Lake Ella
Encyclopedia
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
central Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
on US 27
U.S. Route 27
U.S. Route 27 is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 in Fort Wayne, Indiana...
just south of Tharpe Street, and just north of Downtown. Lake Ella has an area of 12 acres (49,000 m²). Once used for cattle, it now has three fountains and is used for recreation, flood protection and stormwater pollution control.
History
Lake Ella was originally called Bull pond (sometimes spelled Buhl). Records for this name date back as far as 1867 when some local black churches held baptisms in its clear waters. In 1867 some 2000 "freedmen" gathered there for a day-long political rally.In the early 20th century Lake Ella became part of the "Old Spanish Trail", a coast-to-coast highway extending from San Diego to St. Augustine, Fl. This was one of a network of named roads, so named to promote tourism.
On the west bank of the lake are several cottages that were once part of the Tallahassee Motor Hotel, a hotel opened by Gilbert S. Chandler in 1925 to cater to this tourist trade. Around the same time the lake was renamed from Bull Pond to Lake Ella.
These cottages were once used as lakefront honeymoon rooms but are now occupied by local businesses. On the north shore of the lake is American Legion Post 13.
Recreation
Lake Ella is incorporated into the 6.5 acre (26,000 m²) Fred Drake Park. The park has picnic shelters, a site for community activities such as amateur astronomy and exercising, and a paved walking trail that completely encircles the lake. Visitors can walk, skate, or skateboard the 0.6mi around the lake. Visitors also enjoy feeding the many ducks, geese, pigeons, and turtles that live at the lake.On Jan 24, 2009, Lake Ella hosted a group of Tibetan monks
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
on their visit to Tallahassee. They spent a week creating a sand mandala
Sand mandala
The Sand Mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand...
at The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science
The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science
The Mary Brogan Museum of Arts and Science is located at 350 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, Florida. It houses interactive science exhibits and an art collection....
. The monks then destroyed the mandala in a "special dissolution ritual" and brought the sand to Lake Ella "so that its healing energies would be dispersed throughout the world." On December 13, 2010, the monks arrived in Tallahassee for another visit, and dismantled the new mandala on December 19.
Stormwater control
In 1986, Lake Ella underwent extensive rehabilitation including sediment removal, reshaping of the shoreline, reducing the number of stormwaterStormwater
Stormwater is water that originates during precipitation events. It may also be used to apply to water that originates with snowmelt that enters the stormwater system...
inflow pipes, and installation of an automatic alum treatment system. Lake Ella receives stormwater runoff from an urban
Urbanized
Urbanized is a 2011 documentary film by Gary Hustwit released on 26 October 2011 and considered the third of a three-part series on design known as the Design Trilogy, the first being Helvetica about the typeface and the second being Objectified about industrial design.The documentary discusses...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
that is approximately 157 acres (635,000 m²) in area. During a typical year the lake treats somewhere around 250 million gallons (946,352 cu. m) of stormwater runoff. During normal water elevations the lake stores approximately 27 million gallons (102,206 cu. m) of water. During excessive rain events the lake can store an additional 9 million gallons (34,068 cu. m). Pollutant treatment is obtained through an automated system that doses alum
Alum
Alum is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate with the formula KAl2.12H2O. The wider class of compounds known as alums have the related empirical formula, AB2.12H2O.-Chemical properties:Alums are...
at six locations based on the volume of stormwater entering the lake. Alum, which is a substance used by some communities to treat drinking water, mixes with incoming stormwater and causes pollutants to settle to the lake bottom.
Lake Ella sometimes floods after severe storms, which can cause the surrounding roads to be closed for a few days.