Lake Mirror Park, Lakeland, FL

By Dawn Henthorn, About.com Guide

Located in the heart of downtown Lakeland is Lake Mirror and its Promenade. The community recreation area was the vision of Tom Appleyard, the manager of Lakeland's Chamber of Commerce in the early 1920s. Charles W. Leavitt, the noted New York landscape architect brought Appleyard's vision to reality. The original design, called for an amphitheatre and a sculpture that were eliminated due to the cost, but the seawall along the northern and southern shores and the wide pedestrian path were completed in 1926.

Throughout the years, the Promenade, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been a source of pride within the community. While conceived in the 1920s, about 20 years ago reconstruction began to restore the Promenade to its original grandeur and vision. Lake Mirror Park and amphitheater were dedicated in the fall of 1999 and Hollis Garden opened in 2000 on the southeast shore of the lake. A sculpture also graces the northeast shore.

Lake Mirror is located off Massachusetts Avenue (Hwy. 33) in Downtown Lakeland. It is bordered by Lake Mirror Drive.