| Pershing Point Park | |
|---|---|
 Pershing Point Park (2020) | |
     | |
| Location | MidtownAtlanta,Georgia,United States |
| Coordinates | 33°47′38″N84°23′15″W / 33.79389°N 84.38750°W /33.79389; -84.38750 |
| Opened | 1920 |
Pershing Point Park, also known asPershing Point Memorial Park, is a smallpublic park inAtlanta,Georgia,United States. The park, located inmidtown Atlanta, is formed by the intersection ofPeachtree Street and West Peachtree Street. It was dedicated in the 1920s in honor ofGeneral of the ArmiesJohn J. Pershing and includes a memorial toFulton County soldiers who died inWorld War I. TheWorld Athletes Monument is also located in the park. A 2018 article inThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed the park as one of three World War I memorials in theAtlanta metropolitan area.[1]
The creation of the park was tied to efforts by theAmerican War Mothers to erect a memorial to fallen soldiers fromFulton County, Georgia who had died inWorld War I. The location selected for the memorial was a triangular tract of land located at the intersection ofPeachtree Street and West Peachtree Street, two major thoroughfares inAtlanta.[2] The memorial was dedicated in 1920 in a large ceremony that attracted over 3,000 spectators.Georgia GovernorHugh Dorsey read a list of the 130 residents of Fulton County who had died in the war, whose names were engraved in the granite memorial. This memorial, located near the base of the triangle, was flanked on either side by granite benches that had the names of several major battles of World War I engraved on them.[3] The park itself was named afterGeneral of the ArmiesJohn J. Pershing,[1][4] who had led theAmerican Expeditionary Forces during the war.[2] The dedication ceremony, headed byAtlanta MayorJames L. Key, included prayers and speeches from priests fromAll Saints' Episcopal Church,Central Presbyterian Church, andNorth Avenue Presbyterian Church.[3]
In 1927, during a visit to the city,Charles Lindbergh visited the memorial, where he placed awreath.[5][6]
In the 1990s, in the leadup to the1996 Summer Olympics, another monument was erected at Pershing Point, on the other side of the intersection from the memorial. The monument, called theWorld Athletes Monument, was funded byCharles, Prince of Wales and stands 55 feet (17 m) tall.[7] In 1997, theAtlanta City Council renamed this plaza across from the park Princess Diana Memorial Plaza following thedeath of Diana, Princess of Wales.[8]
In early 2013, renovations were started on the park that included extensive pruning, landscaping, and restoration on the memorial.[9] These renovations were completed the following year.[10] Following these restorations, the memorial was rededicated on the one hundredth anniversary of theassassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which triggered World War I. GovernorNathan Deal was a guest speaker at the ceremony.[2]
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