Center Street Gallery   A gallery created to make art accessible to everyone The Center Street Gallery was created by Jeanette McKean in 1945 in order to celebrate local art and make these works of art available to the community. Upon opening, it was under the direction of Donald Greason, Professor of Art at Rollins College. On the occasion of its opening, a short article in the Winter Park Herald revealed that the Gallery would afford an outlet for the creations of talented artists, architects, photographers, and allied craftsmen of the area. The Gallery was first located in a small corrugated metal building on Center Street, which runs parallel to Park Avenue. When the Gallery expanded into its later space on Park Avenue, furniture, decorative accessories and interior design service were added. In 1969, the art gallery was moved into the adjacent building and exhibited the work of contemporary Florida artists and craftsmen, in addition to classic prints, and paintings by American and European masters. When the Gift Division was added it was situated in the original site and specialized in distinctive gifts and decorative accessories for all occasions. The Gift Shop offered a wide variety of gifts, including crystal by Lalique, Waterford, and Swarovsky, kitchenware, jewelry, domestic and children’s gifts, and the widely popular Christmas items. Early managers of the gift shop included Kit Rutledge and Dorothy Lockhart Smith.  The Gallery closed in 1994. The closure came soon after of the retirement of the store managers, Dick Hill and Bill Keeley, who had managed the gift shop for ten years. During their time at the Center Street Gallery, Mr. Hill was known for his colorful window decorations and Mr. Keely focused on managing the daily business affairs. The community enjoyed the window treatments that Hill created and it is said that they were visual feasts for Park Avenue shoppers. After the death of Jeanette McKean in 1989, husband Hugh McKean inherited the business. After Hill and Keeley retired in 1994, Mr. McKean stated that he didn’t want the store to stay open without them.  He added, “We wanted to go out with fond memories . . . “ Before it closed, the Center Street Gallery was Winter Park’s oldest gallery of fine gifts and fine art. It was located at 136 Park Avenue South, opposite Central Park. It had been a wonderful fixture in Winter Park.    Item: Newspaper ad Source: Winter Park Topics   Item: Historical photograph Source: Photograph collection   Item: Photograph Source: Jeannette Genius McKean: Quiet Crusader for Art Author: Charles A. Twardy, Jr. Copyright: Charles Hosmer Morse Foundation Date: 1994 Caption: The McKeans are shown with Mr. and Mrs. W. Buckminster Fuller during Rollins' Founders' Week activities in 1968. (pg. 25) Item: Newspaper ad Source: Winter Park Outlook Date: March 17, 1988 Caption: Paintings on exhibit: "Pond's Edge" is among paintings by Hal McIntosh on exhibit through April 2 at the Center Art Gallery, 136 Park Ave., Winter Park. McIntosh has traveled and lived in Japan and is strongly influenced by Japanese art and culture. His floral canvases evoke meditative garden settings with muted pastel flora and fauna. He also paints sea and sky studies, all revealing an Eastern sensitivity or composition and light but with a con-temporary feel for color and form. For further information, call 644-1545.   Item: Newspaper article Source: Florida Magazine Title: The Center Street Gallery of Art Date: December 17, 1961   Item: Newspaper ad Source: Florida Magazine Date: February 26, 1984   Item: Newspaper ad Source: Winter Park Sun Herald Date: c. 1965   Item: Photograph Source: Orlando Sentinel Photographer: Angela Peterson Date: 1994 Caption: Park Avenue's Center Street Gallery prepares to shut its doors.   Item: Newspaper ad Source: Winter Park Sun Herald Date: February 23, 1967