Street and beat generation writer Jack Kerouac who lived at 1418 Clouser Avenue when his masterpiece 'On the Road' was published as well as when he wrote the follow-up 'The Dharma Bums'). The house now operates as a non-profit entitle Kerouac Project; A haven for up-and-coming writers. Not only is it a unique tribute to Kerouac, it established Orlando on the international literary map.[1]
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