Dear Daytrippers,

Not far from Walt Disney World, Epcot and all the razzle/dazzle tourism of Orlando is a very different look at life in Central Florida … Winter Park. I stumbled on this oasis a few years ago and this is my first opportunity to see if it lives up to my first impression. Originally envisioned as a New England-themed resort town, WP began its life as a rarified tourist attraction. I think it is the best of many of my favorite American cities mixed together, complete with a sense of history and spectacular homes built when wealthy industrialists moved to Florida in search of sunshine in the late 1800’s. In addition to jaw-dropping “cottages” they left behind a legacy of arts and culture. Now, Winter Park is one of America’s trendiest towns with walkable brick streets, old oaks dripping in Spanish Moss with an active Craftsman-style train depot, topped with a peacock weather vane which fronts gracious Central Park in the middle of downtown.

Home to America’s most beautiful college campus, Rollins College. This picturesque lakeside liberal arts college, founded in 1885, looks like it is straight out of a movie. Rollins also boasts America’s favorite neighbor and the host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” Fred Rogers, among its alumni.

Winter Parks scenic boat tours is a favorite attraction since 1938. The pontoon boat tour wends its way along three of the city’s six canal-connected lakes (Osceola, Virginia and Maitland) offering breathtaking views of opulent private homes lining the lakes and canals. Floating through tranquil lakes and beautiful narrow canals under a canopy of towering Cyprus and banana trees and riots of flourishing flowers , you’ll feel you are in another world. Along the way you will hear stories of history, culture, gossip and tall tales that you really should fact check before repeating.

I have saved my favorite thing for last -the Tiffany Chapel. A hidden gem in the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art on Park Avenue. I sit on a wooden bench in this sacred space I am comforted by it’s stillness, it’s magnificent mosaics and luminous windows. Louis Comfort Tiffany created this Byzantine-inspired chapel in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago to exhibit his glass and decorating company. The chapel won numerous awards and brought him international acclaim few American artists enjoyed at the time. Since then, and before being rescued by Hugh and Jeannette McKean following a fire that ravaged Laurelton Hall, Tiffany’s 20th century Long Island country estate, the chapel has fallen into ruin several times. Dismantled following the Worlds Fair and purchased for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine which was under construction in New York City. Here, it was never placed as intended and spent 10 years serving as a chapel in a basement crypt before being severely damaged by unchecked water leaks. Concerned that “the mosaic was suffering” Tiffany removed the chapel at his expense and took it home to Laurelton Hall. There the chapel remained as a monument to his art until 1949, 16 years following his death when the Tiffany Foundation dismantled and sold off portions. Then in 1957 the final blow came when a fire damaged what was left of the estate, its priceless stained glass windows and the chapel. But somehow the chapel survived it all. And after sitting in crates for decades the McKean’s dream of reassembling the chapel was fulfilled when the chapel opened to the public at the Morse Museum in April 1999. What surrounds me today is what spectators to the World’s Fair saw in 1893. Following Covid19 restrictions the Morse currently allows only 5 persons in the museum per hour and only one “bubble” in the chapel at a time. So, I have private time in this quiet sanctuary. It is just a few days before Christmas, I am admiring the massive cross shaped chandelier and find myself reflecting on this past year – cogitating as my Dad would say – and think that if a million little pieces of glass survived such a tumultuous history we too can survive this pandemic and be better for it. I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Missing you, Stay safe
John Pettersen