Georgia Natural Wonder #269 - Grant Park

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #269 - Grant Park 

Searching for Natural Wonders in Atlanta and Fulton County Georgia, we come to Grant Park, a 131-acre green space and recreational area that 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. This deserves a Natural Wonder Post because of the Civil War History of being the only Atlanta Confederate defenses remaining, the connection to John Charles Olmsted (the nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted) in landscaping it, and for being home to what is now a World Class Zoo (We will cover the zoo in our next separate Wonder of Georgia). Grant Park can no longer lay claim as home of the Cyclorama or as home of the Pandas.

  

History

On May 17, 1883, Grant Park was established, and became Atlanta’s oldest park, when Colonel Lemuel P. Grant, a local successful engineer and businessman gifted the city 100 acres of parkland. “For park purposes for all Atlantans”. He was Atlanta's quintessential railroad man and the chief engineer of surveys and location of proposed roads in Alabama and Georgia. In 1844 and 1846, when Atlanta was known as Marthasville, Colonel Grant bought land lots 52, 53, and 44, containing about six hundred acres in strategic areas. For one of those lots he is said to have paid a dollar and a half per acre. That land was later worth an immense sum. In 1862, [C.S.A] Colonel Grant was appointed a captain of engineers for the Confederacy and retained that position to the end of the [Civil] War. His most important work was the construction of the defensive works around Atlanta and Augusta. Afterwards he became an important civic leader: donating the land where the Confederate defenses were, for Grant Park, Atlanta's first large park. 



The park and the Victorian neighborhood around it— both called Grant Park— are named for him. 

 

Civil War

Grant Park is the only surviving remnants of the Confederate entrenchments surrounding Atlanta. Although there was not any any military action here, they do provide a recount of how intricate the fortifications were. 



Our TRD Scrolling Nugget today was a hard one. But the Civil War Fort was our inspiration. Fort Walker and AC/DC.



Fort Walker at the South east corner of the park is named after General William Henry Talbot Walker. 

 Walker. 

We did a long tangent on him with our post on the Battle of Atlanta in DeKalb County (GNW #259). An upturned cannon waymark in the Glenwood Triangle of Atlanta currently marks the place where Walker was killed in DeKalb County just off I-20 and Glenwood Road.

 

These were our images of Fort Walker from that post.

 
Use to be a tower with fantastic view of Atlanta, I climbed as a kid.
 
 
Fort Walker in Atlanta. Was pretty fancy back in day, all cannons gone now.




Could see 1970's Atlanta. Capital left of wheel. First National Bank was tallest in Atlanta then.

TRD visit Fort Walker

I parked along Atlanta Avenue and walked through the Granite Columns probably built by William L. Monroe, Sr.

  

 
The sidewalk touts "The People's Playground". Retaining Wall all along Boulevard. 

 
Boulevard goes for miles in a straight line south. Fort Walker as you enter the park. 

 
Beautiful trees surround Fort Walker today.


All the Civil War Historical markers.








Looking back to the lone cannon now.


Marker on one side of monument.


Cannon is a polished granite replacement.

 
Markers reads Restored 2014 by Alfred Holt Colquitt chapter of the United daughters of the Confederacy. Can see stones where tower use to be. 


Can see Atlanta skyline from cannon. 

  
Move down a little and you get a beautiful shot of the Atlanta skyline and the state capital. 


Panoramic Fort Walker.

Vintage Grant Park

A gift to the city of Atlanta in 1883, Grant Park now welcomes over two million visitors each year. The popularity of the park grew with the addition of the zoo (1889) and Cyclorama (1893). Today, Grant Park is the oldest surviving city park in Atlanta. 

 

The park boasted at least five natural springs, and was heavily wooded.


Just South of Oakland Cemetery. 



With the help of the city’s first parks commissioner, Sidney Root, Grant Park quickly became a popular attraction. The next 20 years saw the addition of a zoo and the Cyclorama, a circular painting of the Battle of Atlanta. 



Lake Albana

Lake Abana provided park-goers with the opportunity to swim, fish and paddle boat.  From the 1880s to the mid-20th century, Atlantans spent summers cooling off at Lake Abana in Grant Park. Alongside it were a gigantic pool, tennis courts, and a pavilion that screened motion pictures. 



Tangent Professor Leon

In the first years of the park in 1886 a performer dubbed Professor Leon tightrope-walked across the lake, while his wife put on an “aerial sewing exhibition” atop a 50-foot-high platform. Nearly 10,000 people attended the show. Professor Leon was the stage name of J.A. St. John, he was known for his impressive feats, including performing over city streets and a long walk over Tallulah Gorge from the north to the south rim. 



His 1886 walk over the gorge was particularly notable as the highest and longest tightrope walk ever attempted at that time, and was seen as a major feat. Colonel Frank Young, saw Leon in Atlanta and enticed him to attempt to cross the gorge. His walk would take him from Point Inspiration to Lover’s Leap. Unlike Wallenda, decades later, Leon walked on a hemp rope across the gorge. He had to string the rope himself. Having only twenty-eight guy wires as opposed to the fifty-six that would later support Wallenda’s efforts, Leon faced much less stability in his narrow pathway.

 

At 5:30 PM on July 24th, Professor Leon left the platform’s safety at his starting end and ventured onto the rope. According to reporters observing, he was taking thirty-three steps per minute. Suddenly the rope swayed in a large arc as he neared the one-quarter point in his journey. Leon struggled to stay in the rope, relying on his forty-five-pound balance pole. A guy wire had apparently snapped, although rumors quickly spread that it was cut by a gambler wagering against Leon completing his walk.

  

Leon sat down and waited for a group of men to tighten the rope. After about nine minutes, the line was again secured, but the rope was less stable than before. He resumed his walk, but the remaining portion was much more physically challenging on the still-swaying rope. It took thirty minutes for Leon to complete his crossing. Observers watching through telescopes noticed his perspiration and look of fatigue. He had planned to cross the gorge again and return to his starting point, but exhaustion prohibited that attempt. It was said he couldn’t have gone ten paces further.

Lake Abana (Continued)

Grant Park contained Lake Abana and Willow Brook at first. Lake Loomis was built adjoining Lake Abana in 1888, and the two later merged. Lake Abana was again enlarged in 1900, expanding from four acres to six acres and containing two islands. There were also several springs of mineral water in the park, the most prominent of which was Constitution Spring. Because of the contamination of Willow Brook and Constitution Spring, Lake Abana was filled with water from the city’s reservoir starting in 1906.

 

By 1902 Lake Abana in the southwest corner of the park was equipped for swimming and boating, and at one end of the lake was a large pavilion where motion pictures were shown. 

  

The park also had tennis courts and a greenhouse in which shrubbery and flowers were cultivated to be used in all the city’s parks. 



Several sites report the lake was removed in the 1960s, to avoid integrating the swimming hole, the city drained the pond and turned it into a parking lot for the zoo. Although the lake is gone, its former location is still the site of the park, and a recent project is restoring a nearby area once known as the "Abana Courtyard" by removing asphalt to create green space. 


The new Gateway wet pond. 

Lions Bridge

The c. 1890 Lion Bridge, The Lion Bridge at Atlanta’s Grant Park had been a carriage and pedestrian entrance since about 1886. But years of erosion had left the foundation
severely compromised and the distinctive lion head features had crumbled beyond repair. 



With painstaking care, United Restoration disassembled the north wall, stone by stone to allow for repairs to the foundation. 

 

Helical piers and a new foundation replaced the existing failed foundation. The stone walls were then rebuilt, placing each stone in the exact location as previously built. A cast was created to craft four lion head replicas and brick pavers were installed between the walls of the bridge to create a picnic patio. 



The Atlanta Urban Design Commission has recognized The Grant Park Conservancy’s Historic Preservation Project with an Award of Excellence. 


My image of bridge, daughters were rushing me to go home after lengthy visit to zoo.

Other places in the park are gone with the wind. 


Rustic Arch, Waiting Gate, Grant Park, Atlanta, Ga.

Our second TRD Scrolling Nugget inspired by the Olmsted legacy and the beautiful wintertime trees I encountered in my travel to Grant Park.



Olmsted Hisory

In 1903, the Olmsted Brothers firm was contracted to create a comprehensive plan for Grant Park, Springvale Park and Mim’s Park and a small square. Later that year, John Charles Olmsted visited Grant Park, sketching and photographing the parkland and its context. After their father retired, Charles and his younger half-brother, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., took over leadership and founded Olmsted Brothers as a landscape design firm. The firm became well known for designing many urban parks, college campuses, and other public places. John Olmsted's body of work from over 40 years as a landscape architect has left its mark on the American urban landscape. During his visit to Grant Park, John Charles sketched and photographed the land, noting the high quality of homes in the area.



Olmsted noted the monotony of oak trees covering the parkland. Reacting to such densely planted oaks blocking views, John Charles proposed a natural planting scheme, carving out openings by thinning existing stands of trees and replacing them with diverse under-story planting. Olmsted visited Grant Park again in 1909 to draft planting plans, pedestrian circulation plans and designs for a field house, ball field and tennis courts. It appears that only the ball field and tennis courts were implemented. 

  

Grant Monument

The "Grant Monument" was a 12-foot stone marker was placed in Grant Park around 1910 to honor Lemuel P. Grant (L.P. Grant). 



It disappeared sometime after the early 20th century, with no one knowing exactly when or where it went, though vandalism was suspected; the Fort Walker cannon was also stolen from the same area. 



While the park itself has seen much restoration, the focus now on the neighborhood's historic architecture and the park's landscape. 

Erskine Fountain

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.


The fountain and surrounding bench

The fountain was built to honor John Erskine, a Federal judge from Atlanta who died in 1895. The fountain, which cost $15,000 to build, was a gift from Erskine's daughter to the city of Atlanta and was dedicated by Mayor Porter King on May 2, 1896. It was the first public fountain in Atlanta. The fountain was originally placed at what is now Hardy Ivy Park, at the diversion of Peachtree Street and West Peachtree Street. The fountain replaced a statue of Benjamin Harvey Hill, which was moved from the location to the Georgia State Capitol, where it still stands.



In 1912, regrading of the nearby streets caused the fountain to be several feet higher than the surrounding sidewalks. While a city official initially recommended the fountain "lowered or removed entirely", public outcry, including from Forrest Adair, resulted in the fountain being moved to another location in the city. While it was initially proposed to be relocated to Piedmont Park, the fountain was ultimately relocated to Grant Park by late 1912, where it overlooked Lake Abana. The area is now home to Zoo Atlanta.

 

Since its relocation, the fountain has experienced extensive neglect and is today inoperable, having also lost several of its decorative ornaments. Recently, efforts at preservation have included the creation of the Erskine Fountain Fund to restore the fountain. In 2019, a $100,000 grant was awarded to the Grant Park Conservancy to help restore the fountain and other historic monuments in the park.

  
The fountain and accompanying bench were designed by J. Massey Rhind and feature an ocean theme, along with inscriptions of the Zodiac signs. The lower bowl of the fountain originally had bronze cups attached with chains to allow people to drink from it, though these have since been removed.

In 1916, Atlanta City Council adopted John Charles’ master plan for Grant Park. The expansion of Lake Abana to manage storm water is the only known aspect of the Olmsted plan that was carried out before a new administration interrupted the firm’s work and made many conflicting changes. 

Cyclorama

The park thrived in the 1910s and 1920s, welcoming a new Cyclorama building.

 
You use to sit in a grandstand to whirl around and see the painting.

  
The Texas locomotive was in there and a diorama that lead to edge of painting. 

The painting, diorama, and Texas Locomotive are now all at the Atlanta History Center in their own building up there. 

 

Stonework

There are multiple granite entry gateways to Grant Park. 

 

 

 

 

And a gazebo at the park’s center.  

 
And hungry squirrels waiting to be fed.

Milledge Fountain

The Milledge Fountain was one of several civic projects undertaken to enhance this well-to-do neighborhood’s namesake park. Built in 1927, it’s likely the oldest fountain in the city. So old, in fact, it was first known as “Horse Drinking Fountain.” With the rise of the automobile, however, many Grant Park residents ditched their horses and moved to the outer suburbs, leaving both the neighborhood and park (and fountain) to first slowly, then rapidly decline. By 2020, the fountain had not flowed for roughly 60 years. The tiles had separated from the wall, shrubs framing the facade spilled into every walkway, and the bronze fish from which water once emanated had corroded beyond recognition. The Grant Park neighborhood took action.

 

Today, Milledge Fountain is an elaborately tiled and gently babbling fountain greeting park goers in the northwest corner of Atlanta’s sprawling Grant Park. While the same was true when it was first erected in 1927, the ensuing years were none too kind to this aquatic facade. Its descent into disrepair and the grassroots efforts to return it to glory give a miniaturized urban history of Atlanta and speak to one neighborhood’s commitment to beautifying public space.

  
TRD's images of fountain.

 
Backside of fountain.

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.



In the early decades, changes to the park continued without regard for the Olmsted plan. Roads were paved, ball fields were expanded and the Lake Albana paradise was paved to put up a parking lot.  

 
The rest of the images in this post come from a TRD wander through Grant Park on a cold December Sunday viewing the Bare Trees. 

In 1979, the park (as part of the Grant Park Historic District) was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  

 

The 1990s saw significant re-investment after years of growing use and declining maintenance, a new 1996 Master Plan for Grant Park was created, all based on the original Olmsted Brothers plan. 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. The city commenced with the new Master Plan for the park, and in 1999, Grant Park Conservancy was founded to help champion the park.  

  

In 2022, the Conservancy received the Urban Design Commission’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation for its work restoring the 1927 Milledge Fountain. The Conservancy raised over $500,000 for the restorations, and the work took several years to complete.  

 

We will present Zoo Atlanta as a separate Georgia Natural Wonder. 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. 

 

Grant Park Gateway

Replacing an 8 acre surface parking lot, the Grant Park Gateway offers 1,017 parking spaces topped with a 2.5-acre green roof and 4,000 sf restaurant space, providing a grand lawn area, a shaded terrace plaza, terraced seating, a water feature, and a pedestrian overpass, as well as a total of 8.6 acres of green space within the SITES boundary. The parking deck is built into the existing landscape with a design inspired by the natural foliage of the park and derived from the veins in leaves.



A stormwater management system consisting of cisterns, infiltration trenches, and a wet pond manages the runoff rate and volume.

 

Nestled in Eastside Atlanta, at the heart of one of Atlanta’s oldest areas, Grant Park provides a peaceful natural oasis in the middle of the city.

 

Throughout the year, Grant Park hosts several of Atlanta’s famed festivals, including the Summer Shade Arts & Music Festival, the Halloween Lantern Parade, and the Pic’n in Grant Park BBQ & Music Festival. Each attracts thousands of people and provides fun for the whole family.



The Grant Park Farmers Market is open on Sundays in April through December, and features over 60 vendors, celebrity chef demonstrations, and special events.



Nearby Grant Park are some of Atlanta’s great restaurants and eateries, so if you need a bite, take a car (far walk) and stroll down Memorial Drive or Boulevard.

 
Kids climbing and a young couple swinging. 

Grant Park, the intown neighborhood surrounding the park, is one of Atlanta's oldest and most important historic districts, listed on the NRHP. 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. 

 

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.

 

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.

 

Grant Park just a few miles from my home in Atlanta. 

Today's TRD GNW Gals come from a Atlanta Mellow Mushroom Grant Park Photo Booth Friends and Family night.