Photo by Able Film and Photo

SPONSORED: Tucked away behind a lush wall of foliage, is the historic Albin Polasek Museum (Website); the best-kept secret of Tony Winter Park.

The museum, named eponymously after an award-winning Czech sculptor who once lived and worked on the property, is dedicated to showcasing his work and to inspire others with his story – click HERE to hear all about him.

A lesser-known fact of the Polasek Museum story is that the Capen House, which shares the property, was moved there from across the lake in October 2015. The home turns 134 years-old this year and has known seven different families through the 18 and 1900s. It was built by hand with local pine for the frame, siding, and flooring; something that was put to test a few years ago.

Saved from demolition, the home was preserved by the joint efforts of The Winter Park History Museum, the Friends of Casa Feliz, and the Albin Polasek Museum who managed to save and move it by cutting it in twain.


PHOTO COURTESY OF ALBIN POLASEK MUSEUM

The two halves of the Capen House, affectionately referred to as “Fred” and “Ginger,” traveled by tugboat-pulled barge to their new home on the other side of Lake Osceola on the Polasek campus where they were reunited and joined in holy, unending matrimony. The whole trip took only 15-minutes but roughly two years of renovations before reopening as a rental venue.

The home, with its attached patio and lakefront lawn, is most-often used for wedding rentals; which is why we named it in our 2018 “Venues you can get hitched in” roundup.

PHOTO BY CHRIS RAMOS, COURTESY OF ALBIN POLASEK MUSEUM

Amenities include both indoor and outdoor event options, more than three acres of lakefront gardens, a suite for wedding party preparations, a large lakefront patio and lawn, a large dock on Lake Osceola, a catering prep kitchen, choice of approved caterers and vendors, wireless internet, and more.

Event rental includes eight-hour use of the venue. Curious about rental rates? Click HERE for more information.

The Capen House at the Polasek (Website) is located at 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park [GMap].

PHOTO BY RUDY AND MARTA PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY OF ALBIN POLASEK MUSEUM

Brendan O'Connor

Editor in Chief of Bungalower.com

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