Orlampa is a fictional entity lying halfway between Orlando and Tampa, Florida. On a lot on the north side of Interstate 4 near mile 45, just east of the Polk City exit, a sign visible from the Interstate announces the "Future Site of Downtown Orlampa". The sign was installed soon before March 2002.[1] A more recent sign, put up in late 2004 or January 2005, thanks the Florida Department of Transportation for "paving the way to Orlampa's future" (referring to the ongoing widening of I-4 to six lanes). Between the two signs is an oil well pump labeled "Orlampa Oil & Gas Co, Ltd", also put up several years ago.

The property is owned by developer Kermit Weeks , who also owns the nearby Fantasy of Flight aviation museum. On the Fantasy of Flight property, facing I-4 west of the Polk City exit, is an identical oil well pump labeled "Green Swamp Oil & Gas Co, Ltd" (Green Swamp is a nearby swamp).

The Orlampa site includes the Orlampa Citrus Packing Company, opened September 24, 2004. The packinghouse , formerly owned by Barfield Citrus , has been remodeled to look like a 1950s "Old Florida" packinghouse, and includes a gift shop and fruit store.

The name of Orlampa obviously comes from a concatenation of Orlando and Tampa. Similarly named real places include Sanlando Springs, Florida, SeaTac, Washington and the BosWash megalopolis. Orlando and Tampa have no plans for a similar metropolis, though they have been moving towards regional cooperation, including the Florida High-Tech Corridor Council (in charge of promoting high-tech business along Interstate 4) and the failed 2012 Olympic bid.

External links

• Fantasy of Fruit, Lakeland Ledger September 23, 2004
• The Road to Cooperation, Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce Chamber News October 7, 2002