Georgia Natural Wonder #276 - Chastain Park - Fulton County (Part 5) ***

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #276 - Chastain Park

As we move around Fulton County looking for Natural Wonders of Georgia, we come upon Chastain Park. It is well known for its beautiful residential neighborhood and outdoor concert amphitheater. It’s also well-known for recreation, with a pool, golf course, tennis center, and horse park. We chose this park as a natural Wonder of Georgia primarily because of it's connection to William Lott Monroe, Sr. (1892-1965). 



He was an early Atlanta landscape designer who played an important role in the design and construction of Atlanta’s gardens and parks between 1925 and 1963. We discovered Monroe first as the designer of the Glen Emerald Park, and Glen Emerald Rock Garden in DeKalb County. (GNW #260)

 

Our TRD Scrolling Nugget comes from the time I saw Neil Young at the Amphitheater.



William Lott Monroe, Sr. was born in 1892 in Biscoe, North Carolina, a crossroads community in the central part of the state. He graduated from Elon College in North Carolina and later studied at Duke and Cornell universities. He first came to Atlanta in 1917, when his military service brought him to Camp Gordon in Chamblee. He was working for the C.A. Dahl Company, a florist and nursery on Peachtree Street in Atlanta by 1920.

  

One of Atlanta’s earliest professional landscape architects, he founded Monroe's Landscape and Nursery Company in 1925, specializing in rock gardens, waterfalls, and native stonework. That company does not appear in the city directories until 1932. The company was located on what is now his namesake road, Monroe Drive, near the Ansley Park neighborhood of Atlanta.

  

Monroe’s reputation as a significant influence on landscaping in the city is generally recognized in Atlanta’s community of landscape architects and gardeners, although much of his work is lost or undocumented. 

 

His fascinating gardens, with their well-crafted stonework, soothing water features, and ambitious scale, are good examples of recreational retreats created during the Great Depression era and later. 

  

The myriad paths, stone furniture, and picnic areas found in both his public and private gardens were conceived to encourage exploration and activity rather than to present a formalized architectural statement. 

  

Monroe’s gardens expertly reflected an emphasis on inviting natural spaces where the structural elements are woven into the environment, suggesting the close connection between man and nature. 

  

A landscape designer and nurseryman, he is recognized in newspaper articles as the “landscape artist” during the development of North Fulton Park (later renamed Chastain Memorial Park) in the late 1930s and early 1940s. This work was financed partially through WPA (Works Progress Administration) funds and supported with local prison labor.

  

The Chastain Park 2008 Master Plan states: “The park was envisioned as a recreational showplace with a wide variety of high-quality facilities to set the tone for the neighborhood.” While he did not design the entire park, Monroe oversaw the creation of the original stone grills, fireplaces, walls, benches.

  

I was fascinated by the  storm water drainage systems in the “Master Grill Area” and in the picnic grounds area in between the Chastain Arts Center and the Chastain Park Playground.

  

Unfortunately, these features suffer from occasional acts of vandalism, but those that remain are essential design elements and should be preserved. 

  

Similarly, the amphitheater – designed at the same time as the picnic grounds and completed in 1941 – maintains original stone walls, steps, and stage orientation, with more recent updates and renovations in the past decades. The original features that exist within the amphitheater should be preserved as well. 

 

Several features are still visible and intact in the master grill area, but much of this area was backfilled in the 1970s or 1980s, covering up stone work, grills, steps, benches, water features, and a 100-foot rock tunnel often nicknamed “the witches’ cave” by visitors. 

  
People standing in line for the Witches Cave. 

Chastain Park Conservancy considers this location a possible focus for future restoration.

 
You can see where a portion of the tunnel was bricked over.

There are three main areas in Chastain Park with Monroe’s signature style as a landscape designer: 1) the master grill area; (2) the picnic grounds area; and (3) the amphitheater.

(1) The original master grill area covers approximately five acres and is accessed via unmarked gravel driveway from West Wieuca Road, about halfway between the Galloway School campus and the Chastain Arts Center. This narrow driveway opens up to a large, flat gravel parking area surrounded by wooded hillsides in all directions. 

 

To the west is a set of steps that lead up to a concrete pad, flanked by other steps on either side; Ray Mock of the Chastain Park Conservancy said this was a restroom facility at one time. 

 

To the north of the clearing is what remains of the original master grill shed area: the upper portion of a stone fireplace, stone ledges, large boulders, and an undulating stone wall in the hillside behind it. 

 

Over toward the east is a large concrete pad set up with non-historic picnic tables and the remains of two additional fireplace/grills. The undulating wall continues behind these structures. 

  

Farthest to the east in the clearing is a rustic stone staircase with the remains of stone gazebo walls at the top of the hill. This staircase is often seen in historical photos of the master grill area with a wooden gazebo picnic shelter at the top. 

 

From this high vantage point, one can view the entire valley and see additional picnic shelters farther up on the hillside. 

   

It is estimated there is at least six feet of leveled fill in the clearing when compared to historical photos. An entire hillside, including a water feature and additional stone steps, has been removed. However, there is evidence of stone-lined drainage areas in the hillside to the east of the master grill shed area.

   

(2) The picnic grounds area is composed of multiple outdoor stone grills, fireplaces, and picnic shelters set into the wooded hillside; it is generally connected to the original master grill area by trail. 

  

It can be accessed from many different locations, including behind the Chastain Arts Center and south of Chastain Memorial Parkway (Park Road). 

 

These stone grills and fireplaces are not identical in design, but maintain a common style of stacked stone. 

  

They are connected throughout the hillside via pathways, with stone benches, walls, and tree wells interspersed. 

  

The covered picnic shelters are not original to Monroe’s time, but have been replicated from designs that are characteristic of his work. 

  

There are a few features north of Chastain Memorial Parkway, including an additional stone grill, steps in various locations, and portions of stone walls. 

  

This northernmost area of the park is not as wooded, and is within view of private residences. It was once the campground area for boys and girls groups.

(3) The Delta Classic Chastain Park Amphitheater is generally bounded by Stella Drive, Chastain Memorial Parkway (Park Drive), and Elliott Galloway Way (Pool Drive); it maintains its original orientation in a natural bowl-shaped depression in the land. It is not open to the public on a daily basis and is closed off with a series of gates and tall, chain-link fences. 

   

The amphitheater operates during the summer and can seat approximately 6,900 guests for outdoor concerts and other ticketed events. The stone walls and steps are original to the amphitheater, but the additions on either side of the stage have been built up over time. The cantilevered concrete “all-weather shelters” towards the rear of the amphitheater were installed in 1956.

 

Chastain Park is the largest city-owned park in Atlanta. The park project began in July 1938 with funds partially provided by the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and labor provided by prison camp inmates. 

 

William Lott Monroe, Sr. is indicated in newspaper articles as the “landscape artist” during development. Monroe’s name and company are on various plans and landscape drawings for the park in the collections at the Atlanta History Center; some of these are undated, but others are marked 1939 and 1940. Monroe’s influence and signature rustic, naturalistic style is seen specifically in the stone work of the master grill area, picnic grounds area, and amphitheater. 

  

Monroe did not design the North Fulton Golf Course – it was the last course laid out by Chandler Egan before Egan’s death in 1936. 

 



The Atlanta Horse Show officially opened the park in early May 1939, and Ray Mock of the Chastain Park Conservancy reports that there are original Monroe stone walls within the horse park. 

 

The park dedication ceremony and opening of the golf course took place on July 4, 1940, and Monroe was on the publicity committee. However, by January 1941, Monroe’s landscape company was removed from Fulton County’s payroll. The amphitheater was completed in December 1941, but the opening was postponed due to the war. Its first show was in June 1944. 

 

1939 (Apr.) The park was a huge project for Fulton County, and Monroe’s stone work was often praised. But many more people were involved and Monroe’s designs were not the only features in development at the park. One article describes work continuing on the tennis courts, golf course, man made lake, swimming pool, other athletic courts and fields, and horseback riding trails. 

  
Even the curbs had a Monroe style rocky design.

Still, many articles during this time return to admire the master grill area and picnic grounds: “Dotting the cool hillsides of the park are rustic shelters with open fire grills and stone iceboxes for picnickers". Atop one hill, almost finished, is a Boy Scout center and another center for the Girl Scouts is planned for the hill across the valley. Four conical-shaped huts with showers and bunks, capable of accommodating 60 Scouts on overnight outings, have been built in a semi-circle that borders a Scout council ring of seats hewn from halves of huge tree trunks. The Nucleus of the shingled shelters for picnickers and Scouts is a silvery spring where cool water splashes over mossy rocks to brim small mirror pools flanked by ferns and flowers. Here, the mechanics of man add to the natural assembled beauties and a waterfall that is controlled by an electric switch cascades over slabs of granite. Designed like a grotto one might find in a Graustarkian country, this spot in the park nestles below high trees in a valley nook. A rock-lined tunnel cuts through jutting earth at one place to give an added impression of craggy wilderness to motorized Atlantans who have to ride only eight miles from Five Points to reach this garden. (“North Fulton Park Work Is Pushed.” Atlanta Constitution, Apr. 30, 1939)

  
Realized it was easier to turn camera around to take images of these grand trees. 

Commissioner Troy Chastain lived on Habersham Road in the Peachtree Heights subdivision in Buckhead. The steeply sloping rear yard of the house presented challenges in terms of controlling water run-off, but was perfectly suited to Monroe’s penchant for waterfalls and cascades. He constructed a meandering stream that travels through rock-lined channels, dropping into three pools as it descends. A rock walkway with short sections of steps ascends the hill, at one point crossing the stream with a large flat stone. To control run-off from the hill, Monroe constructed concrete channels that flow toward the side yard and around a hillside to a catch basin that carried the water to the street. There is another stream in the front yard that may have been fed by a spring. Monroe also constructed a large rock retaining wall with a stairwell cut into it to separate the driveway from the rear yard. Another interesting feature of the Chastain property is the two millstones that were used as paving stones at the front and rear entrances. Cut pieces of slate were arranged around the stones to create a sunburst effect.

  

Monroe also served as a special consultant for Fulton County and assisted in development of several parks in Atlanta. Most notably, he designed Adams Park and Chastain Park, which were championed by Commissioners Tony Chastain and Charles Adams. At Chastain, Monroe oversaw the construction of a number of stone features using WPA labor, including an amphitheater, retaining walls, grills, shelters, steps, and bridges. 

  

In November 1938, the Atlanta Journal reported that Chastain and a number of guests inspected the site of the park then under construction. Among the guests were William Monroe and Robert L. MacDougall and C.M. Johnson of the WPA.

  
And I can get in some images, 

The early 20th century was a period of economic growth and development for Fulton County and Atlanta. From about 1936 through 1950, Fulton County made significant investments in parks to help promote population growth. Chastain Park to the north of Atlanta (now part of the city) was designed by William L. Monroe, Sr. almost simultaneously with Adams Park in the city’s southwest sector using the same rustic-style influences. Both parks used federal relief agency funds to construct stonework and landscape features. These projects were direct results of the county’s strategy to use parks to attract a middle-class population with the economic means to have leisure time to enjoy nature and recreational amenities.

  

In the mid-1920s plans were underway by Fulton County to increase residential development in the unincorporated county to the south and north of the city of Atlanta. Land was purchased for the development of parks as a tool to encourage growth in the new suburban neighborhoods that were being developed. A key component of the funding came from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA), created in 1935 by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act to provide useful work for needy unemployed individuals. According to the Atlanta Constitution on July 28, 1935.

  

News articles from 1939 discussed a grand jury probe of commissioners Adams and Troy Chastain for using their positions to further their interests in property near the park. Chastain and Adams were not indicted, but there were many questions over the amount of money going towards parks, particularly parks with expensive golf courses, which were not considered affordable for the average person.

 

Under the 1952 “Plan of Improvement,” the city of Atlanta expanded its borders to the south and to the north by annexing large portions of unincorporated Fulton County. As a result of the annexation, Adam Park and Chastain Park both became incorporated into Atlanta’s city boundaries.

Wikipedia

Chastain Memorial Park (originally known as the North Fulton Park, commonly known as Chastain Park) is the second-largest city park in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a 268-acre park near the northern edge of the city. Included in the park are jogging paths, playgrounds, NYO ball fields, tennis courts, a golf course, swimming pool, horse park and amphitheater. Now I want you to see Wikipedia doesn't mention Monroe not once. 

 

Location

The wedge-shaped park is bounded on the east side by Lake Forrest Drive, on the west-southwest side by Powers Ferry Road, and on the north-northwest end by West Wieuca Road. Nancy Creek bisects the park, flowing from east to west. 

  

It is surrounded by forested neighborhoods in the Buckhead area of the city, and is northwest of the original Buckhead Village and the uptown Lenox area.

History

The land was originally home of Creek Indians, near the floodplain Nancy Creek. In 1840, the land was acquired by DeKalb County and used as a site for town hall meetings. In 1900, the land was sold to Fulton County with plans to build an almshouse for the poor. In 1909, the North Fulton Alm House opened. The housing was designed in a Neoclassical style by architectural firm Morgan and Dillon. At the start of the Great Depression, the Almshouse Cemetery was constructed.

  

In 1940, Fulton County proposed to construct a residential area on a large portion of the land. Both almshouses were planned to be demolished, although the cemetery would be left unharmed. Under the direction of Troy Green Chastain (Fulton County Commissioner) and with help from the Works Progress Administration, the North Fulton neighborhood was born. Out of the original 1,000 acres, 268 became "North Fulton Park". The park was composed of the North Fulton Golf Course, a clubhouse, Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts, gymnasium, bathhouse, horse stables and polo field. 

  
Ravine across upper street. 

The construction of the park was completed in 1945, a year after the death of Chastain. To honor his contribution of the park, the county renamed the park, the "Chastain Memorial Park" on September 25, 1946.

Path Trails

Throughout the park, color-coded trails loop through the Chastain’s rolling landscape, exploring the scenic stretches of the park’s landscaped perimeter. Paved by the PATH Foundation, it’s one of the most popular running and walking trails in Atlanta. 

  
Squirrel seen. Mostly Internet images starting here. 

PATH Foundation began constructing a trail in Chastain Park in 1994, which has since expanded to a three-mile trail around Chastain Park and North Fulton Golf Course. PATH estimates an average of 250 people use the trail each hour, and is developing a second loop in the northern area of the park to meet demand.

Pool

A pool is also located within Chastain Park. It is a city pool, meaning it is open to the public most of the time, but nonmembers must pay to get in, and there are some times when only members can swim. 


The Chastain Park Athletic Club swim-team practices at this pool.

Chastain Park Amphitheater

The Synovus Bank Amphitheater (originally known as North Fulton Park Amphitheater; formerly the Cadence Bank Amphitheater and the Chastain Park Amphitheater) is an outdoor amphitheater within historic Chastain Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The venue, designed by Nelson Brackin, opened in 1944 and is decreed "Atlanta’s Oldest Outdoor Music Venue". The venue attracts more than 200,000 spectators per season.

  

The outdoor amphitheater operates only during the summer months. While during most years there are shows between April and October, the majority fall between the end of May and early September. The two main promoters of concerts are the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Live Nation. The capacity is roughly 6,900, with the vast majority of tickets being reserved seating. There is also limited general admission lawn seating at the back of the amphitheater and at stage right. Only a small number of seats are covered.

 

For all but a few shows a season, tables are set up in the pit and lower part of the orchestra section. Tables seat six, and all six tickets must be purchased together. Those who do not purchase table seats are allowed to bring in tray-sized tables. Also for the table setup shows, food and drinks, including alcohol, are allowed to be brought in for consumption. Elaborate setups with nice food, tablecloths and candles are common. However, there are a small number of shows each season with a "rock" setup. Here there are no tables or carry-ins. Instead of tables in the pit, only rows of chairs are set up. Parking is limited, and traffic can be heavy on nights when the show is sold out. 

Chastain Park Trail: the run

Top Atlanta walking and running trails: the Chastain Park Trail visits a beautifully landscaped park in Buckhead.

 
Use to play Frisbee Golf on this side of upper road. View down main hill of Monroe Grills. Last two TRD images, found a place for all my pictures from my walk about. 

The park is tucked off Roswell Road in Buckhead’s northernmost stretches, just inside Atlanta’s I-285 Perimeter – a short drive or moderate bike ride from Midtown Atlanta. 

 

While most of the park’s trails border the often-car-filled Powers Ferry Road and Lake Forest Drive, the trail does score ample scenic beauty, skirting the rolling terrain of North Fulton Golf Course and winding through the beautifully landscaped park. It’s a great spot for a 5k run or scenic walk, and one of our favorite running spots near Buckhead.

 

The trail is well-marked at intersections as the multiple trails merge and diverge around the park. The trails are also signed for distance – a great feature for pace-training runners who aren’t tracking distance via GPS. Three color-coded loop trails offer varying distances, including two 5k loops (the 3.1 mile red and blue trails) as well as a 3k (the 1.6-mile gold trail). The red and blue share a common path for most of their length, separating into distinct trails in the park’s northern stretches.

 
Run the Chastain Park Trail in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood, following color-coded 5k and 3k loops

The trail explores its most scenic stretch on the park’s eastern perimeter along Lake Forest Drive. Along this stretch, the trail crosses a bridge spanning Nancy Creek, catching views of the creek’s rocky banks and pebble-lined bed. Benches offer shaded resting spots nestled along the stream, perfect for a post-workout cool off.

 
Top places to run in Atlanta: the 5k trail at Chastain Park loops through a scenic park setting in Buckhead

The northwestern stretches of the park’s yellow and blue trails skirt the banks of a pond, winding in a gentle southwestern arc along its tree-lined shores. Ducks and geese are a common sight here, and fish bask in the pond’s sunny shallows. 

 
Chastain Park Pond, often called the "Hamburger Pond" due to the shape of its central island, is a serene, spring-fed feature located within Atlanta's largest park. It serves as a popular spot for fishing (largemouth bass), birdwatching, and walking, surrounded by lush greenery and a paved trail.



The trail doesn’t completely escape traffic and the sounds of the city, especially compared to some of our other favorite Atlanta running trails like the unpaved and traffic-free 3.1 mile (5k) loop at Cochran Shoals. But the trail is well worth the visit for a workout on a well-maintained, well-signed and paved trail in the Buckhead area.

Fulton County (Part 5)

Whew that was pretty full. Lets see how many National Register of Historic Properties we can add to our post. We have 140 left. 

Granada Apartments

The Granada Apartments is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of architecture, as an excellent and rare local example of the Spanish Revival/Spanish Colonial Revival style applied to an apartment building in Atlanta. 

 

Designed by the short-lived architectural alliance of Barney Havis and Augustus E. Constantine, the building embodies particularly well-executed distinctive characteristics of the Spanish Revival style.

 

Grant Park Historic District



  

  

Grant Park North

The Grant Park North Historic District is a city neighborhood characterized by late Victorian houses of varying degrees of detailing and size. 

 

Many of the houses retain all of their Victorian trim around porches and other elements such as stained and leaded glass windows. The district is well shaded by oak trees in most areas. 

 

It is significant in architecture for its collection of historic houses reflecting various styles and elements of the late Victorian period. 

 

These include some houses reflecting elements of the Eastlake and Queen Anne styles, and others that are more eclectic, all reflecting variety in the use of ornamentation, glass, porches, and gables. 

W. D. Grant Building

  

   



Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company

It is significant in the area commerce because of its association with the A & P company, one of the first nationwide grocery store chains, and for its role as a regional headquarters during a period of company expansion.

 

It is also an excellent example of a concrete frame industrial building that was used by the company as a warehouse, bakery, and its local offices. 

    

Between 1997 and 2002, the A & P building was rehabilitated as residential loft apartments with retail space in the basement.

  

Griffith School of Music

It is significant in architecture as a fine and very intact example of the Craftsman style for a residence. The house retains almost all of its original features.

 

The house was designed to resemble an estate, and thus has a much larger presence on what is actually a small intown city location. The house setting is on a rise giving it a great view from the rear of the city of Atlanta.

  

It was also significant in the performing arts because it was purchased in 1923 by the Griffith family. 

  

The Griffiths used the house as a residence and the location for the Griffith School of Music, which operated here from 1923 until 1966. 

    
One of the more prominent students to emerge from the Griffith School of Music was Miss Joe Beth Apperson of Atlanta. She played the harp and appeared in numerous concerts with the Atlanta Symphony. 

Habersham Memorial Hall

 

  

Hapeville Historic District

The community that began as a village centered on a railroad depot, thrived with the designation of U.S. Highway 41 through the city, and evolved into a  metropolitan suburban community bordered by two interstate highways and the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

 

In terms of residential architecture, styles ranging from the Craftsman to English Vernacular Revival and the Colonial Revival are represented. 

   

Original Home of Chick-fil-A.

 

Joel Chandler Harris House

 
 
  

Healey Building

  

  

 
Has this beautiful early atrium of Atlanta. Dwarfed by the Hyatt Regency and Marriott Marquis atrium's. This was part of my walking tour of Atlanta.

Herndon Home

 

  

Highland School

The Highland School is significant in architecture as a good example of an in-town early 20th century public elementary school reflecting the latest design trends of the era, that of a large, red-brick building, in the Classical Revival style, with long corridors and classrooms opening onto the corridor on both levels. 

  

Serving for sixty years as an inner city elementary school for grades K-6 for the 9th Ward

  
Originally a school, it was converted into offices and recently was rehabilitated as condominiums.

Home Park School

Home Park School is significant in architecture, because the building retains much of its historic architectural characteristics popular during the early 20th century. 

 

The building is significant as a 1911 educational facility designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by Atlanta architect Edward Dougherty. 

  
Also Condos now.

B. Mifflin Hood Brick Company Building

 

 

  
Apartments now. 

  

Hotel Clermont

 
From abandoned to boutique apartments.

 
Neon lighting and a hidden jewel of Atlanta around the back. Atlanta's oldest strip lounge. 

Famous for Blondie, real name Anita Rae Strange, is a legendary 67-year-old dancer who has performed at Atlanta's iconic Clermont Lounge since 1979. 

 

She is best known for her signature act of crushing Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans with her breasts, a performance that has made her a staple of the city's nightlife and a famous Atlanta cultural icon.

Hotel Row Historic District

 

 

 
You can tell the Star Hotel cause it's got the big dead Florida Gator on the side.

House at 690 South Boulevard

The House at 690 South Boulevard is significant at the local level of significance under National Register Criterion C in the area of architecture as a good, representative example of a cross-gable bungalow. 

 

It exhibits character-defining features of the type including a low, horizontally-oriented form; overall rectangular massing; an integral front porch; and the namesake cross-gable roof with wide overhangs.

  

The bungalow, and the Craftsman style that often accompanied the type, were made more popular by Sears, Roebuck and Co., which offered ready-made site plans or kit homes delivered for assembly. This popularity resulted in the proliferation of the bungalow type not only in the Grant Park neighborhood, but also in many of Atlanta’s burgeoning early twentieth century suburbs.

  
Eric and Christine Bloomquist purchased the house in 2014 and completed a certified rehabilitation of the house and improvement of the lot in 2015.

Howell Interlocking Historic District

 

  

Bacchanalia is in this neighborhood. It is an actual 5 Star restaurant here in Atlanta. 

  

King Plow is now Terminal West Theater. Have seen tribute bands of Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, and Allman Brothers in here. Drinks on back deck as trains come by. 

  

Called West Midtown, this part of Atlanta has exploded.

 

Howell Station Historic District

  

  

You can certainly tell this part of Atlanta has changed.

  

T.I. the Rapper has the Trap Music Museum in this area. 

  

Northside Tavern still alive. Used in Ozark episodes.

  

Mrs. George Arthur Howell Jr. House

The Howell House is significant in architecture because it is a fine example of the Neo-classical Revival style of the 1930s, during which many previously popular architectural styles were revived. 

  

It contains a symmetrical front facade, a centered, four-columned Greek Revival portico and a symmetrical first floor plan. 

   

It is also significant as a work of Cooper and Cooper, a firm consisting of two Atlanta-born architects who were brothers. They designed this along with many other fine homes.

Hurt Building




Imperial Hotel