The Unbeaten Path Winter Park: Doing Orlando With Dignity By Barbara J. Saffir The Washington Post Sunday, January 25, 1998; Page E02

Park Avenue, which is anchored by a golf course to the north and the neo-Mediterranean splendor of Rollins College to the south, cuts through the town like a brush stroke on a Norman Rockwell painting. The three-block-long park that lends the street its name reflects an especially Rockwellian vision each weekend when locals and snowbirds mingle beneath the palms, and passenger trains glide through the petite railroad station.

Winter Park makes a great place to kill a day, with kids or without. Nearly a mile of alfresco cafes and trendy boutiques line the avenue, ending at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, a showcase of Tiffany glassware that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has called "the most comprehensive collection of Tiffany anywhere." The small but growing museum shelters passionately colored windows depicting wisteria and other natural wonders, along with lamps, jewelry, paintings and pottery, some of which was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and salvaged from his New York mansions. Tiffany's crosslike emerald chandelier, electrified by Thomas Edison, graces the entryway.

If the kids start getting weary, they might enjoy a break at one of three ice cream stores along Park Avenue and the side streets. And if the little ones deserve a small treat to make up for a lost day of Disney, two shops on Park Avenue would gladly assist: Bebes is filled with frilly white dresses; at the Rune Stone European toy store, you can get a yellow Italian Ducati mini-motorscooter for $1,695. But "Valentina," a life-size tawny Italian doll, costs far less.

Perhaps the most dazzling gem in Winter Park is not the park or the avenue, but the lushly landscaped neighborhoods nearby. Cobblestone streets and shady lanes curl around finger lakes that speckle the 110-year-old town. A Sunday drive resembles an outing in a wholesale nursery, as thick layers of tropical greenery edge the streets under a seemingly constant canopy of oak trees heavy with Spanish moss. Better still, you can explore by boat, touring Winter Park's network of lakes and canals.

The botanical crown jewel is Harry P. Leu Gardens, where thousands of glossy pink and white camellias shine the brightest during the months Washingtonians seldom see the sun. Besides being the largest camellia collection in the eastern United States, the lakefront garden also boasts a tropical ravine, flame-red hibiscus, kumquats, roses and other displays. The floral treasures surround a historic house begun by one of Winter Park's pioneer families, which settled in this beautiful part of Florida more than a century before Mickey Mouse moved in down the road.

Winter Park is about five miles north of downtown Orlando, 10 miles north of Orlando International Airport. It's about a 35-minute drive from Disney World. Information: 407-644-8281. Harry P. Leu Gardens, 1920 N. Forest Ave., 407-246-2620. Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, 445 Park Ave. N., 407-645-5311. Scenic Boat Tour (Lake Osceola), 407-644-4056. Chain and local restaurants abound on Orlando, Fairbanks and Park avenues, but try the La Venezia Cafe (142 Park Ave. S., 407-647-7557) for Mediterranean specialties illuminated by the glow of two Tiffany windows. A more family-and pocketbook-friendly choice is Bakely's Restaurant (345 W. Fairbanks, 407-645-5767).