Geer-Van den Berg Home

The Geer-Van den Berg House at 138 Detmar Avenue, where Osceola and Brewer avenues meet, is perhaps the best preserved, most Victorian cottage still standing in Winter Park, despite the extensive modifications that have been made to it. Dr. Ira Burrus "J.B." Geer, one of Winter Park's first physicians, purchased the lot between Lakes Osceola and Mizell in 1876 from Wilson Phelps. There he built his home, which he also used as his office. As such, this stretch of road (known at various times as Baby Grove, Geer Hill, and Brewer Hill) was Geer Avenue before it became Brewer Avenue. The house boasts steep roofs and Gothic trim and was improved greatly by the restorations of the Van den Berg family in the 1970's.

This article was written by former archivist, Barbara White, MLIS.