When I arrived in Orlando nearly 30 years ago, Central Florida's tourism industry was in the middle of a monumental growth period which extended into the early aughts. Back then, expansions at the Disney and Universal resorts symbiotically supported a slew of independent attractions along U.S.-192 and International Drive. Those entertainment employment opportunities subsequently enabled the theaters and art galleries that occupied downtown's once-empty storefronts, fueling a creative community that was battered — but never entirely broken — by the post-9/11 collapse in tourism, as well as later downturns caused by the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19.