Doctor Phillips is an upscale unincorporated area in Orange County, Florida, adjacent to the southwest part of Orlando. If you drink Florida orange juice, or driven on Sand Lake Road during an Orlando visit, or seen something in Orlando named after Dr. Phillips, you may have been one of the many affected by him without realizing it.
The nice part of having a relative living in Orlando is that you get to find out non-tourist, and unexpected, non-Disney things that are interesting.
But before I show you a hidden gem of Doctor Phillips (at least as of 2020, the last time I was there), let me tell you a little about Doctor Phillips.
We can thank a number of individuals for introducing and developing the citrus industry in Florida, including one Phillip Phillips. Dr. Phillip Phillips, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1874, and who died in 1959, was a medical doctor, a philanthropist, and a businessman, and a man who became rich off of citrus.
Phillips first came to Florida in 1894. His first
venture failed when a freeze wiped out his crops. But, he didn't give
up.
Eventually, Dr. Phillips owned thousands of acres of orange groves. He developed several
innovative ways of processing and packing orange juice, including
developing the "flash pasteurization" process that took the metallic
taste out of canned orange juice.
In 1958, Phillips opened a hospital to provide treatment to African-Americans, who could not obtain treatment in any of the segregated white only hospitals in Orlando. It closed in 1964, but the building remains as a nursing home.
For the hidden gem, we must travel to the Trader Joe's in Dr. Phillips. My relative told me to look nearby when we shopped there during a 2020 visit to family in Orlando. To our delight, we found a small pocket park.
This is what we found.
Fountains and a pond.
I can not find anything online about this pocket park except a 2015 post on Facebook by the Dr. Phillips Trader Joe's. I don't even know if this park exists anymore. If any of my readers know about this park, I would love to know more.
"D" Day on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme: Gardens, History, Art and The Unexpected.
The pond is looking lovely
ReplyDeleteI like your photoes and this hidden gem it is a great theme. Time permitting I will return and enjoy coming posts, only I had a hard time coming here, as your link in the Master List leads not to this blog, but to the sign-in page :)
ReplyDelete...Google Lens thinks that it a Fortnight lily.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a pretty park. I guess we can all thank the good doctor for our morning o.j.
ReplyDeleteNice cooling fountains in the pond. Those tiny parks really are hidden gems. It may be upscale, but a town called Doctor Phillips? I've never heard of a Doctor City-name before! I guess it makes as much sense as something like Saint Someone. It sounds like he was someone worthy of a town named after him. Not for being rich off citrus, but for his African-American hospital.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool, hidden park. Interesting man, Dr. Phillips. That's quite a pivot from doctor to citrus farmer!
ReplyDeleteIt's those little places that frequently go unnoticed. I hope it's still there. I hope people still get to enjoy that little pocket park.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of fairy iris.
ReplyDeleteI love pocket parks -- such an environmentally friendly use of space. This one is a gem!
ReplyDelete