Historic Downtown Kissimmee (not spelled Kisimmee or Kissimee or any other variation!) is situated in Osceola County, Florida, United States. It’s worth a visit on a quiet day inbetween visiting the main Florida attractions and theme parks. With a character of its own, a few hours can be spent relaxing and seeing what Kissimmee has to offer. Lake Tohopekaliga also offers a few sights and variety to break up your vacation, why not try some bass fishing?
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Historic Downtown Kissimmee is part of a redevelopment programme, offering great shopping, places to eat, restaurants, however whilst it doesn’t have the charm of Celebration it certainly has a bit more history to it. There is a farmers market (as of 2013 this is on Tuesdays from 4pm), and loads of restaurants:
- 3 Sisters Speakeasy (226 Broadway)
- Azteca`s Mexican Restaurant (809 N. Main St.)
- Breck`s Gourmet Cookies (24B Broadway)
- Taqueria Tres Amigos (231 Broadway)
- Broadway Pizza Bar (403 Broadway)
- Savion’s Place (16 E. Dakin Ave)
- Susan`s Courtside Cafe (18 S. Orlando Ave.)
- Joanie`s Diner (120 Broadway)
- Mrs. Mac`s Restaurant (215 Broadway)
- Nadia’s Cafe (15 Broadway)
- Natures Table (214 Broadway)
- Nene’s Restaurant (324 Broadway)
- Olga`s Restaurant (708 N. Main St.)
- Pure Magic Ice Cream (520 North Main Street)
- Robinson`s Coffee Shop and Diner (114 Broadway.)
- Teresa`s Bar & Grill (219 Broadway)
- Vintage Vino Wine Bar (14 E. Dakin Ave)
- Wicked Step Sister (7 E. Dakin Ave)
- Willy’s Wieners (108 E Dakin Ave)
Historic Downtown Kissimmee History
The history of Kissimmee (previously named Allendale) mainly lies with a chap called Hamilton Disston. Southern Florida was mostly underwater in the 1800’s and Hamilton agreed to dredge and drain the land in exchange for half of everything he reclaimed. This injected money into the state and a trading route was established to the gulf of Mexico along the river Kissimmee. History shows that the main trade was citrus although cattle ranches were also a fairly dominant industry when big freezes ruined citrus crops in the early 1900s.
Retirements in the US population were encouraged to settle in Kissimmee – boosting the population until Walt Disney World came along in the early 1970’s, at which point Kissimmee doubled in population due to the staff required at the theme park.
Have a look at the Kissimmee main street website for more touring information.
