No, it’s not a birthday or anniversary celebration – it’s the town of Celebration located about 6 miles from Disney.  Celebration is a planned community created by the real estate division of Disney.  Founded in 1994, Celebration has the flavor of a small American  town from the 1930’s. About 2500 homes surround the town center. The town has been cited as an example of New Urbanism or neo-traditional architecture.

We drove there last Friday, January 27th. Our first stop was the Market Street Cafe where we had breakfast.  Although a little pricey (so what isn’t when the Disney name is associated with it), the omelets and grits (yes, I have become a grits convert)  were very good and the service was excellent.

We sat in a booth next to the windows so we could look  past the outside eating area and across the street at a small lake and the surrounding town park. Tables, umbrellas and rocking chairs were provided – a great place to enjoy a morning cup of java!

After breakfast we strolled around the town.  Lots of boutiques, restaurants, a movie theater and the Bohemian Hotel (Marriott) which is located right on the edge of the lake. All of the buildings in the town  are sided with brightly colored stucco and have wide overhangs and verandas, creating a Caribbean flavor.  Many of the buildings are quite unique – the post office is round, shaped like a silo (sorry no pictures) and the movie theater has two spires reminiscent of futuristic 1950’s architecture.  This type of architecture is often referred to as googie style.  Googie “describes a futuristic, often flashy, building style that evolved in the United States during the 1950s. Often used for restaurants, motels, bowling alleys, and assorted roadside businesses, Googie architecture was designed to attract customers.” More information and photos of some of the town buildings can be found here.

The Celebration Tavern boasts a “Boston experience” with a menu of Maine lobsters, steamers, franks and beans, and meatloaf. I think we’ll let this “experience” pass us by!

Neat place that feels like it is out of the pages of a storybook! Now that I’ve read about the town and it’s architecture, I’d like to go back to see again before we leave the area.

Here are some of our photos: