Hi! My name is Lauren, and I’m one of the Tour-Guides at the Citrus Tower. Below are some of my favorite facts about the Tower.
- Although the Citrus Tower is not the tallest building in Florida, with its raw height of 226 feet, plus more than 300 feet above sea level, the Tower becomes one of the highest observation points in all of Florida.
- The Tower was constructed mostly using concrete and steel. After completion, the new Citrus Tower consisted of 5 million pounds of concrete and 149 thousand pounds of reinforcing steel.
- In the elevator above the door, is a plaque with floor numbers on it. According to that plaque, the Tower is only 15 stories tall, this although, is inaccurate. The Citrus Tower is actually 22 stories. This is because the builders of the tower used an elevator from a hotel at the time.
- The Citrus Tower is privately owned!
- On a clear day at the top, you can see 35 miles to the horizon, 2,000 square miles, and 8 different counties.
- When they began construction on the tower, the plan was for the finished product to be only 75 feet tall! But as 75 feet was close approaching, it didn’t please the constructors or the community, so they extended the height plan to 100 feet. But as public excitement grew even more, 100 feet was no longer tall enough either. They once again extended the plan, to 150 feet… Then 200… Then finally, the finished product of 226 feet!
Enjoyed reading through this, very good stuff, appreciate it. Holli Gabbie Tri
We were just there today 11/11/21 due to watching a local TV show called Central Florida Road Trips. It was fun just to say we did it but needs some TLC. With everything being so old, maybe cleaning/refreshing/painting the observation area, getting rid of the swarming wasps outside (3 were inside) and a few other things might bring in more people? I am glad we did it. Your worker was super nice and knowledgable and the cran/blueberry muffins were amazing.
You’d be very impressed with the significant upgrades since your last visit. New owners took possession Sept 26th, 2022, and since then have invested over one million dollars in improvements. New paint, the entire renovation of the coffee shop including equipment and furnishings, the tower is all newly painted, new flooring, and new historic framed items on the wall to share the history. We sure you might come back and see these for yourself.
My grand mother worked in the gift shop for years.