Tanner Hall – Winter Garden FL

Description

The accompanying photograph is of a view of the town in the 1930s. Tanner Hall is seen on the center-left side of the picture. The WPA building was initially used as a gymnasium and was later extensively remodeled. It is now a Community Center.

Other buildings that are seen in the photograph are Farnsworth Pool, Little Hall, yacht basins with covered boathouses, the city dock, sea walls and Trailer City, among the public building and lakefront beautification projects funded by the Works Progress Administration and directed by Mayor George Walker in the 1930s.

In his seven-year tenure as mayor, Walker secured more than $250,000 from President Franklin Roosevelt to employ local residents during the Great Depression and build amenities to lure tourists to “the large- mouth bass capital.” Today, Trailer City is still owned and operated by the City of Winter Garden. The 127 permanent residents and 66 seasonal residents continue to enjoy the attractively maintained and well-equipped 70-year-old park.