More of Deland

After our visit to the Stetson Mansion in Deland, Florida, we adjourned for lunch at the Brickhouse Grill in the downtown shopping area.  Don't bother.  But on our drive away from the Brickhouse, we stumbled upon the Athens Theatre.  I couldn't resist taking a photo of this 1922 beauty which began its life showing silent films and hosting vaudeville acts.  It was restored in 1994.

But on to our next destination, the Deland House Museum.  Note that this is not the home of Mr. Deland, but rather a house museum in the city that bears his name.  While this house is of the same vintage as the Stetson Mansion, 1886, the two houses are of different worlds. 

Operated by the West Volusia Historical Society and staffed by volunteer docents, this house illustrated the life of the middle class in turn-of-the-century Florida with period-appropriate furnishings and artifacts.  Perhaps its best feature are the numerous photographs of the city as it developed. 

The historical society has a very nice library in an adjoining building called the Conrad Education and Resource Center.  It also operates the old Deland hospital, which we hope to visit in the future.