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| Maitland Art Center |
Maitland's reputation is one of soccer moms driving Volvos. It's an old town with a long history of continuous politics. Maitland's little downtown is confusing. A boarded up Winn Dixie grocery store has dominated the main street for several years. I have no idea where the city hall is (or if there is one.)
A couple of years ago they redid the main intersection and made it many times worse than it was. Most people try to avoid it. Maybe that was the point.
I'm in Maitland several times a week. We must drive through it to get to our favorite city, Winter Park. There are lovely homes in Maitland but I don't know of any McMansions. Almost all of our doctors' offices are on Maitland Avenue, all within five minutes of our house. Dave and I love the park. We love Lake Lily. We love the Enzian Theater. We love Antonio's restaurant. I love the Designer Resale Shop (but getting there requires going through that crazy intersection so I don't stop by as often as I used to.)
Maitland has an old little jewel of an art museum. It's hidden away and a little hard to find. It used to be an art colony and I can envision artists and writers from another era being inspired while they hibernated in rooms facing a lovely little courtyard. But it's quiet and small, not big and shiny.
Today I read that, according to Road Snacks, Maitland made the Top Ten Lists of Snobbiest Cities in Florida. I don't get it. Road Snacks measures median home prices, median income, percent of population with a college degree, private schools, theaters and art galleries.
Here's the list:
1. Sanibel (A beach town, this makes no sense to me.)
2. Coral Gables
3. Naples
4. Palm Beach
5. Marco Island
6. Boca Raton
7. Parkland (I never heard of Parkland.)
8. Longboat Key
9. Key Biscayne
10. Maitland
No Winter Park on the list.
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