Lake Eola and its history.
I would like to start this post off by saying how wonderful it is to be able to discover history in your own town. Statues or buildings that we pass by every day and never pay mind to turn into a gold mine of history once we begin to realize what we are looking at. This assignment has given me an opportunity to explore an area of Orlando that I have been to many times but never took a step back to study and appreciate the history of the area. Lake Eola park is an example of an area of town that has a lot of history that is not known to the average person. This area contributed to the growth of the local community that lived in these parts from the time the lake was formed back in the times of the Florida cowboys up until today.
If you are familiar with the Orlando area you will know the name Lake Eola. Before it became a lake, it was a piece of land that belonged to Jacob Summerlin, the "Cattle King of Florida". According to research, it is said that shortly after the land was purchased a sink hole started to form at the edge of the property which then became what we know now as Lake Eola. Summerlin helped establish Lake Eola Park by donating some of his land for public use which helped make this a popular location for settlers to spend time with their family on a hot Summer day. (Payne, 2019) Although this makes up the majority of the story there are still more questions to ask. What did the development of Lake Eola park contribute to the city? How would the area have been different if there was no lake? The location of this lake eventually transitioned into a residential area after the "Big Freeze' in 1895. Without this freeze happening, the area would not have been subdivided into a residential area. Without the residential area existing, we would have never seen the construction of homes, educational and religious organizations or commercial buildings in the early 1900's. We are here now because of where we came from and this is what makes the history of this lake so important to the Orlando area.
I will show you some of the most important things I found during my walk in Lake Eola today. I spent about an hour walking the area today and what made me most curious was the types of buildings I saw, what era they could be from, and what they meant to the people that existed during its prime. I learned about old hotels that were converted to shops or homes and many more facts. The Band Shell aka the Amphitheater aka the Walt Disney Amphitheater was originally on the south side of the lake since 1886 and was re-built on the west side of Lake Eola. This amphitheater has the honor of having many bands come on stage since the time it was built. Other important reminders of Orlando's history are spread throughout the park such as the Sperry Fountain which is an exact replica of the original fountain donated in 1913 by the Mayor of Orlando, E.F. Sperry. The site of John Mott's home, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who built a home around Lake Eola in 1920. The reason this home is so important is because of what the unique Mediterranean Revival style the home brought to the area. The exterior of these homes at the time would feature red tiled roofs, as well as bricks or stucco painted white. This is why this home was saved as a historical sight so that we may always be able to reach a piece of the past. Last but not least, the Chinese Pavilion that was donated in 1988 as a symbol of international friendship.
Where would we be today without understanding our history, our cities history, or where we come from? Without learning history we would not be able to appreciate the hard work that others put in to create our society or our communities.People of the past were just like us, living, inventing, surviving. If Summerlin would have never been a cowboy and became one of the richest men he probably wouldn't have bought the land. If that land was never purchased it would have never had an opportunity for it to become what it is today. Lake Eola is a beautiful place that many people have enjoyed throughout time and for me it is an honor to be able to look out into the water and see exactly the same thing that those of the past saw as well.
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