If you were to ask me what my favorite street in Central Florida is, Genius Drive would be a close second, but for first place, I would immediately answer: Broadway Court.
The reasons are many and they all add up to why it is so special.
- It is located within walking distance of Downtown Orlando.
- It is hidden away so well that you could go right past and miss it.
- It has a quiet and subtle elegance and charm.
- It has been around for 100 years and counting.
- It is one of the most complete collections of authentic vintage Spanish Colonial aka Mediterranean Revival homes anywhere.
Yes, I know. Now you want to see it for yourself. But keep[ in mind, the Court is private, so be respectful and gaze upon it from a distance, or seek out the many home listings of the recent past that will show you some of the houses there, in isolated calm and glorious color.
What do we know about Broadway Court?
We know a lot about Broadway Court. We know who developed it and why; we know what it was intended to be; when know when it was built.
It was developed by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Ioor, whose own bungalow style home was right there.
They were successful entrepreneurial types whose summer address was in Grand Rapids, Michigan. If that makes you think of the busy furniture industry of that time, you are on the right track. Mr. Ioor had interests in several furniture related concerns, including one that created pay phonographs - that is, early juke boxes. Mr. Ioor did not limit his business ventures to Grand Rapids, nor to the juke box industry alone. He had his hand in a number of ventures.
Mrs. Ioor was a human dynamo herself. She looked at this piece of property they owned in the Eola Heights neighborhood and envisioned something rare and unusual there. A collection of comfortable homes for the well-to-do, that would entice other northerners to Orlando. Keep in mind that every state in the union is north of Orlando so when we Central Floridains say that someone is from "north of here" that takes in all of the country except south Florida and the Keys. But mainly people were being attracted to Florida if they were from east of the Mississippi and a cold climate. Anyone who lives here can tell you that you soon forget about ice, snow, and endless months of grey skies. And are thankful.
Now, Orlando, along with most of Florida, was booming in the early 1920s. We have a letter from Ida Annah Ryan - a successful architect from Waltham, Massachusetts - who responded to her Massachusetts Institute of Technology Class of 1905 "annual" praising what she found here when she relocated in the early 1920s:
"Glad to know of a revival of interest in the Class of '05, particularly in a State where there are so few M.I.T. architects. Henrietta C. Dosier of Jacksonville and Mr. Adams of Tampa , president of the State Architectural Association, being the only two discovered to date. Florida is the new pioneer state in the United States, has the most equitable climate, except California and is three times as accessible to the East and Middle West. We have no dull times here - building has continued marvelously through it all - towns spring up like mushrooms, almost, in 90 days. Good roads are increasing every day and afford the best means of approach to all parts of the state. Natural resources are waiting to be developed. No one knows how many or to what extent. Hundreds of miles of wild country are waiting for setters. Parts of the Everglades have been drained and some of the richest truck soil in the world uncovered, I am glad to be here, and hope to help put this new country in its rightful place on the map. Cordially, Ida Annah Ryan (1905)"
Miss Ryan was far from alone. Indeed, throngs of people were coming to Florida, not only to enjoy the climate, but also to get in on the wonders of creating something vital and new. Pioneering spirit was alive and well in Orlando. It was a bit like the boom towns out West.
Winnie Ioor understood this. She wanted to entice northerners like herself to make her little corner of heaven their home, too. So she planned and developed the little enclave we know as Broadway Court.
Features of The Court are many.
The architecture is in the then-new, prevailing style of modified Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival, Mediterranean Revival. These styles share so much. Stucco exterior, barrel tile low pitched gable roofs, decorative tile work, Juliet balconies, wrought iron, asymmetrical massing, round headed windows and French doors, an easy transition from exterior to interior, and more. Many of Orlando's architects of the 1920s were intentionally creating buildings in this style, which they dubbed "Spaniflora" because it seemed so ideally suited to Florida's climate and history.
Here's a collection of exterior photos to give a sense of the romantic charm and cohesiveness of Broadway Court.
Minnie's new neighbored has variety within the overarching ideal. None of the homes repeated a floor plan. All of them were 2000 square feet, at the least. All had garages. And all came exquisitely furnished, right down the the piece de resistance, a grand piano in every living room. Talk about dangling something special in front of the prospective lessees and buyers.
The Court found favor with the general public. Sun seeking Northerners found their way there. In honor of the visionary who made it happen, it was nicknamed, "Minnieville", long before the Disney organization brought their own Minnie and Mickey to Central Florida.
Trends come and go. Styles that our great-grandparents though charming and modern are sometimes later disparaged as old and boring. Places that were once the height of fashion may fall a long way out of favor. That is what happened to Broadway Court, with its nadir being in the 1970s. And yet, today, it is once again the place to be for the discerning homeowner, a place where Orlandians want to live.
All of this, and more, we know. But the challenge is this:
We do not (yet) know who the architect(s) may have been.
I am hot on the trail, as it were. I have a hunch, which is also a hope. But I feel certain that someone knows already, and can fill me in. I hope you will let me know, so that the architect(s) can be recognized for the great design we see today.
Some background may be helpful. So here is a brief bio of Walter Ioor.
Let's begin with this article, from the "Michigan Manufacturers and Financial Record (1917)":
"Grand Rapids, September 15 - If the question should be asked, "Who is the busiest man in Grand Rapids?" there could be but one answer, and that would be, "Walter Ioor". He has no competition.
And there is no fiction about Mr. Ioor being busy. To get at him, one must jump while the jumping is good. If a caller is successful, he congratulated himself. If he fails to connect, well, he just waits another favorable opportunity, and takes another chance.
And let it be understood that Mr. Ioor is not in his office reading a newspaper wile his callers cool their heels and their ardor in an outer office. He is in his private office alright but he is buried ear deep in a mass of figures or reports or is ta\ling over the long distance telephone to some one of his man connections. Walter Ioor is a busy man; but it is genuine. He count every minute of the day, and h as a use for every minute of the day and he makes every minute of the day count.
Just to give one an idea of some of the many activities controlled and directed by Mr. Ioor, here are a few: The National Music Company, The National Hearse and Motor Company, the Imperial Chemical Company, the Sports Manufacturing Company, The American Stock Food Company. There are others, many of them, but these gave an outline of what makes Walter Ioor a busy man."
(Phew! I don't know about you, but I am worn out just thinking about how busy Mr Ioor was!)
Walter Ioor was born in Louisiana in circa 1863. He and Minnie lived in South Haven, Michigan, where Walter was a warden in the Episcopal Church. They had at least one daughter. Then they relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Walter centered his many business ventures, thereafter. By the early 1920s - when they were in their 60's - they were spending much of their time, especially their winters, in Orlando, where they purchased property at 527 N. Broadway Avenue, that would soon include Broadway Court. In Orlando, Walter became one of three directors of the Orlando Laundry Company, founded in 1939 when he was 76. (Still busy!)
Minnie C. Ioor was born circa 1868, in Indiana. She and Walter were still living in their Broadway Avenue home in Orlando in 1940, according to the US census of that year. Along with Walter's maiden lady sister Roaslie Ioor.
I have not been able to find a date of death or place of burial for either of the Ioors, so far.
Below, top to bottom: Ioor Residence; Ioor Residence with entrance to Broadway Court; Ioor Residence
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