“MERITA” Bread Sign Public Art Installation In Downtown Orlando

Last updated on February 27, 2025

“MERITA” is a DTOLive activation with the Creative City Project, presented by the City of Orlando’s Downtown Development Board, executed in partnership with the United Arts of Central Florida and the Downtown Arts District.

The Merita sign once towered over Interstate 4 has come out of storage and is being displayed in downtown Orlando (30 S. Orange) this spring. After operating in Orlando for over 50 years, Merita Bakery closed in 2012. New owners of the property wanted to ensure the iconic sign’s integrity and donated it to the Morse Museum’s permanent collection. In an effort to save this medium, the Morse

Museum restored the sign and kept it safe, seeking an opportunity for public display such as this. 

There might even be a familiar smell surrounding the installation!

About Merita 

In May 1961, the Merita bread factory opened in Orlando along Interstate 4 near Division Avenue. For more than 50 years the waft of fresh baked bread delighted drivers along the route. Following the bakery’s closing, the new owners of the property donated this Merita sign, one of several, to the Morse Museum. These signs joined the Museum’s greater collection, and its efforts to preserve historical signs for future generations. Conservation and safekeeping ensure that these architectural treasures will recall the past and inspire sublime beauty in modern surroundings. At nearly 18 feet high and 48 feet long, the Merita sign is one of the largest objects in the Morse’s collection.