Summer Florida History Con

Event Description

By popular demand we are now having two Florida History-Con events each year, featuring a winter and summer edition! Escape the heat and join us at the Museum of Arts & Sciences for a great lineup of Florida history presenters.

Free for members or with paid museum admission.

Schedule:

10:00am: Richard Sala: Streamline Architecture and Hotel
Join Historic Preservation Architect, Richard Sala, to analyze and examine one of Florida’s more popular styles of architecture and its features. A product of the end of Daytona’s boom and bust era the Streamline Moderne is an international sub-style of Art Deco with aerodynamic lines and forms that were adapted from ships, trains, airplanes, buildings, and automobiles. Also discussed will be the popular local beach hotel by the same name, The Streamline Hotel! This beautiful example of the architectural style and namesake has lots of history to share as we race down memory lane with a special guest from the hotel.

11:00am: Dr. James Clark: Hidden History
Join historian, Dr. James Clark as he takes you on a fast-paced journey through 500 years of Florida history. The emphasis is on things in our state’s history that most people don’t know. It’s a richly illustrated tour based on Clark’s book, Hidden History of Florida. Where else can you hear about President Chester A. Arthur, Al Capone, Burt Reynolds, and Ray Charles in a single talk? Jim Clark is a senior lecturer in the University of Central Florida's History Department. He holds a doctorate in Florida history from the University of Florida and is the author of nine books on Florida history and the editor of a three-volume anthology of Florida literature.

12:00pm: Joseph Vetter: The Story of Daytona’s City Island and Historic Beach Street
“The game of ball is glorious,” wrote Walt Whitman in the 1870s, inspired by the patriotic qualities of the national pastime post-Civil War. In 1914, City Island provided the ideal location to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” From “Stan the Man” Musial to Jackie Robinson, Jeter to Baez, the “island” has been a beacon of baseball history ever since. This entertaining program will also include a history of historic Beach Street featuring stories of a casino, the 1920s Real McCoy, the 1943 WAAC’s and the Allman Brothers in 1965. Come celebrate the history of City Island as it revitalizes downtown once again!

1:00pm: Dr. Steve Noll: Manatees and Florida Culture
The Manatee has become an iconic beloved figure in Florida. This talk details the long and convoluted love affair Floridians have with this strange and interesting sea creature. It also examines the present state of manatees as they struggle for survival in times of pollution, algae blooms, and increasing boat traffic.

2:00pm: Michael Butler: Memory, Myth, Identify: The Contextualization of St. Augustine’s Confederate Monument
In the aftermath of the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, cities throughout the South debated the meaning and relevance of Confederate monuments that occupied prominent public spaces. St. Augustine was no exception, and city leaders formed a committee to contextualize a structure dedicated to the memory of those “who gave their lives in the service of the Confederate States.” Due to his expertise in Southern Cultural and Civil Rights history, Dr. Butler was selected as one of the seven committee members. His presentation tells the story of the Contextualization Committee’s formation, findings, and recommendations. Most importantly, his experience demonstrates how nostalgia, memory, and identity pervade public discourse concerning uncomfortable historical truths and raise important questions concerning the responsibilities professional academics have in such instances.