Conveniently located just 15 minutes North of downtown Orlando at the crossroads of Interstate 4 and State Road 436 (about a 50-minute drive from Walt Disney World® Resort), Altamonte Springs, Florida, boasts affordable hotel accommodations, abundant retail establishments, and a lively mix of office and commercial space. With a population of approximately 43,000, Altamonte Springs is the largest city in Seminole County and one of the fastest growing cities in Central Florida.
The main focal point for Altamonte Springs, Florida, is 37-acre Crane’s Roost Park – a bustling town center and business activity center alongside a beautiful lake that lies just East of Interstate 4 (exit at 436). Amenities at Crane’s Roost include a mile-long boardwalk for strolling or jogging, pedestrian plazas and a lakeside amphitheater for festivals, concerts, art shows and special events throughout the year, including the incredibly popular Red Hot & Boom! Independence Day celebration (set for July 3, 2014), Light Up the Holidays and the Taste of Altamonte Springs celebration. If you pull off Interstate 4 at 436 and head West, you’ll drive by just about every type of chain restaurant, box retail store and fast food restaurant on the planet.
Nearby lies the 1.3-million-square-foot Altamonte Mall, one of the largest regional malls in Florida. The Altamonte Mall first opened its doors in 1972 and today features more than 180 specialty stores, eclectic eateries, services, a 75,000-square-foot AMC movie complex and four anchor stores: Sears, Macy’s, JCPenney and Dillards. For more information about the Altamonte Mall, visit www.altamontemall.com.
With all of this development, you may ask, where exactly are the springs? Here’s a short history lesson: Altamonte Springs was originally settled in 1882 as “Altamonte Station” by a group of Boston businessmen, who bought 1,200 acres of land and built the Altamonte Hotel the following year. Residents renamed the town Altamonte Springs after discovering natural springs in Lake Adelaide. By 1889, the town boasted a population of approximately 250 people. The City of Altamonte Springs was incorporated in 1920. Altamonte Springs experienced slow growth over the next 50 years but evolved into an ideal bedroom community of Orlando in the early 1970s.
Contact Information:
City of Altamonte Springs
225 Newburyport Avenue, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32701
(407) 571-8000
www.altamonte.org
RICH’S TRIVIA: “Altamonte” is Spanish for high hill. Chuck Schuldiner (1967-2001), who was known as “The Father of Death Metal,” grew up in Altamonte Springs.
Altamonte Springs Video
Other Orlando, Florida Areas
Celebration, Florida
Downtown Disney, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Highway 192, Kissimmee, Florida
International Drive, Orlando, Florida
Kissimmee, Florida
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Orlando, Florida
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