Dr. Philip Phillips … The Legacy

The Beginning of Dr. Phillips, Central Floridas First MasterPlanned Community

by Debra Wood


Southwest Orlando residents and visitors can see the name “Dr. Phillips” on everything from schools to a hospital to a road. So who was Dr. Phillips and why is a community named after him?

Dr. Philip Phillips owned more than 5,000 acres of citrus groves, about 1,200 acres in the community now bearing his name. He envisioned a self-sufficient town in the vicinity of his packinghouse, with a post office, grocery store, school and fire station. He wanted a community where people would live, work and play. However, it’s unlikely that even this visionary leader could have anticipated the growth that has occurred on his former land.

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Dr. Philip Phillips makes an indelible impact on Southwest Orlando, as well as all of Central Florida.


The Doctor Arrives in Central Florida

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on Jan. 27, 1874, to French supply merchant Henri Phillippe and his wife, Isabelle, Phillips grew up in Lebanon, Tennessee, before heading east to attend medical school at Columbia University. After graduation, an entrepreneurial spirit led him to follow the allure of opportunities in Florida. Eventually, he capitalized on that degree to promote the health benefits of orange juice.

Phillips purchased a citrus grove in Satsuma in 1894, but when freezing temperatures in the winter of 1895 killed the trees, he moved back to Tennessee. Little is known about his time in that state, with some reports indicating he opened a medical practice and invested in a hardware store. But the thought of citrus never strayed too far from his conscious. He researched possibilities in the industry, while making short visits to Central Florida and buying small groves.

After moving to Kissimmee in the early 1900s, Phillips planned to raise cattle along with citrus; however, citrus held his attention. In 1905, he learned that an area to the south of Big Sand Lake was considered frost-free, so he purchased a grove in that location. Citrus grew on the land until the 1960s.

Dr. Phillips Charities sold that land to what is now Orlando Health at a reduced price for Sand Lake Hospital. Today, the site is home to Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, renamed in 2007 in Dr. Phillips’ honor.

Phillips married Della Wolfe a Southern debutante and daughter of a Mississippi cotton planter — who was educated in New Orleans finishing schools. The couple moved to Kissimmee before relocating to the Sand Lake grove property and then downtown Orlando.

They had two children: Howard, the eldest, who inherited Phillips’ corporations, and Walter, who became a citrus consultant and whose interest in the business was bought out by the family in 1948. Howard graduated from Harvard and used his business acumen to promote the sale of citrus in northern states.

091516feature05Dr. Philip Phillips and his family move into this downtown Orlando home in 1912.

The family lived on Lucerne Circle in downtown Orlando, starting in 1912. A Col. Peckham built the home in 1893 for his daughter. The Phillips family remodeled and replaced gas lighting with electricity. The home now operates as a bed and breakfast, called The Courtyard at Lake Lucerne. It again underwent a remodel, including the installation of air conditioning.

A Citrus Innovator

In addition to being a major citrus grower, Phillips was an innovator. He developed new ways to handle, pack and can fruit. He also was the first to sell oranges by the pound.

Seeking a way to can orange juice without it developing a metallic taste, he and his team developed flash pasteurization, which kept the flavor and vitamin C content of the juice.

091516feature02Workers process citrus fruit at one of Dr. Philip Phillips’ packinghouses.

As a doctor, Phillips promoted the health benefits of orange juice and pushed for research to back up his claims. He created the tagline “Drink Dr. Phillips Orange Juice, Because the Doc Says It’s Good for You.” The American Medical Association conducted a study, which led to an endorsement by the professional organization for the Dr. Phillips orange juice brands. People across the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, Sweden and France drank the juice. He also used promotional full-color films to help sell his products.

Phillips developed fertilizer specific to the needs of his trees. He produced it at a company-owned fertilizer plant. He also was the first citrus grower to use airplanes — which took off and landed from his airstrip — for crop dusting. That airstrip is now Phillips Landing.

Recognizing the seasonality of the citrus business, Phillips’ workers constructed commercial and industrial buildings on land that was not suited for citrus. This gave the employees work during the offseason, and the rent provided additional income for the company. Many of those properties continue to generate income for the nonprofit Dr. Phillips Inc.

Phillips hired people from the Bahamas to work in the groves. He built housing for them to live in the village of “Dr. Phillips” and hired a planner from San Francisco during the ’50s to design the new community. The company operated a restaurant in each of its packinghouses, where workers could eat healthy meals at cost. A post office opened in 1930, also near what is today Phillips Landing.

091516feature03Dr. Philip Phillips markets his citrus as healthy, incorporating innovative techniques to preserve the fruit’s flavor and vitamin C content.

When the Great Depression became a threat to his operations, Phillips could not find financial support from the banks, so he printed his own scrip and paid his employees with it. They, in turn, purchased food, supplies and services with the scrip, accepted by merchants, who used it to pay Phillips rent. During this time, he also created a soft drink called “Thirst Tamer,” turned pulp into a marmalade base, and transformed orange peels and seeds into feed for cattle.

Phillips became the largest citrus grower in the world, according to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 1986. He grew and sold more than 100 million oranges annually.

A Philanthropist

In 1953, Phillips set up the Dr. P. Phillips Foundation to support local charities. Its motto is “To Help Others Help Themselves.”

The family also supported the arts community. The Phillips often entertained at their home, presenting musicals and cultural events. These sessions and their generosity led to the formation of the Mendelssohn Club, which later became the Florida Symphony.

Phillips helped bring a Junior Achievement chapter to Central Florida and served on the initial JA board of directors. He was posthumously named as the inaugural laureate in 1977. Dr. Phillips Charities has continued to support JA of Central Florida.

091516feature04Dr. Philip Phillips (seated) maintains a philanthropic relationship with Florida Hospital (photo courtesy of Florida Hospital).

Understanding that everyone needed good health care, Phillips played a key role in the establishment of Dr. P. Phillips Memorial Hospital during the 1950s, donating the land on West Church Street to Florida Sanitarium and Hospital (now Florida Hospital), which operated the Phillips Memorial Hospital as a division. The facility served the needs of Orlando’s black residents from 1958-64. Son Howard recruited two black physicians to relocate to the city and set up practice there. Phillips also gave land and money for physician offices. The former hospital is now Guardian Care Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

Beyond His Citrus Holdings

Granada Groves, a partnership between investors Diversified Services and Minute Maid, purchased Phillips’ citrus groves in 1954, but Phillips held onto other property with no groves in production. Some land was sold off for development, including 620 acres to Thomas F. Barnes for Bay Hill. The Bay Hill Club & Lodge opened in 1961 and was later sold to Arnold Palmer.

Phillips died in 1959 at age 85 and is buried at Dr. Phillips Cemetery, off Apopka-Vineland Road. His tombstone reads: “Under his hand, the wilderness bore fruit.”

The citrus baron’s legacy lives on. Howard Phillips continued the family philanthropy until he died in 1979. Howard hired a California designer to create a master plan with schools, parks, homes and commercial properties, including The Marketplace at Dr. Phillips, which opened in 1982. This became the first master-planned community in Central Florida.

Dr. Phillips Charities, composed of the Dr. P. Phillips Foundation and Dr. Phillips Inc., has provided more than $170 million in grants, pledges and program-related investments to the area in the ensuing years. That’s about $8 million annually. A portfolio of rental properties and other investments provide the funds for grant-making. The organization has given land and money for schools, hospitals and parks, and contributed millions to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.💓