Orlando: The City Disney Built
by "De" Schofield and Lorraine Lax
 W ith a twist of the turnstile on
 that opening day in 1971, the
 first visitor to Walt Disney
 World set Florida's major tour-
 ism industry into motion. In lit-
 tle more than a decade, Orlando
 has been transformed from a
 sleepy, agricultural village into
 a vacation mecca and cosmopoli-
 tan center of industrial develop-
 ment, commerce, finance, insur-
 ance and high-technology.
 Thirty years ago there were
 less than 20 architectural firms
 in the Central Florida area. To-
 day, there are over 200. The
 number of practicing architects
 has escalated on a par with the
 tremendous economic and indus-
 trial growth that has occurred
 since the tourist industry got a
 real foothold in the early 70's.
 The key to Central Florida's
 present economic strength is at-
 tributed not only to the millions
 of visitors who come each year,
 but to the rapid increase in pop-
 ulation. In 1984, about 360,000
 people moved to Florida ...
 81,000 settled in and around
 Orlando.


FLORIDA ARCHITECT September/October 1985