Casa Feliz Parlor Series

Landmarks & Lessons: 50 Years of Historic Preservation in Orlando

📅 Wednesday, June 24, 2026

⏰ Program: 6 pm | Reception: 7 pm

📍 Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum

This Parlor Series generously sponsored by:

Reserve your Spot

Admission is free but reservations are required. Email casafelizrsvp@gmail.com or click button below.

Event Description

What makes a city feel authentic? Which buildings deserve to be saved — and who decides?

Since Orlando passed its preservation ordinance in 1976, the city has wrestled with those questions while experiencing extraordinary growth and change. Jennifer Fritz-Hunter, Orlando’s Historic Preservation Officer, shares stories from the front lines of preservation: beloved landmarks rescued from demolition, places lost forever, and the ongoing challenge of protecting history in a fast-growing city. A fascinating look at how preservation helps communities hold onto their character while planning for the future.

Guest Speaker

Jennifer Fritz Hunter, RA, AIA
Historic Preservation Officer, City of Orlando

With a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University and a Master of Science in Historic Preservation from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Jennifer Fritz-Hunter has dedicated her career to preserving the stories and character embedded in historic places. For the past four years, she has served as the Historic Preservation Officer for the City of Orlando, bringing more than 20 years of private-sector architectural experience to the role.

Throughout her career, Jennifer has worked on a wide range of preservation, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse projects, from nationally significant landmarks to meaningful local restorations. Her notable work includes projects at Dana-Thomas House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church by Louis Sullivan. She is equally passionate about community-scale projects such as the rehabilitation of the L.N. Gross Building, a 1920s dress factory thoughtfully adapted into office space.

Jennifer believes historic preservation is essential not only for protecting cultural identity and telling our collective stories for future generations, but also for advancing environmental sustainability through the reuse of existing buildings. Outside of work, she enjoys enthusiastically pulling her husband and three children toward every historic marker they encounter—whether or not it was part of the original plan.