Culture
My essays and published articles on the everyday rituals, creative work, media and social currents that shape how we live, make meaning and relate to one another.
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Glamour and crime at an historic Florida restaurant
Willoughby’s Open Hearth existed in Orlando’s collective memory as a stylish, indulgent restaurant from the 1970s, but behind the nostalgia lurked a much messier story. Continue reading
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A holdout in a changing city: Tiny church struggles against tide of gentrification
Parishioners traveled by bus to worship in a storefront church surrounded by urban lofts and boutiques. Their presence challenges a question many U.S. cities face: Who belongs in neighborhoods that have been remade? Continue reading
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How baseball broke the color line in a city still clinging to hate
In 1955, Black and white boys faced off in Orlando’s first integrated Little League game while adults raged and threatened to quit. The kids just wanted to play ball. What happened on that field revealed which generation truly understood America. Continue reading
Tiffini Theisen 