What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

RICHES Mosaic Interface

Home
United States
Orlando, FL
RICHES Mosaic Interface

Call Directions Website Contact the museum

RICHES™ is an interactive digital archiving and exhibit project of Central Florida’s history.

RICHES Digital Archiving and Exhibit Project is an umbrella program housing interdisciplinary public history projects that bring together different departments at UCF with profit and non-profit sectors of the community. Central Florida has often been associated with large-scale, commercial tourism and housing development. While those aspects of Central Florida are important to the economic growth of the region, much of its history has remained unnoticed and under researched. The Public History program at UCF links many projects under one initiative to promote the collection and preservation of Central Florida history. By facilitating research that records and presents the stories of communities, businesses, and institutions in Central Florida, RICHES seeks to provide the region with a deeper sense of its heritage. At the same time, the initiative connects the UCF students and faculty with the community and creates a foundation on which Central Floridians can build a better sense of their history.

10/20/2026

New Collection: Halifax Historical Museum!

RICHES is pleased to announce the addition of the Halifax Historical Museum Collection to our digital archive!

Explore the collection here:
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/235

The Halifax Historical Museum Collection contains digitized historical materials documenting Daytona Beach and the surrounding Halifax area in Volusia County, Florida. Materials include historic maps, plats, plans, blueprints and other records documenting the development of Daytona Beach and neighboring communities. The original materials are held by the Halifax Historical Museum, which preserves photographs, postcards, maps, documents, artifacts and other materials related to the history of the Halifax area.

**Featured Image**

An official course map prepared by the City Engineering Department for the First Annual 250 Mile Stock Car Beach and Road Race at Daytona Beach, Florida, in March 1936. The map identifies the Atlantic Ocean, Halifax River, Port Orange Bridge, Ocean Shore Boulevard and River Road and depicts the beach-and-road racing course. A key distinguishes paved roads, shell roads, pedestrian paths and parking spaces. The map bears A.A.A. Sanction No. 3334. The original is a blueprint measuring approximately 45.5 by 10 inches.

This collection was made possible through a collaboration between RICHES and the Halifax Historical Museum to digitize and make these historical resources accessible to the public.

10/15/2026

New Additions to the Jesse Cutler Collection! 🎸🎶

RICHES is excited to share new additions to the Jesse Cutler Collection, documenting the career of musician, songwriter and producer Jesse Cutler from his early performances in New York to his years in the Los Angeles music scene.

These newly added materials include photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and music industry coverage spanning the 1960s through the 1970s. Highlights include photographs of Cutler performing as Lou London at Highland Preparatory School in Queens in 1968, coverage of his early band the Young Executives, a 1973 Record World announcement of his recording agreement with Brut Records and a 1974 photograph of Jesse Cutler's Angel performing at the legendary Wh**ky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip.

Together, these materials offer a glimpse into Cutler's musical career and the entertainment industry during a transformative period in American popular music.

Featured: A black-and-white group photograph of musician Jesse Cutler with actor Cary Grant, model and actress Margaux Hemingway, and football player Joe Namath in New York City, circa 1977. All four were associated with Fabergé, Inc. Cutler recorded for the company's Brut Records label, Grant served on Fabergé's board of directors, and Hemingway and Namath participated in Fabergé advertising and promotional campaigns. Contemporary archival photography also documents Grant, Hemingway, and Namath together in New York around 1977.

Explore the Jesse Cutler Collection and discover more about his contributions to music and entertainment history!

🔗 https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/227

10/13/2026

📚 Florida Historical Society Annual Meeting & Symposium | October 16–17, 2026

Join the Florida Historical Society this Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17 for its annual meeting and symposium!

The conference brings together historians, scholars and members of the public to explore new research and perspectives on Florida's rich history.

All events are free and open to the public!

📅 October 16–17, 2026

📖 View the full conference program and schedule at https://online.fliphtml5.com/wqbac/FHS-2026-Conference-Program/

We encourage everyone interested in Florida history to attend and learn more about the latest historical scholarship across the state!

10/05/2026

Today, RICHES is pleased to celebrate the birthday of Harold V. Lucas, Jr. and introduce the Harold V. Lucas, Jr. Legacy Project, a new collection documenting his life, career, and contributions to the Central Florida community.

Through photographs, documents, correspondence, and oral history, the collection preserves the story of Lucas's life and the people, places, and events that shaped his experiences. The materials span his family history, education, military service, professional life, and decades of community involvement.

The collection has been made possible through the generosity of Mr. Lucas and his family, who have worked with RICHES to preserve and share these materials. We look forward to highlighting more from the collection as the project continues to grow.

Explore the Harold V. Lucas, Jr. Legacy Project in the RICHES digital archive:
https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/236

Please join us in wishing Harold V. Lucas, Jr. a very happy birthday! 🎂

09/22/2026

Were you part of Orlando Family Stage’s story? Whether you knew it as Central Florida Civic Theatres, Orlando Rep, or Orlando Family Stage, we’d love to hear from you.

Join Orlando Family Stage and RICHES for a History Harvest on September 27 to help preserve 100 years of theatre history. Bring photographs, programs, or other memorabilia to be professionally digitized while you wait, or sign up to share your memories in an oral history.

Artists, audiences, volunteers, educators, families, and supporters all have stories worth preserving. Reserve your time at OrlandoFamilyStage.com or use the QR code on the flyer.

Please share this with someone who has a connection to the theatre!

09/04/2026

New Additions to the Debary Collection!

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/233

On July 8 2024, the City of Debary partnered with the University of Central Florida Department of History and RICHES to host their first history harvest at DeBary City Hall, located at 16 Colomba Road in DeBary, Florida.

Pictured: A black and white photograph of five members of the DeBary Volunteer Fire Department Number 1. Three men stand in front of one firetruck and two men stand in front of another at the DeBary Volunteer Fire Department in DeBary, Florida, at 10 Colomba Road in DeBary, Florida.

In October 1952, residents expressed concern about their inadequate fire protection, and two weeks later, they decided to establish their own volunteer fire company. By June 23, 1953, the DeBary Volunteer Firemen’s Association was born with Ed Healy as their first Fire Chief. Their first call came in October about a brush fire. The men in the photograph are from the original group that initiated the volunteer department. This was a photo that was passed down from Spruell Beall and donated to the University of Central Florida Department of History at the DeBary History Harvest held at Town Hall on June 2, 2024.

09/03/2026

New Additions to the Jesse Cutler Collection!

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/227

Jesse Cutler has spent an illustrious career, beginning at age 12, as a musician, composer, actor, producer, and entrepreneur. Starting in New York City in the 1960s and then in Los Angeles from the early '70s through the late '90s, Jesse performed with his bands and in the original cast of Godspell on Broadway, made records that saw Billboard's Top 100, formed his own companies and appeared on TV and radio and in national print.

Pictured: A black and white promotional photograph of the four-member group Jesse Cutler's Angel. The publicity sheet was produced by Creative Management Associates (CMA), 8899 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, California.

08/05/2026

New Collection: Goldsboro Quilters

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/collections/show/232

The Historic Goldsboro Commemorative Quilt is more than a work of art – it is a testimony stitched with memory, resilience, and reconciliation. The Quilt began as an idea rooted in the City of Sanford’s ongoing commitment to truth-telling, healing, and unity through the Pathways to Reconciliation Project, a citywide initiative designed to face the city’s racialized history with honesty and chart a new path forward grounded in respect, equity, and belonging for all.

In early 2025, the City’s Race, Equality, Equity, and Inclusion (REEI) Advisory Committee began exploring creative ways to honor Historic Goldsboro, one of the first self-governing Black municipalities in the United States. Founded in 1891 by William Clark and 19 registered voters, Goldsboro stood as a beacon of Black independence and pride – a thriving community with its own government, churches, businesses, and schools. Indeed, Goldsboro was a testament to Black leadership, resilience, and innovation during a time of newfound freedom.

However, in 1911, Goldsboro’s municipal charter was revoked and the town was annexed into the City of Sanford. This legislative action stripped the community of its autonomy and self-governance and inflicted lasting wounds – economic, social, racial, and cultural – that reverberated throughout generations.

07/31/2026

New Exhibit: The Transition from Tranquil Town to Technology Titan: Orlando in the 1950s and 1960s

https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/tranquiltotech

For much of the 18th and 19th centuries, Florida remained a relatively undeveloped state on the eastern coast of the United States. Orlando itself was home predominantly to wealthy seasonal residents and a small, local population. However, at the end of World War II and during the onset of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s, the city underwent one of the most rapid and sudden economic surges in the country, resulting in an influx of companies and economic migrants to the City Beautiful. This boom in new businesses, such as the Martin Company, and subsequent new job opportunities would transform Orlando from an agricultural frontier town into one of Florida's largest and most productive commercial centers. To invite this tide of change and development to Orlando, the local government opened its doors to companies looking to expand or gain a new start by offering cheap land and tax incentives. The Orlando Chamber of Commerce began to promote the city as the next inheritor of a new, modern age through the creation of marketing strategies to attract prospective residents. Economic migrants flooded into the city: young families seeking to put down roots, immigrants searching for a better life, and skilled workers looking for greater opportunities. These newly arrived individuals—along with new, booming industries—transformed the development of Orlando into the economic, political, and cultural capital of Central Florida.

Pictured: Sky Lake, 1958

Address

Department Of History, CNH 551 4000 Central Florida Boulevard
Orlando, FL
32816

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+14078230242

Website

http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when RICHES Mosaic Interface posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to RICHES Mosaic Interface:

Want your museum to be the top-listed museum in Orlando?