Lake Eola
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| Lake Eola | |
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| Location | Downtown Orlando, Florida |
| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | sinkhole |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 23 acres (9.3 ha) |
Lake Eola is a small lake in Downtown Orlando, Florida, located at in Summerlin Park (commonly mistakenly called Lake Eola Park). The lake is actually a sinkhole and it is famous for its fountain. The sinkhole is located north of the fountain and goes to a depth of approximately 80 ft. The fountain changes colors at night like a light show and in the daytime it looks like a UFO landed in the pond. The lake is 4,529 feet in circumference and 23 acres large. A 0.85-mile (1.37 km) multi-use sidewalk circles the water.
The lake is surrounded by 4 streets. They are:
- East Robinson Street (State Road 526)
- Rosalind Avenue (SR 527)
- East Central Boulevard
- North Eola Drive
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[edit] History
The park and pond were established in 1888 when the first parcel of land, the first of many that were donated to the City of Orlando by several different families. The area was officially declared as a park in 1892. Oddly, at times, the park was a zoo, a horse race track, tennis courts, a pier with a dance area, and music broadcast by a local radio station. The fountain was installed in 1912 with a cost of $10,000 dollars. A replacement, originally dubbed the "Millennium Fountian," was installed in 1957 with a cost of $350,000 dollars.
[edit] Hours
6 a.m. to midnight.
[edit] Events
Spin City Classic: March - Spring time sanctioned professional and amateur bicycle racing on the streets around the park.
Fiesta in the Park: (Hours 10 am - 5 pm both days) - First full weekend in November and in April - (600) Booth Arts/Crafts Show, entertainment and food, It's a great time to obtain hand made gifts for the holidays.
Fire Works Over the Fountain: July 4th celebration entertainment and food start 4 pm and fire works at dark.
[edit] Drought
In 2007, Lake Eola seemed to be experiencing a drought almost, where the water level decreased drastically. This is confirmed as the small rental boats cannot be taken out on the lake and the underside of the fountain can be seen. Service crews had to partially drain the lake that year to perform maintenace on the drainage surrounding systems. The lake has since returned to normal levels via rainwater runoff.
