Five Mills 50 businesses recognized with historic plaques

Five longtime businesses in Orlando’s Mills 50 district were recognized Tuesday with historic plaques, marking the start of a broader effort to highlight the people and places that helped shape the neighborhood.Cameo Theatre, Colonial Photo and Hobby, The Center, Track Shack and Wally’s were the first businesses to receive the designations along Mills Avenue.Mills 50 is centered around Mills Avenue and Colonial Drive, about a mile from downtown Orlando. It is one of the city’s 12 Main Street districts, a program designed to support neighborhood businesses and strengthen local commercial areas.Jeff Dry, board president for Mills 50, said the recognition is about more than marking buildings. It is also about supporting the small-business owners who continue to define the area.“That’s really the important part of the recognition also is to make sure we’re supporting the small business owners,” Dry said.Dry said the project has been about a year and a half in the making. He said the goal i