Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Home as a Consumptive Structure in Winter Park

The home has been a driving force in consumption throughout the ages. This fact is attributed to Winter Park, as well.
During the Gilded Age, the very essence of Winter Park was "the home" as northerners flocked down to Florida in order to establish their homes there. In a way, the home itself was the reason that industry was even brought to Winter Park. Through this, businesses were established. Shops began to line the Eastern side of Winter Park's train tracks, along with its white, upper-class residents. On the Western side were working residents, predominantly black workers who had jobs within the businesses themselves.
The home itself was what bought the goods produced in industry, as well. Families sought products -- both in terms of wants and needs. As Winter Park was akin to a "resort town" during the winter months, residents during the 1890s usually had more than enough leisure time to spend shopping for commodities and desired goods. The home, therefore, played an important role in fueling industry. The residents were the buyers as well as the producers. After all, the big names in industry consisted of upper-class industrialists, and these people were the ones who could afford the move to Winter Park during the later months of the year. Many families played a key role in citrus production, as they avidly planted trees and orchards, taking advantage of the fertility of Winter Park's soil.
Nowadays, the home still plays a key role in the consumptive structure of Winter Park. Stores and businesses established still receive ample business from residents. Homes in most areas, particularly around the Eastern end, where the rich industrialists were the first residents of, are decorated extensively and are well-groomed. Winter Park's consumptive nature is a factor of it which has lasted throughout the Gilded Age right to the present day.

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