“The Historical Themes of Piedmont Park”
By Gretchen Clymer
Since its inception, Piedmont Park has served as a focal point for the city of Atlanta’s presentation of modernization and progress. Piedmont Park has also served as an important meeting point for Atlanta’s citizens, whether they are engaging in leisure activities, or gathering for special artistic or performance events. In many ways, Piedmont Park is the city’s cultural center. It is one of the best known and most widely used public parks located in the city of Atlanta. Piedmont Park has served an important role during wartime, particularly after the Civil War, with the symbolic coming together of the North and the South. Additionally, it had been the site of many historic Atlanta athletic games. Finally, Piedmont Park has helped to establish itself as a landmark for arts and leisure activities, and today Piedmont Park’s green space provides the citizens of Atlanta with a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of city life. There are several distinct and recurring themes that are uncovered when the history of Piedmont Park is examined closely. These themes include the promotional role that the park has played for the projection of Atlanta as a modern city, its role as a cultural center, its services as a venue for athletics, and as a sanctuary from urban life.
Until 1887, Piedmont Park was situated on a privately owned patch of undeveloped woodland. The Gentleman’s Riding Club later bought the land, which consisted of 189.43 acres, from the original landowners, the Walker family. The Walker family had originally purchased the land from Elijah Paty in 1834, for $450. The Gentleman’s Riding Club then purchased it from them on July 1st, 1887 for $38,000. The Gentleman’s Riding Club directors were closely involved with the sponsorship and planning for the Piedmont Exposition, an event that was held in Piedmont Park on October 10th, 1887. The Piedmont Exposition was a huge event, featuring hot air balloon and horse races, and all kinds of agricultural and cultural exhibits. Nearly 20,000 people flooded the Park during the opening day of the exposition. The highlight of the Piedmont exposition was marked by a visit from President Grover Cleveland and his new bride. The President was given a tour of the city and taken back to the fairgrounds to be entertained at the Gentleman’s Driving Club. This exposition began a trend for the promotion of Atlanta’s progress since the Civil War. The underlying purpose of the Piedmont Exposition was to impress upon the country the steps of modernity that Atlanta was taking to become established as a true city, and also to demonstrate the advancement of the modern South with Atlanta as its shining representative. The Piedmont Exposition also served as a promotional event, showcasing the products of the Piedmont states and helped to institute closer cooperation between the agricultural and industrial markets.
In 1889, The Gentleman’s Driving Club sold the majority of its landholdings to the Piedmont Exposition Company. Encouraged by the successfulness of the Piedmont Exposition, Piedmont Park became the site of the Cotton States & International Exposition in 1895. The Cotton States & International Exposition took its name with two ideas in mind, firstly that it would be used as an exhibition forum for the cotton states, and secondly that it would help to foster trade with Spanish –American countries, hence the naming of it as an international exposition. Overall, $2 million was invested in this exposition, with a large portion of that money going towards the construction of buildings to house the exhibits. The Exposition ground’s entrance was located at 14th street. Located just inside the entrance were the Fire Building and the Pennsylvania Building that contained for a period of time the Liberty Bell. The Fire Building was equipped with the latest firefighting technologies. North of this area, where the tennis courts are now situated, were the New York Building and the Fine Arts Building. To the northeast of the Fine Arts exhibits was the Government building, which contained exhibits detailing the various international forms of government. There were numerous other buildings and attractions, including recreations of a Mexican village, Chinese, Japanese and German villages, animal attractions, Deep Sea Diving, and even an area called Clear Creek where Buffalo Bill preformed his famous Wild West Show. The festivities began with President Cleveland touching an electric key in Grey Gables, which then sounded a metallic instrument outside of the gates of the Exposition. Bishop Becker spoke at the commencement speech and stated that this “was a scene that marked an era in the South’s history.” He went on to say that this “marked the industrial awakening of a great section and signalized a new departure in the relations of the races.” Once again, this event brought national and worldwide attention to Atlanta, and further proved to the rest of the country that Atlanta was indeed a capable and progressive city. It is interesting to note that the city of Atlanta claimed to be a progressive and modernized city in order to draw crowds and attention to these two expositions, but in fact the expositions actually allowed Atlanta to achieve those goals. Atlanta was a young city at this time, and had only about 75,000 people inhabitants. The pressure to construct a modernized image served as a catalyst for Atlanta’s growth and development. The same mentality was undertaken during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. The city boasted itself to be international and progressive, but only truly achieved these developments as a means to gain recognition and to promote Atlanta to an international audience.
Another demonstration of how Piedmont Park contains examples of the progress within Atlanta is illustrated by the two technological advancements located near the Park Drive entrance. Displayed here are lampposts from Atlanta’s first streetlight system, and also granite blocks that were from the first paved streets built in Atlanta.
Between the time of the Piedmont Exposition and the Cotton States & International Exposition, Piedmont Park was used for athletic purposes. After the Piedmont Exposition, in 1892, Piedmont Park was again privately owned and subsequently became the site of the first college football game in Georgia between the University of Georgia and Auburn University. During the Cotton States & International Exposition the Lake Clara Meer located in Piedmont Park was used for aquatic events; it was the first time that aquatic sports had been played in the city of Atlanta. In the late 1890’s when bicycling became a professional sport, Atlanta converted one of the exhibit buildings used in the Cotton States Exposition into one of the first indoor race tracks in the South. Piedmont Park was also home to the first horse show in the south. After the exposition had ended, in 1900, the Atlanta Crackers baseball team then used Piedmont Park. Piedmont Park is still used today for athletic purposes. The Peachtree Road race takes place on the 4th of July, and league softball games are held on its fields during the spring and summer months.
During the Civil War, the Union soldiers burned parts of Piedmont Park, and the Walker family was forced to flee their property. In 1898, the park became a fairground for the reunion of Confederate veterans. In 1911, a peace monument was erected in Piedmont Park by the Fourteenth Street entrance. The monument symbolizes the peace and reconciliation between the North and South through a depiction of a confederate solider with a lowered rifle kneeling underneath an angel holding an olive branch. Piedmont Park played an important wartime role during WWII as well. It was utilized as a vegetable garden to help feed the troops that were stationed at Fort McPherson.
Historically and in contemporary times, Piedmont Park has served as a cultural center for the inhabitants of Atlanta, and a place where citizens are welcomed to carry out arts and leisure activities. It was purchased by the city of Atlanta in 1904 for $99,000 in order to be designated as a city park to serve the citizens of Atlanta as a place to carry out recreational activities. In the 1950’s the Atlanta Art’s Commission used Piedmont Park for art exhibits and festivals. Music concerts have always been a part of the park. The first concert held at the park was during the Cotton States Exposition where John Sousa’s music was featured. The tradition continued through the 1970’s when rock n’ roll concerts were held at there, and even today, the annual Jazz Festival draws many music lovers. During the summer months, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra plays free concerts in the park on Sunday evenings. Another important cultural event that is hosted at Piedmont Park is the Dogwood Festival, which is held every April.
In the early 1980’s, the heavy use of the park throughout the decades began to take its toll on the park and conservation effects were undertaken to restore the park. The Piedmont Park Conservancy is an organization that has spearheaded the movement to restore and improve Piedmont Park. Oak Hill, the Piedmont Park Community Center, and the Visitor’s Center have been recently renovated. There are future restoration projects planned, including improving the health and appearance of Lake Clara Meer, the Bathhouse will be made into a cultural center with a carousal situated nearby, and there are even plans to expand the park with green space.
In 1976 the Atlanta Botanical Gardens opened up around the periphery of Piedmont Park. It is a horticulture center with 60 acres of land and includes a 15-acre hardwood forest known as the Storzaa Woods. The Atlanta Botanical Gardens also includes the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory, which houses tropical rainforest and desert plants. Finally Piedmont Park serves as a sanctuary from urban life for the citizens of Atlanta. It serves as lush green space for people to escape from the rigors of the city, a place where people can get lost among the winding trails, and picnic amongst friends. Piedmont Park has 4 miles of walking trails, tennis courts, field space for various activities, such as Frisbee, picnicking, and soccer. There is a newly renovated playground designed by the famous sculptor Isamu Noguchi for the children, and a dog park for dog lovers, which makes Piedmont Park a great gathering place for everyone.
Piedmont Park has historically been a location for many important events in Atlanta. It been the contributed to the modernization and progress of the city by attracting national attention, served in wartime activities, functioned as a cultural center, and fostered a link between the environment and Atlanta’s citizens. The Piedmont Exposition and the Cotton States & International Exposition were integral to the actual modernization of the city of Atlanta, with most of the growth and development of the city being facilitated after the events. Today Piedmont Park continues to be used by the citizens of Atlanta as a place to come together with their families and friends, to play with their dogs, and most importantly to utilize the park as a temporary escape from urban life.
Sources:
Davis, H., & Davis, R. (1988). Atlanta Walks: A Guide to Walking, Running,
and Bicycling Historic and Scenic Atlanta.
Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, LTD.
Garrett, F., (1969). Atlanta and Environs. (Vol. 2).
Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
Workers of the Writers’ Program of the Work Projects Administration in
the State of Georgia. (1942). Atlanta History of the Modern South.
St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers. ( 1973).
Piedmont Park Conservancy. “Piedmont Bark Quarterly Newsletter.” Winter
2003.