Looking back into 1950s and 1960s Maitland

 

The Piney Croft A-framed home is located in the historic town of Maitland, Florida. As this project seeks to capture the home in 3D using a variety of scanning techniques, it becomes important to contextualize the town of Maitland to better understand the circumstances of its creation within the town’s historical trends.

Maitland was founded in 1838 as Fort Maitland and was primarily a military outpost for U.S soldiers in the Indian wars yet this military outpost would be later decommissioned. In the 1870s, individuals started to move to Maitland and grow citrus, this was further expanded upon with the completion of the railroad stations cutting from Jacksonville south into the Maitland and the central Florida area. The central Florida area experienced a great freeze in 1894-95 which damaged much of the citrus production, yet the area continued to slowly grow over the next few years.  By 1900 the population of Maitland reached 136 people which expanded to 463 over the next forty years. However, in 1950 the population of Maitland almost doubled to 889 and exploded again in 1960 to 3,570. Businesses like the Martin Marietta Corporation moved into the central Florida area which led to the increase of population and architectural development that ballooned to match the rising population.

At this time, many architects would make their name in the central Florida and greater Florida area. Nils Schweizer, a representative of Frank Lloyd Wright who worked on and expanded Florida Southern College also built modernistic houses in Maitland and in the central Florida area throughout the 1950s including the Orlando International Airport, Loch Haven Park, St. Luke’s Episcopal Cathedral, and Orlando’s downtown library. One of Schweizer’s Maitland homes , 829 Nicoma Trail, was built in 1960 and features similar design points found in Clifford Wright’s Piney Croft home, such as the exterior design, sunken living room, central fireplace, and use of 27 feet of glass to let in natural light. Yet, many of Schweizer’s houses are not limited by this trend and many are unique in their design such as Schweizer’s personal home in Maitland built in 1960, his Goldberg house in 1955, as well as the Goldman House in 1965.

Yet, this central Florida boom in construction was not just limited to the likes of Schweizer, but also the likes of James Gamble Rogers II who designed the Florida Supreme Court building but also many Winter Park residences such as the 160 Glenridge home and Barbour residence. Many other architects threw their architectural designs into the central Florida and Maitland stew that brought the countless homes and churches with many different architectural designs into creation including Clifford Wright’s own Piney Croft.

 

"Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.

“829 Nicoma Trl, Maitland, FL 32751.” Realtor.com. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/829-Nicoma-Trl_Maitland_FL_32751_M59326-96020.

“About Maitland.” The City of Maitland. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://www.itsmymaitland.com/339/About-Maitland#:~:text=Maitland%2C%20one%20of%20the%20oldest,1838%20by%20the%20U.S.%20Army.

“James Gamble Rogers.” Casa Feliz Historic Home and Venue: Winter Park’s Community Parlor. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://casafeliz.us/james-gamble-rogers.

“Maitland.” Viva Florida 500: History Happened Here. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://vivafl500.org/cities/maitland/

“Mrs. Nils M. Schweizer and Architect Jerry Uhran Special Guest Speakers At Orlando Remembered, January 2020.” Orlando Memory. February 1, 2020. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021 http://orlandomemory.info/events/mrs-nils-m-schweizer-and-architect-jerry-uhran-special-guest-speakers-at-orlando-remembered-january-2020/.

“This 1960s mid-century modern home in Maitland just hit the market.” Orlando Weekly. June 7, 2020. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://photos.orlandoweekly.com/this-1960s-mid-century-modern-home-in-maitland-just-hit-the-market/?slide=1&2298cede1cdcb493b199bb71548164d2l-m121360711xd-w1020_h770_q80.

Candelaria, Michael. “Maitland Neighborhood Guide.” Orlando Sentinel. June 21, 2018. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/classified/realestate/neighborhood-guide/os-et-maitland-neighborhood-guide-2018-htmlstory.html.

Central Florida Modern. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://www.centralfloridamodern.com/residential.

Larson, Brittni. “Maitland Cheers at its birth.” The Orange Observer. July 8, 2010. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://www.orangeobserver.com/article/maitland-cheers-its-birth.

LeBlanc, Karen and Randy Noles. “60s Chic.” Winter Park Magazine. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021.  https://winterparkmag.com/2019/07/08/60s-chic/.

Shanklin, Mary. “Hidden Treasures of Design.” Orlando Sentinel. December 24, 2000. Retrieved March 12^th, 2021. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2000-12-24-0012220039-story.html.