Lake Eola Park is a public park located in

Downtown Orlando Downtown Orlando is the historic core and central business district of Orlando, Florida, United States. It is bordered by Marks Street in the north, Mills Avenue ( SR 15) in the east, Orange Blossom Trail ( US 441) in the west, and Kaley Avenue in ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. Lake Eola is the main feature of the park. Also located in the park (on the west side) is the Walt Disney Amphitheater, which hosts many community events and various performances year round. On the east side of the park is a Chinese pagoda, and a playground. The park is surrounded by four streets: East Robinson Street ( State Road 526), Rosalind Avenue ( SR 527), East Central Boulevard, and North Eola Drive.

Lake Eola

Lake Eola is a small

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

within the South Eola neighborhood of

, located at in Lake Eola Park. The lake is actually a

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

and is famous for its

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

. The sinkhole is approximately deep and is located east of the fountain. The fountain changes colors at night like a light show. The lake is in

circumference In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out ...

and large. A multi-use sidewalk surrounds the water.

History

In 1883, wealthy Orlando resident

Jacob Summerlin Jacob Summerlin (February 20, 1820 – November 4, 1893), aka the King of the Crackers and King of the Cracker Cow Hunters, was documented as the first child born in Florida after the land was ceded by Spain. This was again validated in about ...

—owner of the Summerlin Hotel, the first City Council president, and financial lender for the construction of Orlando's courthouse in the 1870s—donated a large tract of land to establish a park in Orlando. In 1883, Summerlin came to a city council meeting and offered the land around the lake on the condition that it be beautified and turned into a park. He also required that the city plant trees and put a "driveway" around the lake. To ensure that the city followed through with the stipulations of the donation, Summerlin put reverter clauses in the contract to allow his heirs to reclaim the property if the city failed in its obligations. Several years later, his sons threatened to exercise the reverter clause if the city did not make good on its promise. Today, the park is still maintained according to his requirement that it be kept beautiful. The park was informally established in 1888 using the first parcel of land; it was the first of many that were donated to the City of Orlando by several families. His sons named it Lake Eola, after a lady they both knew. The area was officially declared as a park in 1892. The park area has been home to a zoo; a horse race track; tennis courts; a pier with a dance area; and the broadcast site of a local radio station. The fountain was installed in 1912 at a cost of $10,000. A replacement, originally dubbed the "Centennial Fountain," was installed in 1957 at a cost of $350,000. It was renamed the "Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain" in 1966 to honor its biggest advocate. The iconic water feature is an official symbol of Orlando. Lake Eola Park was expanded in 1993 with the closure of Washington Street, which ran between Lee's Lakeside restaurant and the park. With the expansion, the restaurant and Post Parkside Apartments were now located in the park. The International Food Court was also created at this time. In late August 2009,

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

struck the fountain, rendering it inoperable. The city has a $1 million

insurance policy In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial payment, known a ...

on the fountain, with a $500,000 deductible. Because of the city's then-current budget crisis, the fate of the fountain was unknown. On October 15, 2009, Mayor

Buddy Dyer John Hugh "Buddy" Dyer (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who is the 32nd Mayor of Orlando. First elected in 2003, he is Orlando's longest-serving mayor. He is a member of the Florida Democratic Party. Previously he represented Orl ...

announced that the city would not only repair the fountain, but "also replace its cracked plastic skin and install a state-of-the-art system of lights and water jets" at a cost of $2.3 million. The fountain was rededicated and resumed operation on July 4, 2011. In July 2013 the park expanded to the Southeast to include East Washington Street. The expansion added an extra 1.36 acres of lawn, new LED lighting, widened sidewalks, nearly 4,000 square feet of paved patio and an additional 7,500 square feet of brick paved space on East Washington Street. In September 2013 the City opened Eola House at 512 East Washington Street. The house sits on the expanded part of the park and serves as a welcome center, gift shop and park offices for the Lake Eola Park. Also in 2013, six sculptures were installed by the non-profit

See Art Orlando See Art Orlando (SAO) is a non-profit founded by Jennifer Quigley that raises money to install public art in the City of Orlando. In 2013, SAO installed eight sculptures in downtown Orlando. Most of the sculptures are at Lake Eola Park. All of the ...

Events

*Spin City Classic (March): sanctioned professional and amateur bicycle racing on the streets around the park. *Fireworks Over the Fountain (

July 4th Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and procla ...

): celebration, entertainment, and food. Starts at 4 p.m. with fireworks at dark. *Fiesta in the Park (First full weekend in November, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.): a 600-booth arts and crafts show with entertainment and food. *Come Out With Pride (October): LGBT pride festival hosted at the park with a parade, vendors, food, and fireworks at dark. *The Nutcracker Ballet (December): performed by Russian Ballet Orlando, this ballet has been performed at the Walt Disney Amphitheater every December from 2003 to 2020. *Lake Eola Park Events are posted monthly on the Walt Disney Amphitheater at Lake Eola billboard on the northwest corner of the park. Additional event and park info is locate
here.

Other activities

*Orlando Farmers Market: Every Sunday from 10am-4:00pm.

References

External links