To spot the Old Orange County Courthouse, look for a grand, cream-colored stone building with big columns out front and bright green window frames, right across from the plaza-just follow those banners above the entrance that say “The History Center.”
Alright, take a good look-you’re standing before a piece of Orlando’s living history! Built in 1927, this building has seen more courtroom drama than a year's worth of TV law shows. Imagine the scent of old paper and polished stone, the echo of footsteps down those marble halls, and the flick of a judge’s gavel. But funny story-it’s actually not the first courthouse to stand here; one from 1892 once ruled the block, later demolished in 1957. Then a 1960s annex came along, but it didn’t make the cut-demolished in 1998 thanks to that unfriendly attic guest: asbestos.
Now, if these walls could talk, oh, the tales they’d spin! One trial here had a certain electric charge-a real nail-biter. In 1980, the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy was tried right here for the murder of Kimberly Leach. The defense tried the old “not guilty by reason of insanity” trick, but on February 7, the verdict thundered: guilty. Oddly enough, rumor has it “Ted Bundy” is carved into a table in the historic courtroom. Spoiler: Bundy never touched that table-his trial was in the now-gone annex. Some prankster just wanted to leave behind a little mystery.
Today, these halls house the Orange County Regional History Center and the Historical Society. So take a deep breath-standing here, you’re surrounded by echoes of real justice, unsolved mysteries, and stories just waiting to surprise you.
