Grant Park Historic District | |
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| Location | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
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| Coordinates | 33°44′10″N84°22′16″W / 33.736°N 84.371°W |
| Built | 1858 |
| Architect | Olmsted Brothers |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman, Italianate, Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000722 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 20, 1979 |
Grant Park refers to the oldest city park in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, as well as the Victorian neighborhood surrounding it.
Grant Park is a 131-acre green space and recreational area and is the fourth-largest park in the city, behind Chastain Park, Freedom Park and Piedmont Park. Zoo Atlanta, established in 1889 and originally known as the Grant Park Zoo, is located in the park and attracts more than 1 million visitors annually.
Grant Park was established in 1883 when Lemuel P. Grant, a successful engineer and businessman, gave the city of Atlanta 100 acres (40 ha ) in the newly developed "suburb" where he lived. [2] In 1890, the city acquired another 44 acres (18 ha) for the park and appointed its first park commissioner, Sidney Root. In 1903, the Olmsted Brothers (sons of Frederick Law Olmsted) were hired to create a plan for the park. The original park included a lake, named Lake Abana, to handle storm-water runoff.
A failed circus gave birth to the eventual Zoo Atlanta when local lumber merchant George Gress purchased animals from the circus and donated them to the city in 1889. The city decided Grant Park was the best location for the zoo and carved space out for the attraction. Later zoo expansions and parking requirements caused the removal of a portion of the lake. In 1892, the circular painting of the Battle of Atlanta was exhibited in the park. The cyclorama would eventually gain its own dedicated building in the park in 1921. Near the zoo is the Erskine Memorial Fountain, Atlanta's first public fountain, which was built in 1896 and moved to Grant Park in 1912. [3] In 1948, another park landmark, the Thomas W. Talbot Monument, was dedicated by members of the International Association of Machinists, honoring their founder, Thomas W. Talbot. [4]
In 1996, after years of neglect and abuse, the City of Atlanta Parks Bureau commissioned a new master plan for the park. The consultants working on the plan met with a citizen advisory group that would eventually become the Grant Park Conservancy. The Conservancy works to raise funds to enhance and protect the park for the enjoyment of all its visitors.
Grant Park, the intown neighborhood surrounding the park, is one of Atlanta's oldest and most important historic districts, listed on the NRHP. [5] It is bordered by the Cabbagetown neighborhood on the north, Ormewood Park on the east, Boulevard Heights on the southeast, Chosewood Park on the south, and Summerhill and Peoplestown on the west.
It includes the park, 48 acres or 35 hectares of Oakland Cemetery (established 1850), where Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, 25 former mayors of Atlanta, six former governors of Georgia, and many Civil War dead are buried. It also includes the Atlanta Stockade; Fort Walker; and the 1858 mansion of Lemuel P. Grant, for whom the park and neighborhood were named. The mansion is the oldest house still standing on its original location in Atlanta. The Grant Park Neighborhood Association represents local residents.[ citation needed ]
Together with Inman Park, Grant Park contains the largest remaining area of Victorian architecture in Atlanta. Most buildings were built between the neighborhood's founding in 1882 and the first decades of the 20th century. Large two-story mansions face the park, more modest two-story, modified Queen Anne houses were built on surrounding streets, and one-story Victorian era cottages and Craftsman bungalows were built to the east of the park. [5]
The neighborhood is home to St. Paul United Methodist Church, which for a time in the early 1900s had the largest Methodist congregation in the Southeast. St. Paul is well known for its beautiful stained glass windows and an organ that was acquired in 1887. Each December, St. Paul, the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool (which is located on the first floor of St. Paul), and the Grant Park Parent Network host the Grant Park Candlelight Tour of Homes and Artist Market. There is also a Tour of Homes in the autumn sponsored by the Grant Park Neighborhood Association.[ citation needed ]
Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, located about 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's farm and residence. He sold the land in 1887 to the Gentlemen's Driving Club, who wanted to establish an exclusive club and racing ground for horse enthusiasts. The Driving Club entered an agreement with the Piedmont Exposition Company, headed by prominent Atlantan Charles A. Collier, to use the land for fairs and expositions and later gave the park its name.
Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman.
Parks in Chicago include open spaces and facilities, developed and managed by the Chicago Park District. The City of Chicago devotes 8.5% of its total land acreage to parkland, which ranked it 13th among high-density population cities in the United States in 2012. Since the 1830s, the official motto of Chicago has been Urbs in horto, Latin for "City in a garden" for its commitment to parkland. In addition to serving residents, a number of these parks also double as tourist destinations, most notably Lincoln Park, Chicago's largest park, visited by over 20 million people each year, is one of the most visited parks in the United States. Notable architects, artists and landscape architects have contributed to the 570 parks, including Daniel Burnham, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jens Jensen, Dwight Perkins, Frank Gehry, and Lorado Taft.
East Atlanta is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The name East Atlanta Village primarily refers to the neighborhood's commercial district.
Candler Park is a 55-acre city park located at 585 Candler Park Drive NE, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is named after Coca-Cola magnate Asa Griggs Candler, who donated this land to the city in 1922. The park features a nine-hole golf course, a swimming pool, a football/soccer field, a basketball court, tennis courts, and a playground.
Victorian Village is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States, north and near west of downtown. It is an established neighborhood built when a streetcar line first ran along Neil Avenue around 1900 with a fair number of established trees for an urban setting. To preserve, protect and enhance the unique architectural and historical features, the Victorian Village Historic District was established in 1973. Columbus Monthly named this neighborhood the top place to live for Arts and Entertainment, with fun right around the corner in the Short North as its neighborhood hangout.
Lemuel Pratt Grant (1817–1893) was an American engineer and businessman. He was Atlanta's quintessential railroad man as well as a major landowner and civic leader. In railroads he served as a laborer, chief engineer, speculator and executive all over the South. As part of his speculation, he owned enormous tracts of land in strategic areas. For example, at one point he owned more than 600 acres (240 ha) in what is now Atlanta. He designed and built Atlanta's defenses during the American Civil War and afterwards became an important civic leader: donating the land for Grant Park, Atlanta's first large park, and serving as councilman and on various boards and committees. His mansion is one of only four remaining original antebellum houses in the city of Atlanta.
Oakhurst is a historic neighborhood in the southwest corner of Decatur, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. It is located south of downtown Decatur and approximately six miles east of downtown Atlanta. Oakhurst primarily consists of residences built in the early 20th century and neighborhood businesses. It is roughly bounded by the City of Atlanta's Kirkwood neighborhood on the west ; the Atlanta city limits on the south; West College Ave. on the north; and South McDonough St. on the east. There is also a neighborhood near the College Heights Early Learning Center referred to as "College Heights", but it is part of Historic Oakhurst.
Delaware Park–Front Park System is a historic park system and national historic district in the northern and western sections of Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and developed between 1868 and 1876.
Roger Williams Park is an elaborately landscaped 427-acre (173 ha) city park in Providence, Rhode Island and a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park is named after Roger Williams, the founder of the city of Providence and the primary founder of the state of Rhode Island.
Cloverdale is a neighborhood within the American city of Montgomery, Alabama. It is the largest garden-landscaped neighborhood in the state of Alabama. Built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is one of Montgomery's "genteel" areas. The term serves two purposes: the "original" Cloverdale area, and the larger area, which includes other historic neighborhoods such as Cloverdale-Idlewild.
City Park is an urban park and neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. The park is 330 acres (1.3 km2) and is located in east-central Denver. The park contains the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Ferril and Duck Lakes, and a boathouse. City Park is also the name of the neighborhood that contains the park, though the park is the vast majority of the neighborhood. To the immediate north of the park is the City Park Golf Course. City Park is the largest park in Denver.
Franklin Park, a partially wooded 527-acre (2.13 km2) parkland in the Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts, is maintained by the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department. It is Boston's biggest park and the site of Franklin Park Zoo. It was designated a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in August 1980.
The architecture of metropolitan Detroit continues to attract the attention of architects and preservationists alike. With one of the world's recognizable skylines, Detroit's waterfront panorama shows a variety of architectural styles. The post-modern neogothic spires of One Detroit Center refer to designs of the city's historic Art Deco skyscrapers. Together with the Renaissance Center, they form the city's distinctive skyline.
St. Paul United Methodist Church is located in the historic Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. For a time in the early 1900s, St. Paul had the largest Methodist congregation in the Southeastern United States. The church organ was acquired at the Cotton States Exhibition in 1887. St. Paul's stained glass windows, which date back to 1907, are being refurbished. St. Paul is a main stop on tours of the Grant Park neighborhood given by the Atlanta Preservation Center. St. Paul is also home to the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool. St. Paul, the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool and the Grant Park Parent Network host the annual Grant Park Candlelight Tour of Homes, which also includes an artist marketplace and a Winter Wonderland for children. The Candlelight Tour of Homes begins at St. Paul.
Boulevard is a street in and, as a corridor, a subdistrict, of the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The street runs east of, and parallel to, Atlanta's Downtown Connector. It begins at Ponce de Leon Avenue in the north, passing through the Old Fourth Ward, Cabbagetown, and Grant Park, and forming the border between Chosewood Park on the west and Boulevard Heights and Benteen Park to the east. It ends at McDonough Boulevard in the south, at the Federal Penitentiary.
Murphey Candler Park is a 135-acre multi-use park located in Brookhaven, Georgia, United States. The park is owned and operated by the City of Brookhaven. Park amenities include multi-use fields, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a playground, picnic areas, a lake, and trails. Youth sports are offered through baseball, softball, and football programs that operate through the park. The lake at Murphey Candler Park offers fishing, and it is home to largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, and channel catfish. The lake is also home to Canada Geese, Mallards, other ducks and beavers.
Asa Griggs "Buddie" Candler Jr. was an American businessman and the son of Asa Griggs Candler, founder of The Coca-Cola Company. Candler Jr. helped build his father's business into an empire. He later became a real-estate developer, opening the Briarcliff Hotel at the corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and N. Highland Ave in the Virginia–Highland neighborhood of Atlanta.
Eastside refers to the city district comprising the easternmost portion of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The Eastside generally encompasses the area bounded on the west by Midtown Atlanta and Downtown Atlanta and on the east by the city limits. The central corridor of the district is the BeltLine Eastside Trail, which connects northern Eastside neighborhoods with those to the south. The Eastside is known for its nightlife establishments, craftsman architecture, local eateries, and quirky public art.
The Erskine Memorial Fountain is a public fountain in Grant Park of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Designed by J. Massey Rhind in honor of John Erskine, it was the first public fountain in Atlanta. The fountain was built in 1896 and moved to its current location in 1912.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2008) |
Media related to Grant Park, Atlanta at Wikimedia Commons
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