PIEDMONT PARK

'Piedmont Park' is the 189 acre "Central Park" of Atlanta, Georgia, located in Midtown, north of the city center. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Franklin 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 (later renamed the Piedmont Driving Club), who wanted to establish an exclusive club and racing ground for horse enthusiasts. The original Walker residence has been incorporated as a room in the clubhouse. The Driving Club entered an agreement with the Piedmont Exposition Company to use the land for fairs and expositions and later gave the park its name.^[2]

Contents

History and design

Current usage

Sports and Exercise

Dogs and Dog Park

Planned expansion

Parking garage controversy

References

External links

History and design

The Piedmont Exposition of 1887 held the first commercial viewing of a motion picture in the U.S. The park today is largely as Joseph Forsyth Johnson designed it for the exposition.^[3] In 1892, Piedmont Park was the location of the second football game in the South between Auburn University and the University of Georgia (Auburn won the game 10-0).^[4]
The Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895 attracted visitors from around the world to the future site of Piedmont Park. President Grover Cleveland presided over the opening of this World's Fair in October of 1895. John Philip Sousa's "King Cotton" march was created for the expo and was performed at the ceremony, and was conducted by the composer himself.^[5] Booker T. Washington delivered his famous Atlanta Compromise speech at the expo, which is "widely regarded as one of the most significant speeches in American history".^[6] Attractions included Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and the Liberty Bell.^[5] Most of the buildings that were constructed for the exposition were made of local Georgia granite. The buildings were dismantled after the event, mainly so that the granite could be sold to absolve the debt that the city incurred to hold the fair.

In 1904, the city bought the park for $98,000.^[8] In 1912, the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted (landscape architect for Central Park in New York) John and Frederick, Jr. were asked to design the park's master plan while they were at work on Grant Park. That plan was never fully implemented. During the 1980s and 1990s, revitalization efforts used the Olmsted master plan as the major guide in making improvements, but recent improvement efforts focus on projects which will allow the Park to handle more and larger special events. The 12th Street entrance at the building on the west end of Lake Clara Meer, the entrance and pedestrian walkway at The Prado, the large oval, and other features are the design of the Olmsted Brothers.
A centennial celebration was held for the park in June 2004.

Current usage

Piedmont Park is considered the focal point of the vibrant Midtown community of Atlanta. The park is home to various annual celebrations and events, including Atlanta Pride Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival and the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. A summer series of classic films, Screen on the Green, is also aired in the park for local residents. In 2004, Georgia Shakespeare Festival added an annual series of free performances entitled "Shake on the Lake" with Lake Clara Meer as a backdrop.^[9] The park is occasionally a host to local cross-dressing street performer Baton Bob.

Sports and Exercise

Piedmont Park is a popular place for organized sports. The Piedmont Tennis Center is a fully-staffed, public facility with 12 lighted hard courts, offering leagues, lessons, and supplies.^[10] The Active Oval has two softball fields, two soccer fields, and two beach volleyball courts, all ringed by a smooth, dirt running path. Kickball leagues also use the softball fields.
Individual exercisers also have plenty to do in the park, with several miles of paved paths suitable for walking, running, biking, and inline skating. Skate Escape across from the park at the 12th Street entrance rents both bikes and skates^[11], so the flat, mile-long loop around Lake Clara Meer makes the park a great location for learning to inline skate or roller skate. On weekend afternoons, skateboarders and inline skaters often share the open, paved area inside the 12th Street entrance^[12]

Dogs and Dog Park

With the exception of some festival weekends and special events, dogs are permitted in Piedmont Park, on leashes 6 feet or shorter for safety reasons. Owners must clean up after their dogs, and the park has a half-dozen plastic bag dispensing stations to facilitate this. Several of the park's water fountains also have a ground-level basin for dogs to use.
Just north of the Park Road entrance bridge is a separate, fenced-in Dog Park where friendly dogs (and their owners) can cavort with each other off-leash. There is even an additional fenced-in section exclusively for small dogs to play in.

Planned expansion

Approximately 50 acres in the northwest portion of the 187 acre park have never been accessible into the public. As of 2007, the plan called for a new parking deck as well as "open green space, bicycle and walking trails, formal and community gardens, an interactive water feature, children’s playgrounds, a skate park, athletic fields and woodlands."^[13] The project is expected to cost $72 million and the completion date is set for early 2010.^[14]

Parking garage controversy

In May, 2004, the Piedmont Park Conservancy unveiled a proposal sponsored and funded by the Atlanta Botanical Garden to build a 6-story, 800 car fee-based parking garage in the interior of Piedmont Park. Opponents, led by Friends of Piedmont Park, wanted the decision-making process to start over so that all alternatives could be explored and the best solutions implemented. Virtually every Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU), over 50 civic and neighborhood groups and the Atlanta Urban Design Commission voted to oppose the proposed parking deck.
Despite the public's opposition, on November 21, 2005, the parking garage was approved by the Atlanta City Council and signed by Mayor Shirley Franklin with a planned ground breaking in 2007. However, on January 17, 2007, Friends of Piedmont Park and several citizens filed a suit in Fulton County Superior Court to halt construction of the parking garage.

References

1. National Register Information System
2. Park History
3. History of Piedmont Park
4. Georgia Football History
5. Atlanta History
6. Atlanta Compromise Speech
7. Atlanta History
8. Piedmont Park Apartments
9. Piedmont Park
10. Piedmont Tennis Center Official Site
11. Skate Escape Bike and Skate Rental
12. Atlanta Peachtree Road Rollers Group Skates
13. Northern Expansion
14. Piedmont Park set for expansion

External links

★ Official Park Site

★ Friends of Piedmont Park

★ Atlanta Pride

★ Atlanta Jazz Festival

★ Atlanta Dogwood Festival

★ Screen on the Green

★ Then/Now photos of Piedmont Park

★ Another set of Then/Now photos of Piedmont Park