Grant Park Historic District | |
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| Location | Atlanta,Georgia, United States |
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| Coordinates | 33°44′10″N84°22′16″W / 33.736°N 84.371°W /33.736; -84.371 |
| Built | 1858 |
| Architect | Olmsted Brothers |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman, Italianate, Queen Anne |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000722[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 20, 1979 |
Grant Park refers to the oldestcity park inAtlanta,Georgia, United States, as well as theVictorianneighborhood surrounding it.
Grant Park is a 131-acre green space and recreational area and is the fourth-largest park in the city, behindChastain Park,Freedom Park andPiedmont 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.
Grant Park was established in 1883 whenLemuel P. Grant, a successfulengineer and businessman, gave the city of Atlanta 100acres (40 ha) in the newly developed "suburb" where he lived.[2] In 1890, the city acquired another 44 acres (18 ha) for the park and appointed its first park commissioner,Sidney Root. In 1903, theOlmsted Brothers (sons ofFrederick Law Olmsted) were hired to create a plan for the park. The original park included a lake, named Lake Abana, to handle storm-waterrunoff.
A failedcircus gave birth to the eventual Zoo Atlanta when locallumber 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 thezoo and carved space out for the attraction. Later zoo expansions and parking requirements caused the removal of a portion of thelake. In 1892, the circularpainting of the Battle of Atlanta wasexhibited in the park. The cyclorama would eventually gain its own dedicated building in the park in 1921. Near the zoo is theErskine Memorial Fountain, Atlanta's first public fountain, which was built in 1896 and moved to Grant Park in 1912.[3] In 1948, another park landmark, theThomas W. Talbot Monument, was dedicated by members of theInternational Association of Machinists, honoring their founder,Thomas W. Talbot.[4]
In 1996, after years of neglect and abuse, the City of Atlanta Parks Bureau commissioned a new masterplan for the park. Theconsultants working on the plan met with a citizen advisory group that would eventually become theGrant Park Conservancy. The Conservancy works to raise funds to enhance and protect the park for the enjoyment of all its visitors.
Grant Park, theintown neighborhood surrounding the park, is one of Atlanta's oldest and most important historic districts, listed on theNRHP.[5] It is bordered by theCabbagetown neighborhood on the north,Ormewood Park on the east,Boulevard Heights on the southeast,Chosewood Park on the south, andSummerhill andPeoplestown on the west.
It includes the park, 48acres or 35hectares ofOakland Cemetery (established 1850), whereMargaret Mitchell,Bobby Jones, 25 formermayors of Atlanta, six formergovernors of Georgia, and many Civil War dead are buried. It also includes the Atlanta Stockade;Fort Walker; and the1858 mansion of Lemuel P. Grant, for whom the park and neighborhood were named. The mansion is the oldest house still standing on its original location in Atlanta. The Grant Park Neighborhood Association represents local residents.[citation needed]
Together withInman Park, Grant Park contains the largest remaining area ofVictorian 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, modifiedQueen Anne houses were built on surrounding streets, and one-story Victorian era cottages andCraftsman bungalows were built to the east of the park.[5]
The neighborhood is home toSt. Paul United Methodist Church, which for a time in the early 1900s had the largestMethodist congregation in the Southeast. St. Paul is well known for its beautifulstained glass windows and anorgan 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.[citation needed]
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