The Rosin Arcade, 1926, houses restaurants and antique shops, is in the center of historic downtown Arcadia, Florida.
This building was named The Rosin Arcade when built and in the late 1940s was renamed The Koch Building.
The Walt Disney Company has mastered the art of staging. When you’re waiting in
line for a destination like Space Mountain or The Haunted Mansion everything you
see on your path to your destination is carefully placed as part of the complete
ride experience. It makes you feel like the journey to the destination is as exciting as the
destination itself.
The backroads drive to Arcadia reminds one of the Disney staging. The further you travel
on Highway 17, the more the road seems like it’s been staged by Walt Disney himself.
From the Spanish moss dripping from Florida oaks to the herds of cattle grazing in green
pastures, to the little “Mom-and-Pop” stores that sporadically pop up along the road, one
falls deeper back into old Florida and a time long past.
The destination on this road trip is Oak Street, the main street of Arcadia, and the location
of the monthly Antique Fair.
62 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • September/October • 2021