Venue Information

In 1883, wealthy Orlando resident Jacob Summerlin—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 was 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 ...