ORLANDO, Fla. – The City of Orlando is turning back the clock, all the way to 1976.
On Monday, city leaders unveiled the contents of a 50-year-old time capsule sealed during the nation’s Bicentennial celebration, as part of America’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
Originally buried at Lake Eola Park by the Kiwanis Club of Orlando, the capsule was created to preserve a snapshot of life in the city during America’s 200th birthday.
Community leaders collected newspapers, publications, photographs, memorabilia and other items that captured the spirit, growth and character of the Orlando they knew and loved.
It was carefully unearthed and relocated during park construction. For five decades, the capsule remained sealed, until now.
“A lot of the items are just very reminiscent of the bicentennial, but also there’s a lot of information in there, a lot of keepsakes from the various Kiwanis clubs around Central Florida, so it kind of makes it really special for Kiwanis,” Orlando Kiwanis Club President Matt Kelly told News 6.
When the capsule was buried in 1976, Orlando looked vastly different. The city’s population was approximately 116,000 residents, and Carl Langford served as mayor. Nationally, bell-bottoms and tie-dyed tees were in fashion, “Silly Love Songs” topped the music charts, and “Rocky” was the highest-grossing movie in America.
Locally, the Orlando Jetport at McCoy had recently become Orlando International Airport, and the city had just expanded the Citrus Bowl, now known as Camping World Stadium.
As Orlando joins the nationwide America 250 celebration, the unveiling offers an opportunity to discover how the city’s residents in 1976 envisioned the future, and what they believed best represented their hometown at the time.
Kelly said the Kiwanis Club is working to keep the tradition alive by creating its own time capsule so residents celebrating the country’s 300th birthday can see what life was like in 2026.