GRANT PARK (ATLANTA)

'Grant Park' is the oldest city park in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Fourth in size only to Chastain Park, Freedom Park and Piedmont Park, Grant Park has two major attractions besides the park itself: Zoo Atlanta, established in 1889 and originally known as the Grant Park Zoo; and the Atlanta Cyclorama, a cyclorama featuring the 1864 Battle of Atlanta from the American Civil War. The park serves over two million visitors per year.

Contents

History

Neighborhood

References

External links

History

Grant Park was established in 1882 when Lemuel P. Grant, a successful engineer and businessman, gave the city of Atlanta 100 acres (40 hectares) in the newly-developed "suburb" where he lived. In 1890, the city acquired another 44 acres (17.6 hectares) 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.
After years of neglect and abuse, in 1996 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.

Neighborhood

'Grant Park' is also the in-town neighborhood surrounding Grant Park, and is Atlanta's largest historic neighborhood. It includes the 88 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 Grant Mansion for which the area was named. The Grant Park Neighborhood Association represents local residents.
The Neighborhood is home to St. Paul United Methodist Church (Grant Park -- Atlanta), which for a time in the early 1900s had the largest Methodist congregation in the Southeast, and which continues to be a thriving congregation welcoming to all people. St. Paul is well known for its beautiful stained glass windows and an organ that was acquired in 1887. Each December, St. Paul and the Grant Park Cooperative Preschool, which is located in the basement of St. Paul, host the Grant Park candlelight tour of homes and artist market.

References

1. National Register Information System

External links

★ Grant Park Neighborhood Association

★ Grant Park Conservancy

★ Historic Oakland Foundation

★ Zoo Atlanta

★ Grant Park Summer Shade Festival

★ Grant Park Parent Network

★ Grant Park Parents Yahoo Group
'Preschool Programs'

★ Grant Park Cooperative Preschool (GPCP)

★ Kingfisher Academy

★ The Children's Garden
'Churches'

★ St. Paul United Methodist Church
'Schools'

★ Neighborhood Charter School

★ Imagine Wesley

★ Kingfisher Academy
'Maps'

★ Map of Grant Park