Editing Winter Park, Florida (section)

===The Winter Park Sinkhole {{anchor|sinkhole}}===
{{Split section|Winter Park sinkhole |discuss={{TALKPAGENAME}}#Splitting proposal |date=December 2021}}
[[File:Winter-park-florida-sinkhole-1981-11-USGS.png|thumb|right|alt=Gathering of people at top edge of sinkhole appear tiny compared to sloping sides of sinkhole about 70 feet deep and a few hundred feet across. Debris is scattered on slope and floating in dirty water in bottom of sinkhole. |U.S. Geological Survey photo showing large size of 1981 Winter Park, Florida, sinkhole]]
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In 1972, Henry Swanson, an agricultural agent and "resident layman expert on Central Florida water,"  wrote a letter to the editor warning Orange County mayors of the sinkhole danger that could be posed by overdevelopment and excessive groundwater use. Swanson predicted that the west Winter Park area would be especially at risk.<ref name=Timeline>{{cite news|last=Robinson|first=Jim|title=A Sinkhole Chronology|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1987/12/27/a-sinkhole-chronology/|access-date=5 March 2013|newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=27 December 1987|quote=In letters to all of the mayors in Orange County, Henry Swanson, agricultural agent and resident layman expert on Central Florida water, warns that if local governments continue to allow too much water to be drawn from the ground and allow developers to cover the land with buildings and parking lots, they can expect sinkholes, especially in the west Winter Park area.}}</ref>  In May 1981, during a period of record-low water levels in Florida's [[limestone]] [[aquifer]], a massive [[sinkhole]] opened near the corner of Denning Drive and Fairbanks Avenue.

The sinkhole first appeared on the evening of May 8, 1981, near the house of Winter Park resident Mae Rose Williams.<ref name=Sentinel>{{cite news|last=Grove|first=Jim|title=In 1981, World Was Riveted by the Saga of the Sinkhole|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1996/11/15/in-1981-world-was-riveted-by-the-saga-of-the-sinkhole/|access-date=5 March 2013|newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=15 November 1996|quote=On Friday evening, May 8, 1981, Mae Rose Owens - now Mae Rose Williams - was playing with her dog, Muffin, in the front yard of her home on West Comstock Avenue on the west side of Winter Park when she heard a 'queer, swishing' noise.}}</ref><ref name=Muffin>{{cite news|title=Pictures: Winter Park sinkhole|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/os-fla360-pictures-winter-park-sinkhole-20121113,0,5366877.photogallery|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=5 March 2013|quote=In 1981, Mae Rose Williams with her dog Muffin, the pooch who stood outside barking fiercely when the Winter Park sinkhole started to open.}}</ref> Within a few hours, a 40-year-old [[Platanus occidentalis|sycamore tree]] near her house had fallen into the sinkhole.<ref name=Sentinel/><ref name=Sinking-Feeling>{{cite news|last=Rajtar|first=Gayle and Steve|title=That Sinking Feeling: When Mae Rose Owens heard a 'ploop' back in May 1981, she didn't realize just how big a hole she was in|url=http://winterparkmag.com/winterparkmag/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=676&Itemid=78|access-date=5 March 2013|newspaper=Winter Park Magazine|date=May 2010|quote=When she looked outside, she saw a sycamore tree disappear as if it were being pulled downward by the roots, making a sound that she described as a 'ploop.'}}</ref> The next morning, the hole expanded to nearly {{convert|40|ft}} wide.<ref name=Sinking-Feeling/> In a story in the ''Orlando Sentinel'', she said that as the sun rose, she heard a noise "like giant beavers chewing" as the hole began to devour more of her land. The hole was collapsing rapidly.<ref name=Sinking-Feeling/> By noon, as she realized that her home was slipping into the expanding hole, she and the family evacuated and removed their belongings. That afternoon her house fell into the sinkhole, and within a few hours the house was irrevocably on its way into the sinkhole's center, headed to unknown depths.

The hole eventually widened to {{convert|320|ft|m}} and to a depth of {{convert|90|ft|m}}. The following fell into the sinkhole: five Porsches at a repair shop, a pickup truck with camper top, the Winter Park municipal pool, and large portions of Denning Drive.<ref name=Toilets>{{cite news|title=Winter Park sinkhole photo gallery|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/os-fla360-pictures-winter-park-sinkhole-20121113,0,5366877.photogallery|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> By May 9, nearly {{convert|250000|yd3}} of earth had fallen into the sinkhole. Damage was estimated at $2 million to $4 million.<ref name=Timeline/> On May 9, 1981, the sinkhole grew to a record size, gulping down 250,000 cubic yards of soil and taking with it the deep end of an Olympic-size swimming pool, chunks of two streets and Williams' three-bedroom home and yard. Florida engineers have described the event as "the largest sinkhole event witnessed by man as a result of natural geological reasons or conditions."<ref name=Sinking-Feeling/> They based their statements on his study of 2,000 sinkholes over more than 40 years. That opinion was echoed by Ardaman & Associates, a local engineering consulting firm.

The sinkhole drew national attention and became a popular tourist attraction during the summer of 1981. A carnival-like atmosphere arose around the area, with vendors selling food, balloons, and T-shirts to visitors. The city of Winter Park sold sinkhole photographs for promotional and educational purposes.<ref name=Timeline/> On July 9, 1981, Winter Park began selling sinkhole photographs to educate the community about sinkholes and to promote tourism. The sinkhole began to fill with water that summer, but on July 19, the water level suddenly dropped by a reported {{convert|15|to|20|ft}}.<ref name=Timeline/>

As the novelty wore off, the city worked to repair the damage. Workers were able to recover four of the six vehicles that fell into the sinkhole, including the travel trailer, whose owner drove it away, and three of the five Porsches. The other two remain at the bottom of the lake with Mae Rose Owens' home. Engineers filled in the bottom with dirt and concrete.<ref name=Sentinel/>  Diver reports from 2009 suggest that the lake has since been used to dispose of unwanted vehicles.<ref name=Sinking-Feeling/> Besides a 1987 incident in which the bottom of the lake suddenly dropped {{convert|20|ft}}, causing erosion on the southern rim, the stabilized sinkhole has been generally quiet.<ref name=Timeline/>