President Lyndon B. Johnson, the first president ever to sleep in Orlando, stayed at the Cherry Plaza just around the corner from the Buning’s family home on Lake Eola during his 1964 campaign visit. Alice Buning remembers competing with her brother, Rick Buning, to see who could shake President Johnson’s hand the most. Alice confirms for the record that she knows she shook President Johnson’s hand four times before the President made his way to Colonial Drive for his 9:30 a.m. campaign address.
Alice’s mother, Joan Buning, also shares her fond memories of the Cherry Plaza Hotel and significant downtown landmarks in this excerpt from an oral history interview with the Bunings on April 21st, 2011.
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Cherry Plaza Hotel Orlando
Front of postcard showing Lake Eola Centennial fountain and Cherry Plaza Hotel.
Cherry Plaza Hotel at Lake Eola
Postcard, circa 1960, of the Cherry Plaza Hotel at Lake Eola.
Joan Buning and Father Bill at St. James Cathedral
July 1981 photo of Joan Buning at Fr. Bill's going away party at St. James Catholic Cathedral in downtown Orlando.
Joan and Bill Buning, St. James Cathedral
July 1981 photo of St. James parishioners Bill and Joan Buning with Fr. Bill in the atrium of the Cathedral Center at...
President Lyndon B. Johnson, the first president ever to sleep in Orlando, stayed at the Cherry Plaza just around the corner from the Buning's family home on Lake Eola during his 1964 campaign visit. Alice Buning remembers competing with her brother, Rick Buning, to see who could shake President Johnson's hand the most. Alice confirms for the record that she knows she shook President Johnson's hand four times before the President made his way to Colonial Drive for his 9:30 am campaign address. Alice's mother, Joan Buning, also shares her fond memories of the Cherry Plaza Hotel and significant downtown landmarks in this excerpt from an oral history interview with the Bunings on April 21st, 2011.
