Happy birthday, Lake Eola! Here are 8 fun facts about the Orlando park

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando’s Lake Eola Park looks good for having just turned 140 years old.

The giant sinkhole-turned-lake, around which downtown Orlando life has only grown and developed since May 10, 1883, is the center point of the City Beautiful for many.

Whether you like to exercise along the nearly 1-mile loop, enjoy a ride on the swan paddleboats or catch a show at the Walt Disney Amphitheater, Lake Eola has something for everyone.

In honor of Lake Eola’s birthday, here are some fun facts about it.

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• Lake Eola was formed shortly after Jacob Summerlin, the “Cattle King of Florida” himself, purchased 200 acres of land in what is now downtown Orlando. The sinkhole turned into a beautiful lake, formerly known by locals as Sandy Beach, with the help of a natural aquifer 200 feet below ground and the flooding of storm water.
• Summerlin donated the strip of land around the lake to the city of Orlando on May 10, 1883, and it was renamed after his departed sweetheart. The land became a public city park in 1888.
• Lake Eola is a giant sinkhole with depths reaching 80 feet.
• The first Lake Eola swans arrived in 1922 thanks to an Englishman raising the birds on Lake Lucerne. Since then, the area has become home to more than 50 swans from five different breeds, including whooper, royal mute, trumpeter, Australian black and black neck
• The Eola House, which sits on the side of the park’s loop, was built in 1924 by George Marsh and now features park offices and event spaces. Tours are offered and the house is open to the public daily from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Nelson Ting donated Lake Eola’s pagoda, originally built in Shanghai, to the city of Orlando as a token of friendship. The Japanese rock garden at the park was also gifted as a token of eternal friendship and sister city affiliation by Su Nan-Cheng, the mayor of Taina, Taiwan. Legend has it the marble was sculpted by the winds for over 10,000 years and discovered high in the mountains in Hua-Lien.
• The Walt Disney Ampitheater, also known as the Band Shell, was built in 1886.
• The tiered fountain at the center of Lake Eola was originally built in 1957. It was designed in similar styles found in England, Spain and Italy, to bolster the city’s prominence. The fountain was struck by lightning in 2009 and has since been renovated. Today, the fountain has a 6-minute choreographed light show set to music nightly at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

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