1990 Pictorial View of the Campus of Florida Southern College

A whimsical 1990 pictorial view of the campus of Florida Southern College, published by International Caricature Productions. In addition to providing a map of the campus and city of Lakeland, and promoting local businesses, the view highlights the 'Child of the Sun' building complex designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

A Closer Look

Florida Southern's campus is best known for its architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, with his buildings collectively being known as the 'Child of the Sun.' They appear at left here, including the Anne Pfeiffer Chapel, Thad Buckner Building, the Administration Building, the Polk County Science Building, and other adjoining structures. These buildings were designed and constructed between the late 1930s and late 1950s. As the text box towards left explains, the 12-structure complex constitutes the largest collection of Wright's buildings in one location in the world.

Aside from the 'Child of the Sun,' other buildings on campus are labeled, including sporting facilities, dormitories, fraternities, and sororities. Beyond campus, local businesses and attractions are advertised, including hotels, restaurants (four McDonald's!), movie theaters, and more. Hands with fingers pointed to the northeast and southwest, respectively, appear near Interstate 4, indicating distances to Orlando and Tampa.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by Rob Zell-Breier with coloring by Terry ('the Great') Cheney and published by International Caricature Productions in 1990. Both Breier and Cheney later were part of the firm Cityscape Graphics, which published similar views of locations in Florida. International Caricature Productions looks to have existed from around 1989 - 1990 and at some point between then and 1993 became Cityscape Graphics. In any event, the present view is not known to exist in institutional collections and has no known history on the market.