East Lake was planned in 1886 by the East Lake Land Company to help sell home sites to the men who came in the 1870's to work in Birmingham's steel industry. First named Lake Como, after the lake in the Italian Alps, it soon came to be called East Lake. Using water from Roebuck Springs and Village Creek this 45 acre man - made lake, within a 100 acre park, enhanced the area by providing a year round pleasure resort.
In a short time East Lake Park became a major recreational center of the Birmingham area and in 1887 a street car line was run out to the park. Among the amusement offered at the park through the years were a ferris wheel, a shooting gallery, boating, fishing, swimming, water skiing, golf, baseball, a steamboat, a zoo, and band concerts and other entertainment in the pavilion.
The City of Birmingham purchased the park in 1917 and today, East Lake Park is one of the largest municipal recreational facilities in Alabama.
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