Kinsley Construction Company on Forsyth Road was founded by Orlando resident Jerry Kinsley. Operating under the names of Kinsley Builders, Kinsley Construction, and Kinsley Contractors, Mr. Jerry Kinsley built many commercial and residential buildings throughout Central Florida. He was the developer of Hibiscus, the first zero lot line housing in Orlando as well as many housing developments such as the housing at McCoy Base, Lake Ann, Winter Park Forest and several housing developments in Merritt Island.
ABOVE: 1961 aerial photo of Wigwam Village Motel at 700 South Orange Blossom Trail built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley.
Many of his commercial buildings are Florida landmarks such as the numerous fruit packing plants from Tampa to Orlando, the colonial style banks throughout Orlando, including the bank with the hammered gold dome at Colonial Drive and Bumby Avenue, attorney’s offices in Orlando and Cocoa, the eyepopping Wigwam Village Motel on Orange Blossom Trail, and the power plant on Lake Ivanhoe, known today as the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.
In the government sector, he is responsible for building the first building at Cape Canaveral, the underground block house, the hangars, and the launching pads. He built Building Ten at Lockheed Martin in Orlando, the buildings at Patrick Air Force Base, the atomic bomb plant in Oakridge, Tennessee and other undisclosed government buildings relating to national security.
Photos courtesy of the Kinsley Archives.
Listen to this oral history interview with World War II Veteran Jerry Kinsley at St. James Cathedral in Orlando, Florida, August 12th, 2010.
Veteran Kinsley served in the 90th Naval Construction Battalion in and around Japan. A contractor by profession, Mr. Kinsley was at work building the plant for the atomic bomb when he quit to serve in the military. He saw many boys coming back from the war who had lost limbs and he thought “I got to do something to help”. He went directly to the volunteer office on Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando and volunteered. A week after bootcamp he was in Pearl Harbor: “It was pretty well shot up. I saw a lot of ships on their sides in the harbor.”
Serving in WWII showed him “You can help other people.” He is proud he was a part of WWII and that we did win. He says, “It is unbelievable we could be in the spot we were in with nothing and in a year’s time we got more boats, planes, jeeps than there were in the rest of the world. Pretty good accomplishment for the boys fighting in WWII.” Hear his firsthand account of these historic events.
LISTEN (24:05)
Mr. Kinsley recalls coming to Orlando in 1939 and marrying his wife, Elizabeth, at Saint James Catholic Church in downtown Orlando in 1941, when it was still a little wooden church. His daughter, Patricia, remembers the beautiful sound her dress shoes made on the church floor. She shares the memories with her husband, Al Stinson, of raising their four children at Saint James Cathedral Church and school.
LISTEN (3:18)
Mr. Kinsley was the Mayor of Edgewood in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. He shares his delightful story of receiving a phone call from Edgewood resident and noted lawyer, Attorney Fishback, asking him to be the mayor. At the time the Town of Edgewood had six months to revive the town or the state would take it off the books. Here his firsthand account of how Edgewood went from meeting in people’s houses and passing a hat to pay for expenditures to building a Town Hall with tax revenue. In addition to his duties as Mayor of Edgewood, Mr. Kinsley also served as City Engineer and Police Chief.
LISTEN (8:31)
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WWII Veteran Jerry Kinsley - Contemporary Photo
Contemporary photo of WWII Veteran and Florida builder Jerry Kinsley. Photo courtesy of the Kinsley Archives.
Jerry Kinsley - Age 27
Photo of Jerry Kinsley, age 27, upon return from building the atomic bomb plant in Oakridge, Tennessee and the Veterans Hospital in...
Jerry Kinsley Receives Distinguished Service Award from Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary
Photo of Jerry Kinsley receiving the Distinguished Service Award from Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary for his contribution to the Orange County...
Wigwam Village Motel
1961 aerial photo of Wigwam Village Motel at 700 South Orange Blossom Trail built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. Photo courtesy of the...
Wigwam Village Motel
Photo of the steel frames for the Wigwam Village Motel at 700 South Orange Blossom Trail built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley....
Wigwam Village Motel
Close up photo of the steel frames for the Wigwam Village Motel at 700 South Orange Blossom Trail built by Orlando builder...
Kinsley Builders
Photo of construction of a two story law office in downtown Orlando by Kinsley Builders. Photo courtesy of the Kinsley Archives.
Kinsley Builders
Photo of construction of a two story law office in downtown Orlando by Kinsley Builders. Also, pictured is the Lovett's Food Store building...
Kinsley Builders
Photo of construction of a two story law office in downtown Orlando built by Jerry Kinsley of Kinsley Builders. The Kinsley Construction Company...
Kinsley Construction Company
Photo of the Kinsley Construction Company on Forsyth Road founded by Orlando resident Jerry Kinsley. Operating under the names of Kinsley Builders,...
Kissimmee Fruit Packing Plant
Photo of a Kissimmee fruit packing plant built by Central Florida builder Jerry Kinsley. Photo courtesy of the Kinsley Archives.
Kissimmee Fruit Packing Plant
Photo of the steel frame for a Kissimmee fruit packing plant built by Central Florida builder Jerry Kinsley. Photo courtesy of the Kinsley...
Fruit Packing Plant
Photo of a Central Florida fruit packing plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. The plant features the Arch Roof patented by...
Fruit Packing Plant
Photo of a Central Florida fruit packing plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. The plant features the Arch Roof patented by...
Florida Builder Jerry Kinsley with Orlando Mayor Carl Langford
Photo of Florida builder Jerry Kinsley of Kinsley Builders meeting with Orlando Mayor Carl Langford and a group of bankers at an...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This is an alternate...
Orlando Utilities Commision Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando Builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant
Photo of construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission Lake Ivanhoe Power Plant built by Orlando builder Jerry Kinsley. This photo shows the building...
Interview with World War II Veteran Jerry Kinsley at St. James Cathedral in Orlando, FL, August 12th, 2010.
Veteran Kinsley served in the 90th Naval Construction Battalion in and around Japan. A contracter by profession, Mr. Kinsley was at work building the plant for the atomic bomb when he quit to serve in the military. He saw many boys coming back from the war who had lost limbs and he thought "I got to do something to help". He went directly to the volunteer office on Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando and volunteered. A week after bootcamp he was in Pearl Harbor: "It was pretty well shot up. I saw a lot of ships on their sides in the harbor."
Serving in WWII showed him "You can help other people." He is proud he was a part of WWII and that we did win. He says, "It is unbelievable we could be in the spot we were in with nothing and in a year's time we got more boats, planes, jeeps than there were in the rest of the world. Pretty good accomplishment for the boys fighting in WWII." Hear his firsthand account of these historic events.
Mr. Jerry Kinsley Interview Part II - Family
Interview with Mr. Jerry Kinsley, at Saint James Cathedral in Orlando, FL on August 12th, 2010.
Mr. Kinsley recalls coming to Orlando in 1939 and marrying his wife, Elizabeth, at Saint James Catholic Church in downtown Orlando in 1941, when it was still a little wooden church. His daughter, Patricia, remembers the beautiful sound her dress shoes made on the church floor. She shares the memories with her husband, Al Stinson, of raising their four children at Saint James Cathedral Church and school.
Mayor Jerry Kinsley Interview
Interview with the former Mayor of Edgewood, Jerry Kinsley, at Saint James Cathedral, in Orlando, FL on August 12th, 2010.
Mr. Kinsley was the Mayor of Edgewood in the 1950's and early 1960's. He shares his delightful story of receiving a phone call from Edgewood resident and noted lawyer, Attorney Fishback, asking him to be the mayor. At the time the Town of Edgewood had six months to revive the town or the state would take it off the books. Here his firsthand account of how Edgewood went from meeting in people's houses and passing a hat to pay for expenditures to building a Town Hall with tax revenue. In addition to his duties as Mayor of Edgewood, Mr. Kinsley also served as City Engineer and Police Chief.
