Atlanta Parks

[427MM]

Hey Atlanta Lovers,
I’m doing a project on City of Atlanta Parks and Stone Mountain. If you have good information please feel free to post it. Also, in the past I have seen some wonderful pictures of parks around the city and I would greatly appreciate it if the people who posted them would either repost them or direct me to the thread where they are located.

Thanks

Piedmont Park
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9944/06worldsxe0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8404/gaatlantals5.png (http://imageshack.us)

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/5582/peidmontparkpicyz5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/1198/49563767oh4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Centenial Park

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/2259/asoparksht7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4820/atlanta4um2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9379/georgiacentennialolympiyb6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Stone Mountain Park
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7691/stonemtyt1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9533/64111yw0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Any info on this project?
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8624/atlbridgeru5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

And of course the future of ATL, hopefully that is.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8350/beltlinefromwoodwardbrikb6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


These parks don’t just have an effect on the city as a whole, they often times spur development near them. This is another aspect that I am curious in. I know that Centennial has seen many great things going on around it lately. Also, are there any new parks planned?
Thanks

[Andrea]

The city's largest park is Chastain, I believe, and they've recently released a new master plan. It's online at the Chastain Park Conservancy (http://www.chastainparkconservancy.org/).

[NativeAtlantan]

The City of Atlanta recently completed the purchase of the land that the Bellwood Quarry sits on (or in?). This will be turned into a water reservoir and surrounded by more than 300 acres, I believe, which would make it the largest park in the city, by a considerable margin. The land is on the west side of Atlanta and the park will be known as Westside Park. Here is an article about it in the Atlanta Business Chronicle: http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/06/26/daily43.html

There are many other pockets of land dotted along the proposed path of the beltline that will, hopefully, one day be turned into parkland. You can find more info at www.beltline.org .

The Trust for Public Land is probably more active in Atlanta right now than any other city in the country.

The next to last picture you show is the 5th St. bridge near GA Tech. This project is finished.

[NativeAtlantan]

Interesting....this article on the city's website does not recognize Chastain as one of the larger city parks. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that most of Chastain is a golf course?

http://www.atlantaga.gov/media/nr_quary_063006.aspx

[sprtsluvr8]

Freedom Park is one of Atlanta's newest green spaces and one of my favorites, built around the Carter Center and Freedom Pkwy. In the google earth image, Freedom Pkwy runs North-South and the park is all of the green space on both sides of the parkway...you can see the bike paths throughout the park. Then in the middle part of the photo the park turns to the East and encompasses the Carter Center (the circles) at the bottom of the photo. Freedom Park has some nice open grassy areas and some shady spots with large older trees. The area around the Carter Center is beautifully landscaped with a Japanese Garden, a Peace Garden and a Rose Garden. The photos are from flickr...there are lots more.


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/51308138_b17ea72117.jpg?v=0


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1202/1438089220_1fd446e9a6.jpg?v=0http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1194/1437226039_0a94153908.jpg?v=0

Peace Garden
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/485614464_6af081e963.jpg?v=0http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1435/1074495633_73b101df5d.jpg?v=0


Reflecting Pool
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[sprtsluvr8]

Woodruff Park is located Downtown across Peachtree Street from Fairlie-Poplar and beside Georgia State campus. It has some great fountains and statues. Because of its central location, Woodruff draws political rallies, coporate outings, fundraisers, protests, students, lunch eaters, and homeless folks.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/38/84136826_c371cc1e0b.jpg?v=0http://farm1.static.flickr.com/42/84136829_65a3ae012f.jpg?v=0


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1109/731697745_f8623366f1.jpg?v=0http://farm1.static.flickr.com/52/162951265_a409ed237b.jpg?v=0


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/167952646_6477686809.jpg?v=0http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1395/1492051446_2b6c7efad4.jpg?v=0http://farm1.static.flickr.com/51/168516233_287254cb9c.jpg?v=0


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/39/87546704_b297be8d19.jpg?v=0http://farm1.static.flickr.com/65/154326965_a637d3365f.jpg?v=0

[sprtsluvr8]

Hurt Park is the entrance to Georgia State University, located across Courtland Street from Alumni Hall and behind Hurt Plaza. There is a beautiful fountain in center of the photo...I couldn't find a good photo of the fountain.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/39624548_5e795c1b80.jpg?v=0
(flickr)

[smArTaLlone]

Any info on this project?
http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8624/atlbridgeru5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



This is the 5th street bridge and was completed last year. It connects the GA Tech campus with Midtown and GREATLY improved the pedestrian experience crossing the freeway.

[dante2308]

the 5th Street Bridge has vines growing on the vine stands now and the grass is dying due to lack of watering. No other new news on it.

[Andrea]

Interesting....this article on the city's website does not recognize Chastain as one of the larger city parks. I am guessing it has to do with the fact that most of Chastain is a golf course?

http://www.atlantaga.gov/media/nr_quary_063006.aspx

Probably because the park is in Buckhead. Chastain is the largest park in the city, but the northside generally ejoys "Least Favored" status when it comes to city government.

[sprtsluvr8]

From ChastainParkConservancy.org:

Chastain is a 260+ acre park, the largest in the City of Atlanta, in a highly underserved area with a growing population that includes multifamily residents. There are no other regional parks from Chamblee to Vinings, from Peachtree Creek to Sandy Springs.

Chastain Park is an historic park, designed to be a world-class park with state of the art recreational facilities in its heyday in the 1940s. Those facilities—the horse park, pool, golf course, tennis center, and amphitheatre—have expanded to serve thousands of people every year. The newest additions to the park are the recreation center, added in the 1970s, the 3.4 miles of PATH, added in the 1990s, and a children’s playground added in its current location in 2000, combining to bring in hundreds more to the park every month. The variety of recreational offerings makes Chastain one of the most diverse of any of the City parks.
http://www.chastainparkconservancy.org/Portals/81/CPC%20Venues1.jpg

[atl2phx]

greg - there are still quite a few parks to consider such as grant park and candler park. i think okland cemetery is even part of the city's park system.

you can find a full list of ATL city parks at:

http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/parks/burparks_parklocations.aspx

[427MM]

Great, thanks so much for the input guys. I sure do love the foliage in your area of the country. One question, if the beltline does happen, would Marta then have a complete beltline around the city? Or, will they siply go around the upper half?

[sprtsluvr8]

It isn't planned for MARTA to be in charge of the Beltline transit, but I bet in the end MARTA will be operating it. :) The Beltline will make a complete crooked 22-mile circle through dozens of the city's historic neighborhoods...and will have transfer stations where it intersects with MARTA. It seems pretty certain the Beltline will materialize...the city has been purchasing the land for it and working deals for a couple of years. The first phases of it actually began today.

http://beltline.objectwareinc.com/Portals/26/Images/img_mapOverview.jpg

[dante2308]

[QUOTE=sprtsluvr8;3117039]It isn't planned for MARTA to be in charge of the Beltline transit, but I bet in the end MARTA will be operating it. :) The Beltline will make a complete crooked 22-mile circle through dozens of the city's historic neighborhoods...and will have transfer stations where it intersects with MARTA. It seems pretty certain the Beltline will materialize...the city has been purchasing the land for it and working deals for a couple of years. The first phases of it actually began today.

Pretty optimistic of yah. People are still calling it a pipe dream despite the progress to date.

[sprtsluvr8]

Pretty optimistic of yah. People are still calling it a pipe dream despite the progress to date.

Some people are pessimistic...though I'm not sure how that kind of thinking benefits us. I've heard a few people make comments about it being a dream (mostly on this forum), but most discussion I've heard has been positive and exciting. I don't see why the Beltline seems impossible to some. From yesterday's AJC:

Beltline work begins
Volunteers to start blazing trail in southwest Atlanta

By Paul Donsky
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 10/20/07

Work is to begin today on the first stretch of Atlanta's Beltline project, two years after the massive redevelopment effort won approval from city, county and school officials.

Granted, it's a modest starting point: a 1.7-mile walking and biking trail in southwest Atlanta, a tiny portion of what is envisioned to be a more than 30-mile path snaking through dozens of intown neighborhoods. Volunteers will begin clearing debris from the trail's route today; it likely will be decades before the entire Beltline is completed.

But as a first step, the project holds symbolic importance, officials say.

"It's a very important beginning for us," said Tina Arbes, chief operating officer of BeltLine Inc. "It becomes a real demonstration of what the whole Beltline project is all about."

The Beltline is a $2.8 billion effort to turn largely abandoned freight railroad corridors that circle downtown Atlanta into a loop offering 33 miles of trails, 22 miles of transit, parks and new development.

Today's cleanup in southwest Atlanta promises to transform weedy patches, trash-strewn lots and kudzu-choked thickets into a linear park with manicured lawns, paved and lighted paths, and new trees planted by Trees Atlanta. Existing parks along the route will get spruced up as well.

Interest in the cleanup has been so strong that all volunteer slots for today have been filled.

The path will wind through the West End and Westview neighborhoods. Construction is expected to begin early next year and last about eight months.

Westview resident Scott Smith said he hopes the new trail helps revitalize his neighborhood, which has been hit hard by foreclosures.

"It should mark a significant turnaround for the community's development," said Smith, who plans to take part in the cleanup. "It will get rid of the kudzu and stop the illegal dumping ... and get more people interested in looking at the community."

The project is significant in that it's the first part of the Beltline that people will be able to see and use, said Ed McBrayer, executive director of the nonprofit PATH Foundation, which is working with BeltLine Inc. and overseeing the development of the southwest Atlanta trail.

Much of the work on the Beltline up to this point has taken place behind the scenes, as officials worked to secure land for future parks, obtain right of way, and begin the extensive planning process that will determine how the finished product will look and feel.

That's led some people to wonder whether the Beltline was happening at all, McBrayer said.

The trail "will give credibility to the Beltline," he said. "This will make it real. All of this work isn't just a pipe dream."

[L.ARCH]

Botanical garden to grow a dream
$30 million renovation will transform fancy into fact

By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/22/07

The new garden. It's still the stuff of dreams, where walkways wind through trees and rooftops are refuges for wild things.

But the earthmovers are coming; behind them will be hard-hats, botanists and green-thumb types who can take fancy and make it fact. In two years, if all goes according to plans, they will transform the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
RELATED:
• More Living news
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Last week, the city issued the first of several permits that will allow the botanical garden to go ahead with most of a $30 million renovation for the 31-year-old garden.

The pending changes, says Mary Pat Matheson, the garden's executive director, are "transformational."

The plans for the 30-acre site include a new visitors center, a multi-use pedestrian path and a cistern so large it has to be built underground.

Also given a green light: a parking deck the garden will share with its neighbor, Piedmont Park. A judge last month dismissed the final count of a lawsuit challenging the parking deck, clearing the way for the most controversial segment of the garden's plans.

The garden's current parking facility, a one-acre lot that can hold about 120 cars, will be demolished in 2010. A garden featuring edible plants will spread roots in its place.

The botanical garden also plans something no American horticultural exhibit can boast. The Canopy Walk, an elevated path, will curl through the hardwoods of Storza Woods, a 12-acre stand of tall trees on the botanical garden's western edge. At places, it will rise 45 feet from the ground, allowing visitors to see the garden — the city, too — as a bird would.

"This is a very massive undertaking," said Matheson, who launched a private fund-raising campaign in 2005 to make the improvements. "It is an absolutely transformational time for the garden and the city."

Following are quick looks at Phase 1 of the garden's master plan — its parking deck, visitors center, Canopy Walk, multi-use path and the Southern Seasons Garden. They're scheduled to debut in spring 2009.

New deck

The STOP THE DECK signs wave in the gusts caused by traffic passing to and from the garden and Piedmont Park. But the deck has not been stalled. In August, a Fulton Superior Court judge dismissed four of five counts in a lawsuit filed by Friends of Piedmont Park Inc. and its CEO, Doug Abramson. The final count, alleging that the garden's deck plans were subject to the state's Open Records Act, got dismissed a month later. A judge said the nonprofit botanical garden sought the parking deck independent of the city, so it did not have to open its records. (In the same ruling, the judge declared that some of the Piedmont Park Conservancy's plans are subject to the open records law. The conservancy oversees the park's operation and maintenance.)

The new deck will cost about $19 million. It will be built on a tangle of kudzu on the eastern edge of the garden, a sloping tract that Piedmont Park handed over. In exchange, the garden gave the park 3.3 acres, a slice of woodland along Westminster Drive.

Plans call for a six-story structure largely covered with greenery, that will serve the garden and park. It will hold about 750 vehicles. Garden officials say it will be "green" — a structure that catches rainwater to be re-used for irrigation, a building screened with trees and other shrubbery. Matheson promises it will nearly vanish under a canopy of leaf and limb.

Motorists traveling to Piedmont Park will follow a tunnel directing them to the lower floors of the deck. Botanical garden visitors will drive into the structure's top level.

Visitors center

It's 10,000 square feet, spreading like a multilevel garden. Artist's renditions of the garden's new center, located in the eastern reaches of the tract, depict a structure as heavy on green stems as it is on gray steel. Its soil-covered roof will abound with native bushes and other flora.

The $6 million building, located close to the parking facility, will have dual purposes — conservation and education.

The conservation aspect, said Matheson, will be apparent in its construction: with a "green" roof covering almost half the new structure, a verdant plain that avoids rainwater runoff. Plans also call for the center to rely on the most old-fashioned method of cooling. It will be built with doors facing each other from opposite ends — a large-scale version of the breezeways once synonymous with so many stately Southern homes.

The building will house classes that emphasize our natural surroundings, and children will be urged to do something their parents would never say: Get on the roof. There, said Matheson, they can study plant species native to the South.

Canopy Walk

The walkway bends like a ribbon that has floated from the sky and landed among the limbs of a tree. Canopy Walk is a 600-foot stroll through the boughs of Storza Woods, where old hardwoods rustle in the wind. A system of steel cables erected on masts, it is a study in tension and grace. No other botanical garden in America has one.

Plans call for the walk in the trees to begin at the Southern Seasons Garden and head into the Storza woodlands. Its designers want it to rise and fall so that visitors can get a close look at springtime's buds and fall's foliage. They'll also pass close to birds and other animals that live in Storza's folds.

"It will be magnificent," Matheson said.

Multi-use path

The path will be a sort of pedestrian/bicyclist's freeway linking the garden and Piedmont Avenue to Piedmont Park. Plans call for a 12-foot-wide trail, most likely built of concrete. It will rise and wind with the hillsides, and will take joggers, strollers and others away from traffic.

Southern Seasons Garden

This will comprise five acres, spread out in front of the new visitors center. Plans call for the wooded tract to be planted with new bushes and trees. They'll be selected for their color — spring, summer and fall — and their visual interest.

By standing in front of the center, according to garden plans, visitors can take in the entire garden, a green reminder of the changing seasons in the South.

Other projects

Crews are already on site at the garden, cutting a few trees and laying mulch for a temporary pedestrian path that will divert visitors from two years or more of construction.

In 2010, the garden will turn its attention to the one-acre parking lot currently in use near its administration building. Machinery will rip apart the blacktop, revealing dirt that hasn't felt sunlight in three decades. Site plans call for an edible-plant garden where vegetables and fruits spread blooms, grow and are harvested. The produce, native to the southeastern United States, will be used in cooking workshops and food tastings. Just below the edible garden will be the cascades garden, teeming with flowers. And below that, collecting rainwater, will be a retention pond.

Nearby, stretching under Loop Road, will be a cistern so large it's the equivalent of a subterranean pond. It will be 10 feet deep and wide, and 125 long — a 95,000-gallon rain barrel, or cistern, to water the garden's plants.

The changes, said Matheson, are necessary to keep the garden — its support, too — growing.

"This had to be a great vision" for the garden, Matheson said. "We think it is."

[Andrea]

Stone Mountain Park
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7691/stonemtyt1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



Stone Mountain Park is excellent. We played golf there yesterday and the big rock makes an absolutely spectacular backdrop from just about any point on the course. Where else can you line up a 12 foot putt with giant images of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson looking over your shoulder?

Although they're not in the city, two of my other favorite area parks are Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (http://www.nps.gov/kemo/) and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (http://www.nps.gov/chat/). By Atlanta standards neither one is very far out.

[Fiorenza]

Great news about the botanical garden. Wow!

[ATLaffinity]

:previous:

excellent news about the garden, probably my favorite attraction in atlanta.

it's going to be amazing when both the garden and the park finish their expansions.

who's calling the beltline a pipedream??? there's been some rather real progress with the beltline.

[Tombstoner]

The Canopy Walk in the Botanical Garden sounds great! Lots of cities have great botanical gardens that are free to the public; it's the kind of thing that the city or counties would have to support, but it's also the kind of (relatively little) thing that makes cities special. Some strategic "free-stuff-to-do" on the city's part would do a lot to create the kind of environment I think a lot of us crave. Like Stone Mountain, there's something about paying to get in that makes it seem like an "attraction" rather than something really integral to the city.

[Andrea]

Like Stone Mountain, there's something about paying to get in that makes it seem like an "attraction" rather than something really integral to the city.

Yeah, it was eight bucks, too! :hell:

I remember the day when you could just go on out there and it didn't cost you a dime.

[Fiorenza]

I can understand why Atlanta Botanical Garden, which is basically a private organization, can charge admission...but Stone Mountain? C'mon, that's supposed to be a state park! It should be free to enter.

[Tombstoner]

:previous: I, too, understand why they charge. My point is that it would be nice if the City of Atlanta could create a scenario in which it was free to metro residents (yearly budget contribution/subsidized utilities, etc.). Lots of really world-class botanical gardens are free to the public and it's a shame that you pay to go to this one. Because I travel a lot, I can get my free "botanical garden fix" in lots of places, but for a lot of Atlantans, this is the only real chance they have to be in a nice garden (although someone posted a picture of a Japanese garden at the Carter Center I didn't know about...is that free?).

[sprtsluvr8]

:previous: I, too, understand why they charge. My point is that it would be nice if the City of Atlanta could create a scenario in which it was free to metro residents (yearly budget contribution/subsidized utilities, etc.). Lots of really world-class botanical gardens are free to the public and it's a shame that you pay to go to this one. Because I travel a lot, I can get my free "botanical garden fix" in lots of places, but for a lot of Atlantans, this is the only real chance they have to be in a nice garden (although someone posted a picture of a Japanese garden at the Carter Center I didn't know about...is that free?).

Yes, all of the gardens surrounding the Carter Center are free...it's part of Freedom Park...

The Rosalyn Carter Rose Garden
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/241983607_06e703713f.jpg?v=0 http://farm1.static.flickr.com/25/103274190_846d28683b.jpg?v=0

The Japanese Garden, designed by master gardener Kinsaku Nakane. The garden imitates a landscape of deep mountains and secluded valleys. The two waterfalls that are at the core of the design represent the president and his wife. The two stone lanterns placed in the heart of the garden symbolize the hope implict in the Carter Center.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/38/103286922_ddcd3eaf99.jpg?v=0 http://farm1.static.flickr.com/36/103287871_8432a9b28b.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/103289040_58aad5bb50.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/38/84107137_49a3ad2247.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/37/84107135_d96223ec02.jpg?v=0

[sprtsluvr8]

Nice nighttime shots of the gazebo at Piedmont Park
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/117/293544553_3a93011866.jpg?v=0http://farm1.static.flickr.com/109/293544593_ac19bb1b01.jpg?v=0

Piedmont Dog Park
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/419169819_492c7973bf.jpg?v=0


Grant Park
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/390127868_73fa10f819.jpg?v=0 http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/390134610_e62adbb73e.jpg?v=0


Grant Park resident
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/176/456069474_f78b647849.jpg?v=0

[Tombstoner]

Yes, all of the gardens surrounding the Carter Center are free...it's part of Freedom Park...



Thanks. I'll check it out.

[Chris Creech]

Grant Park resident
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/176/456069474_f78b647849.jpg?v=0

Is that the hawk that escaped from the zoo show? I kept seeing him around the convenience store on Boulevard. I hear he got tired of eating stringy pigeons though and finally went back.

[Andrea]

Is that the hawk that escaped from the zoo show? I kept seeing him around the convenience store on Boulevard. I hear he got tired of eating stringy pigeons though and finally went back.

Could be a she, given her larger size. (Just thought I'd throw that in).


Re Freedom Park, I was over there Sunday with my grandchildren and we walked about 6 miles. It's wonderful. Every step I take makes me so glad they didn't turn it into another concrete auto canyon.

[ATLaffinity]

there's always a hawk at Piedmont Park. Is he(she?) different?

[Andrea]

there's always a hawk at Piedmont Park. Is he(she?) different?

There's a bunch of them all over the city. We've got one who lives in the woods behind my house. Or if you play golf at some place like Bobby Jones or Tup Holmes you'll always see them zooming around.

[LoveAtlanta]

holiday nights at park
http://www.centennialpark.com/events/holiday.html

[Dragonheart8588]

I can understand why Atlanta Botanical Garden, which is basically a private organization, can charge admission...but Stone Mountain? C'mon, that's supposed to be a state park! It should be free to enter.

Cloudland Canyon charge a fee, too.

[sprtsluvr8]

Cloudland Canyon charge a fee, too.

Cloudland Canyon is a Georgia State Park...they each charge a $3 "parking fee" that helps cover parks maintenance.

[djkix]

This is the 5th street bridge and was completed last year. It connects the GA Tech campus with Midtown and GREATLY improved the pedestrian experience crossing the freeway.

i think the intention was good but the view is severly obsured. you can no longer see the highway (debatable whether one wants to see it or not) as one walks across and the grand "city view" is lost, if that makes any sense. it's also very concrete without any impressive characteristics that would make a pedestrian stop and appreciate the bridge. and while there are patches of lawn, it's not a place where you'd want to bring a beach towel, lay down and read a book on a nice day (you'd get lung cancer by the time you finished chapter 1). ga tech fans now tailgate there on gamedays but seriously, the air is just disgusting.

[atl2phx]

i think the intention was good but the view is severly obsured. you can no longer see the highway (debatable whether one wants to see it or not) as one walks across and the grand "city view" is lost, if that makes any sense. it's also very concrete without any impressive characteristics that would make a pedestrian stop and appreciate the bridge. and while there are patches of lawn, it's not a place where you'd want to bring a beach towel, lay down and read a book on a nice day (you'd get lung cancer by the time you finished chapter 1). ga tech fans now tailgate there on gamedays but seriously, the air is just disgusting.

although it's not a true park space - i don't think anyone expected the 5th street bridge to attract pedestrians to lay down a towel, catch some rays and pop out a cooler of sierra nevada. please, somebody help us if our goal in atlanta is to draw praise and recognition to interstate overpass projects. :yuck:

on the other hand, the 5th street bridge is far and away better than any other downtown overpass in atlanta.

[Andrea]

... it's also very concrete without any impressive characteristics that would make a pedestrian stop and appreciate the bridge.

I'd love it if we had some stone bridges around Atlanta, or more bridges with decorative concrete work or exposed steel. Even the rounded arch railroad bridges like the ones on Whitehall, Ponce, MLK and Stratford, Confederate and Edie, etc., offer much more visual interest. Bridges are major landmarks and they afford a wonderful opportunity for good urban design. Sadly, most of ours are terribly boring.

:(

[atl2phx]

I'd love it if we had some stone bridges around Atlanta, or more bridges with decorative concrete work or exposed steel. Even the rounded arch railroad bridges like the ones on Whitehall, Ponce, MLK and Stratford, Confederate and Edie, etc., offer much more visual interest. Bridges are major landmarks and they afford a wonderful opportunity for good urban design. Sadly, most of ours are terribly boring.

:(

adrea - is this your acquiescence on the existence of the connector?

stone bridges across the downtown connector bridges would be a nice diffrentiator - if they would invest in a design that was substantial and unique. although, in atlanta, it would be too easy to make a cheap replication of stone craftsmanship (like the nightmare on peachtree that took the place of planet hollywood).

i like your idea of recalling the past railroad history of atlanta. i think that would be really nice.

[Andrea]

adrea - is this your acquiescence on the existence of the connector?

Never, atl2phx! We probably won't see stone bridges on the connector until it is dismantled and converted to proper urban boulevards. But in the meantime I don't see why we couldn't devote a little more attention to the design of bridges on our other streets.

[Fiorenza]

We still have plenty of granite (almost infinite) in Georgia to build many things, including bridges and aquaducts. I don't know why people don't better utilize local granite and pine for building houses. The cost would be a little more, but would be quickly recaptured in longer lasting, more energy efficient structures.

[RobMidtowner]

Never, atl2phx! We probably won't see stone bridges on the connector until it is dismantled and converted to proper urban boulevards. But in the meantime I don't see why we couldn't devote a little more attention to the design of bridges on our other streets.

When there's limited transportation funds, all the bells and whistles get traded for bare essentials. :shrug:

[Andrea]

Rob, I certainly appreciate that but good design and cost consciousness are not mutually exclusive. We also have to bear in mind that our investments in infrastructure are investments in our collective future. They’ll be there for generations to come. We're a mature, affluent world class city of over 5 million people. There's no reason we shouldn't pay as least as much attention to our public structures as other similar cities around the globe.

[RobMidtowner]

Rob, I certainly appreciate that but good design and cost consciousness are not mutually exclusive. We also have to bear in mind that our investments in infrastructure are investments in our collective future. They’ll be there for generations to come. We're a mature, affluent world class city of over 5 million people. There's no reason we shouldn't pay as least as much attention to our public structures as other similar cities around the globe.

I agree with you Andrea but unfortunately I believe this is the argument that will be raised until we have a solid, sustainable source of transportation funding in place. I would love to see more context-sensitive bridges such as 5th Street but I have yet to talk to any GDOT official that is actually happy and excited about this kind've design. :shrug:

[Tombstoner]

We still have plenty of granite (almost infinite) in Georgia to build many things, including bridges and aquaducts. I don't know why people don't better utilize local granite and pine for building houses. The cost would be a little more, but would be quickly recaptured in longer lasting, more energy efficient structures.

Extensive use of granite more generally and especially in some high profile projects would definitely help make Atlanta more distinctive (like brownstones in NY or Chicago) and we would actually come by it honestly instead of trying to import new concepts from other places.

[zigzag]

Nice parks. :yes:

[smArTaLlone]

Speaking of bridging the connector in some form or fashion, this image was on the Greenberg Farrow website. I wonder if its something that was proposed (and rejected) for the 14th street bridge redo.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/pincfx/14thtreetBridge-1.jpg

[dante2308]

Speaking of covering the connector in some form or fashion, this image was on the Greenberg Farrow website. I wonder if its something that was proposed (and rejected) for the 14th street bridge redo.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/pincfx/14thtreetBridge-1.jpg

That includes a lot of scrapers too. I would imagine its a dead proposal at best.

[smArTaLlone]

That includes a lot of scrapers too. I would imagine its a dead proposal at best.

I'm talking about the park-like bridge over the connector, not the buildings. Greenberg did the streetscape design for 14th and I'm pretty sure the buildings are only there to show the potential of such a project.

[RobMidtowner]

^That looks like a connection between the 14th St and proposed 15th St bridge. This would be GREAT, but I don't know if it will happen as long as GDOT is constructing them. The only way it could happen would be if Midtown pumped in some extra cash. :shrug:

[smArTaLlone]

http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/tools/shared/mediahub/06/41/19/slideshow_319416_06-Axon-Gulch-Proposed_(Medium).jpg

AJC Image Gallery for Downtown's Gulch vision (http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/business/1212gulch/)

[smArTaLlone]

Video (http://www.piedmontpark.org/video/PP_480.html)

Park Expansion Plan Map (http://www.piedmontpark.org/restoration/ParkExpansionIllustrationL.html)

[ATLaffinity]

Video (http://www.piedmontpark.org/video/PP_480.html)

http://www.piedmontpark.org/images/photos/ParkExpansionPlan.gif

great video.

i love how they've run the park. i love the expansion plans. i love how they are working with the ABG.

as exciting as skyscraper plans are, quality of life would be zero without place like piedmont park and the botanical garden.

[AtlMidtowner]

great video.

i love how they've run the park. i love the expansion plans. i love how they are working with the ABG.

as exciting as skyscraper plans are, quality of life would be zero without place like piedmont park and the botanical garden.

We chose to live in Midtown because of Piedmont Park. Without the park, I would consider Buckhead's new highrise condos.

[Andrea]

New master plan for Chastain Park (http://www.chastainparkconservancy.org/portals/81/concepts/One%20Page%20CONCEPT(11x17)PrintQ_red.pdf)

Chastain Park Conservancy (http://www.chastainparkconservancy.org/Home/tabid/3319/Default.aspx)

[smArTaLlone]

Beltline Inc has completed a master plan for the North Avenue park.

North Avenue Park pdf (http://www.beltline.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=fMgSUjI0aCg%3d&tabid=1824&mid=3547)

location (south of City Hall East)
http://www.beltline.org/Portals/26/Images/img_map2.jpg

[amd1588]

nmn

[Tombstoner]

:previous: great set of photos, amd1588 (don't know how we've all missed them until now...)

I wanted to put in a plug for the newly renovated Deepdene Park (the most eastern of the linear parks on Ponce--the only one on the north side of the street). It is really neat -- it's been left with natural vegetation, it has 6 or 7 granite bridges (one really big one) crossing ravines, lots of stepping stones going back and forth across the creek that winds through it... Very intensively "engineered" but in a very rustic way. Because most of it is in a large ravine below street grade, you can walk along the bottom and think you are in the N. Georgia mountains (noise from the traffic the only reminder that you aren't).
I am often underwhelmed with Atlanta's efforts, but they hit this one out of the park (pun intended)! :tup:

[Andrea]

I'm really glad to hear that, Tombstoner. My kids played soccer there, lo, those many years ago and I have fond memories of Deepdene. I need to get back over there and check it out!

[Chris Creech]

Speaking of bridging the connector in some form or fashion, this image was on the Greenberg Farrow website. I wonder if its something that was proposed (and rejected) for the 14th street bridge redo.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y108/pincfx/14thtreetBridge-1.jpg

But even as a concept drawing this demonstrates one of the great things about anything that would cover the connector. Suddenly you go from having something that is development negative with noise, exhaust, unsightly, a huge physical barrier - to - something that is a HUGE development positive, nice quite parkland, unrestricted views, visual and pedestrian connectivity.

Suddenly marginally developable sites become highly developable.

[Andrea]

Definitely, Chris.

You know, they are currently doing this exact thing in Dallas, although on a somewhat larger scale. I'd love to see something like that happen here one day.

Woodall Rogers Park (http://www.wrpproject.com/swf/main.htm)

[ATLaffinity]

Does anyone know if there are ANY plans for even the tiniest pocket park in Midtown?

Midtown has ZERO parks. ZERO. I know Piedmont Park is great but you can't walk 2 miles to it with your family.

Without pocket parks, Midtown is never going to "mature" and housing values will never improve.

Families care A LOT more than singles about neighborhoods. Right now, singles are going to live in Midtown until they have kids and then they are forced to move.

It just kind of blew my mind when i looked at a map and there is literally not an inch of green in Midtown.

[smArTaLlone]

IMO greenspace is OVERRATED. Proof of that is the fact that Midtown is considered to have "not an inch of green " when there's a patch of grass every other block.

http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/807/parkaw7.jpg

http://www.showing247.com/1008biltmore/park.jpg

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/4884/pparkby5.jpg

http://www.preserveatlanta.com/images/AcademyofMedicine.jpg

http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/04/69/25/image_7525694.jpg

http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/5584/fedle5.jpg

http://www.georgia.org/NR/rdonlyres/05A1F28F-7E14-4DB8-8ABA-E1C9A5C3F0D6/0/AtlantaHigh_full.jpg

I do think the streetscape could be upgraded but what Midtown needs is dense, urban, inviting architecture built up to the street. But again thats just my opinion.

[dante2308]

I think Piedmont Park is sufficiently large to accommodate Midtown. The area is not very large to begin with and even in the suburbs, parks are a drive away. The greenspaces in Midtown admittedly are rare though. The government seems to ignore the need to buy up land for parks all together.

[Chris Creech]

I think it's interesting that for most all the examples of "green space" you show in midtown - if you were to layout a picnic cloth, layout to get some sun, or set up a volleyball net - you'd be promptly asked to leave.

While we all would like dense urban development here, that also just makes parkland that much more precious. The city should be banking parkspace and developing it now while it's still relatively inexpensive land. If you wait until the whole area is dense and developed it will never happen.

Two places in Midtown I'd always thought would be great for parks:

1) the block west of the Bilmore between W. P'tree and Spring, it's bounded on one side by the Biltmore, one by restaurants and shops, one by condos, and one by Technology Square - what a perfect spot for a park. Go ahed and throw a couple of layers of parking underneath it while you're at it. (Georgia Tech might even help develop it.)

2) The other is the block just west of the Southern Bell/ATT tower, again between W. P'tree and Spring. On one side you have ATT&T, one side the big churge there, one side the big parking lot of the Varsity (ripe for a highrise development), and the other that nasty AT&T parking deck. (Hit AT&T up as a sponsor.) In fact this block is sooo large, you could easily put condo towers along two sides and leave room for a nice park down the middle (see pic.)

Both could feature community ammenities, a small band shell for lunch concerts, large chess sets, small dog park, maybe a licensed restaurant on a small lake/fountain, public artwork.

Eventually Midtown is going to be all high-rises and urban enough for even the most jaded. Let's get some parks in place now before it's too late.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j213/creech444/midtownparks-1.jpg

[smArTaLlone]

I think a couple of well designed small parks would be awesome. My point is that a few of places to picnic scattered about are not going to make Midtown a great place nearly as much as urban development done "right".

[atl2phx]

I think a couple of well designed small parks would be awesome. My point is that a few of places to picnic scattered about are not going to make Midtown a great place nearly as much as urban development done "right".

count me as one who believes that "urban development done right" should by design, code, city will or developer will, feature frequent and regular small parks within the grid.

[ATLaffinity]

chris, excellent points. you made the case better than i ever could.

is there any master plan that requires pocket parks?

whose bell do I ring about the need for pocket parks?



Eventually Midtown is going to be all high-rises and urban enough for even the most jaded. Let's get some parks in place now before it's too late.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j213/creech444/midtownparks-1.jpg

[smArTaLlone]

count me as one who believes that "urban development done right" should by design, code, city will or developer will, feature frequent and regular small parks within the grid.

If "urban development done right" does include pocket parks, thats fantastic. But IMO with or without a few patches of grass, its the urban design that matters most.

By the way, the Peachtree Streetcar proposal did include $110 million for pocket parks about every 1/2 mile.

[Chris Creech]

As Inspiration:

Here's the site for the New York Park Restoration Project. It was founded years ago by Bette Middler of all people. I have to give her major props for her work. But there's several things on the web site about the importance of parks and green space and trees in urban environments. She's bought dozens of vacant neglected properties in New York City and had them redeveloped into useful community driven pocket parks. She's also behind the drive to plant a million trees in NYC.

http://www.nyrp.org/

Plus I certainly would go to a park opening if it featured Bette Midler and an interpretive performance art piece on tree planting by the Blue Man Group. How New York is that?

Again, I think we kinda miss the point though, it seems that the argument always gets down to a) open green space, parks, community building areas, OR b) dense urban developments - they shouldn't really conflict. They actually compliment each other. Small community parks, local pocket parks, all provide a needed breathing space and "living room" to meet you neighbors.

[Andrea]

I love public spaces (as opposed to plots of grass) and think they are essential to urban life. It's hard to imagine New York without Bryant Park, Philadelphia without Rittenhouse Square, Savannah without its squares or New Haven without the Green.

Piedmont Park is a phenomenal asset to the city but it's a little too "over there" to fulfill Midtown's need for public space.

Chris, great link. Thank you!

[ATLaffinity]

But IMO with or without a few patches of grass, its the urban design that matters most.
.

but pocket parks ARE "urban design".

you are never going to have this world class city everyone envisions if people leave midtown/downtown when they turn 30. we don't have to be savannah but it's shocking that we have no parks/playgrounds in midtown.

[atl2phx]

but pocket parks ARE "urban design".

you are never going to have this world class city everyone envisions if people leave midtown/downtown when they turn 30. we don't have to be savannah but it's shocking that we have no parks/playgrounds in midtown.

thank you. i agree 100%. particularly when one of our greatest assets is the 'green' nature of the city due to the everpresent canopy of trees. it would be an oversight to let midtown develop without an eye toward including frequent, visible and accessible 'public' greenspace.

atlanta is still in the bottom half of major us cities in terms of % land dedicated to public parks. such a low ranking is all the more reason focus on more such spaces, particularly in rapidly growing urban corridors such as midtown and buckhead.

[smArTaLlone]

but pocket parks ARE "urban design".

you are never going to have this world class city everyone envisions if people leave midtown/downtown when they turn 30. we don't have to be savannah but it's shocking that we have no parks/playgrounds in midtown.

I've actually been thinking of cities that I've been to and consider to be great cities and other than Savannah I honestly can't recall if any of them even has pocket parks.

[smArTaLlone]

As Inspiration:

Here's the site for the New York Park Restoration Project. It was founded years ago by Bette Middler of all people. I have to give her major props for her work. But there's several things on the web site about the importance of parks and green space and trees in urban environments. She's bought dozens of vacant neglected properties in New York City and had them redeveloped into useful community driven pocket parks. She's also behind the drive to plant a million trees in NYC.

http://www.nyrp.org/

Plus I certainly would go to a park opening if it featured Bette Midler and an interpretive performance art piece on tree planting by the Blue Man Group. How New York is that?

Again, I think we kinda miss the point though, it seems that the argument always gets down to a) open green space, parks, community building areas, OR b) dense urban developments - they shouldn't really conflict. They actually compliment each other. Small community parks, local pocket parks, all provide a needed breathing space and "living room" to meet you neighbors.

Talk about missing the point. I have not at all agrued parks versus urban development. I've only said that its the good urban development (not just tall buildings) is the critical issue to Midtown becoming a great place not pocket parks.

[Chris Creech]

"Talk about missing the point. I have not at all agrued parks versus urban development. <<<< :???: >>>> I've only said that its the good urban development is the critical to Midtown becoming a great place not pocket parks."

[dante2308]

I think it's interesting that for most all the examples of "green space" you show in midtown - if you were to layout a picnic cloth, layout to get some sun, or set up a volleyball net - you'd be promptly asked to leave.

While we all would like dense urban development here, that also just makes parkland that much more precious. The city should be banking parkspace and developing it now while it's still relatively inexpensive land. If you wait until the whole area is dense and developed it will never happen.

Two places in Midtown I'd always thought would be great for parks:

Sorry to detract, but both those park locations are very close to Georgia's Tech's area which is very much dotted with usable greenspace. I would much prefer that the new greenspace areas be in more residential areas than your At&t/BellSouth location and in more desperate locations than your Tech Square parking lot location.

I suggest West Peachtree and Spring Street locations north of 10th Street and below 17th Street.

[GTviajero81]

Also there was an article in The Technique (GT's student newspaper) which specifically mentioned that Georgia Tech is very near to running out of space to build anything and has essentially reached its eastern border (Spring Street). Therefore one may infer that the mid-rise building and parking lot and in the area bounded by 5th, Spring, and W. P'tree (not including the lofts on the Abercrombie border) would be built up into usable space for the Institute and not a pocket park.

And what is this about wanting to set out a picnic in a park and the horror of having to go ALL the way to Piedmont Park? As someone who grew up in the NYC ( I mention this as NYC was cited a few times as a place with urban pocket parks), these neighbourhood parks did NOT have picnic areas and the like. There were swings, see-saws, basketball courts, tennis courts, and monkey-bars. The ground was generally concrete or cobblestone. What made them parks in NYC-eyes were the presence of large trees. If we ever felt a need to picnic it was considered a treat to go to the larger parks, i.e. Central, Prospect, Van Cortlandt, Flushing Meadows, among others. If you live in midtown and don't want to go to Piedmont then go to Georgia Tech! There is plenty of greenspace there and if one is respectable acting and looking (i.e., not using the grounds of the Institute as one's personal toilet) then one can relax there to one's content. There is Yellowjacket Park in the centre of the school that provides plenty of skyline views and sunshine as well as at least two acres or so of grassy field.

I argue that due to the climate and topography of the areas along Peachtree Street that we ought to focus on REDUCING the spacing between venues. Note well that Peachtree is on a ridge and therefore nearly all roads lead UP to P'tree....parks are great but I fear that they really wouldn't be used as often as we would like to think. Another reason as to why not? We have not, nor is it likely that we will ever reach the critical mass necessary for the making such urban greenspaces actually worth the trouble. Atlanta is a interesting animal in the sense that although we lack natural boundaries, we still have a freeway on the west side (our concrete river), a university, a globally-known studio and company HQ and Atlantic Station (all going no where anytime soon), a freeway on the north (dividing Midtown and Brookwood), the city's major park and botanical gardens,a historic district, and Freedom Parkway ( a bit of a stretch but who knows in the future?) on the east side, and a freeway on the south side. These delineated area is quite walkable and should be the focus of intense development. With the development of the park in the Old 4th Ward area and along the Beltline this should suffice for parks in the sense of what was mentioned earlier: places for picnic-ing, etc.

Personally one way that we could preserve the canopy within the city centre is to remake the major thoroughfares with tree-lined medians, and to get wild for a moment, palm tree-lined! Certain palms do quite well here (reference many properties in the Druid Hills/Lake Claire/Candler Park which have a lovely amount of palms) and would leave a mark in the mind of a winter-weary visitor to our city in the winter. Palm trees automatically place the idea of vacation spot in many people's minds...we ought to capitalise on that! :)

Ok enough of the wild dreams now.
Cheers.

[trainiac]

Also there was an article in The Technique (GT's student newspaper) which specifically mentioned that Georgia Tech is very near to running out of space to build anything and has essentially reached its eastern border (Spring Street). Therefore one may infer that the mid-rise building and parking lot and in the area bounded by 5th, Spring, and W. P'tree (not including the lofts on the Abercrombie border) would be built up into usable space for the Institute and not a pocket park.

At one point wasn't this lot going to be built on for some private middle or high school?


Personally one way that we could preserve the canopy within the city centre is to remake the major thoroughfares with tree-lined medians, and to get wild for a moment, palm tree-lined! Certain palms do quite well here (reference many properties in the Druid Hills/Lake Claire/Candler Park which have a lovely amount of palms) and would leave a mark in the mind of a winter-weary visitor to our city in the winter. Palm trees automatically place the idea of vacation spot in many people's minds...we ought to capitalise on that! :)

My favorite idea of the month!! I fully endorse this plan as long as we can find palms that grow tall and don't look too ratty. Now where to put them? A median in W. Peachtree when it's changed to two way and the new medians on Peachtree (around 15th St and by Terminus) come to mind immediately.

[sunking1056]

PLEASE, no palm trees! Atlanta has so many beautiful native trees that wouldn't look so out of place. Besides, as such a heat island we need more shade trees

[ATLaffinity]

There were swings, see-saws, basketball courts, tennis courts, and monkey-bars.

all things for children which makes high-rise living possible for families.

plus we don't have convenient subway stops like NYC. I can't get on the 5th/Spring MARTA and take the purple line to 10th/Monroe.

i heard mention once of Kim King Associates plans for a park in the land across from The Cheetah. Not sure if they still own that property.

[GTviajero81]

all things for children which makes high-rise living possible for families.

plus we don't have convenient subway stops like NYC. I can't get on the 5th/Spring MARTA and take the purple line to 10th/Monroe.

i heard mention once of Kim King Associates plans for a park in the land across from The Cheetah. Not sure if they still own that property.

Oy, but one can take the Georgia Tech Trolley from 5th/Spring to the 10th Street MARTA station...what afraid to walk a few blocks to Piedmont Park thereafter?

See folks, research for yourselves the abundance of transit options and you'd be surprised...it's getting there.

[ATLaffinity]

Oy, but one can take the Georgia Tech Trolley from 5th/Spring to the 10th Street MARTA station...what afraid to walk a few blocks to Piedmont Park thereafter?

See folks, research for yourselves the abundance of transit options and you'd be surprised...it's getting there.

i don't think we're disagreeing about much. i simply think a couple small parks would really "activate" the area. and walking to Piedmont Park from Spring St is a hike for a family.

i ride the trolley. i even use the 5th Street bridge as a park (i almost kicked a soccer ball onto the connector so it has its limitations for ball play!).

[smArTaLlone]

Also there was an article in The Technique (GT's student newspaper) which specifically mentioned that Georgia Tech is very near to running out of space to build anything and has essentially reached its eastern border (Spring Street). Therefore one may infer that the mid-rise building and parking lot and in the area bounded by 5th, Spring, and W. P'tree (not including the lofts on the Abercrombie border) would be built up into usable space for the Institute and not a pocket park.

And what is this about wanting to set out a picnic in a park and the horror of having to go ALL the way to Piedmont Park? As someone who grew up in the NYC ( I mention this as NYC was cited a few times as a place with urban pocket parks), these neighbourhood parks did NOT have picnic areas and the like. There were swings, see-saws, basketball courts, tennis courts, and monkey-bars. The ground was generally concrete or cobblestone. What made them parks in NYC-eyes were the presence of large trees. If we ever felt a need to picnic it was considered a treat to go to the larger parks, i.e. Central, Prospect, Van Cortlandt, Flushing Meadows, among others. If you live in midtown and don't want to go to Piedmont then go to Georgia Tech! There is plenty of greenspace there and if one is respectable acting and looking (i.e., not using the grounds of the Institute as one's personal toilet) then one can relax there to one's content. There is Yellowjacket Park in the centre of the school that provides plenty of skyline views and sunshine as well as at least two acres or so of grassy field.

I argue that due to the climate and topography of the areas along Peachtree Street that we ought to focus on REDUCING the spacing between venues. Note well that Peachtree is on a ridge and therefore nearly all roads lead UP to P'tree....parks are great but I fear that they really wouldn't be used as often as we would like to think. Another reason as to why not? We have not, nor is it likely that we will ever reach the critical mass necessary for the making such urban greenspaces actually worth the trouble. Atlanta is a interesting animal in the sense that although we lack natural boundaries, we still have a freeway on the west side (our concrete river), a university, a globally-known studio and company HQ and Atlantic Station (all going no where anytime soon), a freeway on the north (dividing Midtown and Brookwood), the city's major park and botanical gardens,a historic district, and Freedom Parkway ( a bit of a stretch but who knows in the future?) on the east side, and a freeway on the south side. These delineated area is quite walkable and should be the focus of intense development. With the development of the park in the Old 4th Ward area and along the Beltline this should suffice for parks in the sense of what was mentioned earlier: places for picnic-ing, etc.

Personally one way that we could preserve the canopy within the city centre is to remake the major thoroughfares with tree-lined medians, and to get wild for a moment, palm tree-lined! Certain palms do quite well here (reference many properties in the Druid Hills/Lake Claire/Candler Park which have a lovely amount of palms) and would leave a mark in the mind of a winter-weary visitor to our city in the winter. Palm trees automatically place the idea of vacation spot in many people's minds...we ought to capitalise on that! :)

Ok enough of the wild dreams now.
Cheers.

I was 100% with you until you said Palm trees. :sly:

[trainiac]

They're doing some massive earth moving on the southern section of the new park. The whole stretch along Ralph McGill is getting work. Saw some huge water drainage pipes going in too. I had no idea this was starting so quickly. Awesome! :banana:

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4991/northaveparkaz5.jpg

[Andrea]

.

[Andrea]

They're doing some massive earth moving on the southern section of the new park. The whole stretch along Ralph McGill is getting work. Saw some huge water drainage pipes going in too. I had no idea this was starting so quickly. Awesome!

Say, I was over there today for a doctor's appointment and wondered what all that was. Very cool!

:banana:

[smArTaLlone]

They're doing some massive earth moving on the southern section of the new park. The whole stretch along Ralph McGill is getting work. Saw some huge water drainage pipes going in too. I had no idea this was starting so quickly. Awesome! :banana:


Actually groundbreaking for the park is in a couple of weeks. I believe what you saw may have been site prep on yet another "luxury" apartment project called Six60 @ Old Fourth Ward.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7899/groundbreakingno7.jpg

[smArTaLlone]

Peachtree Road Race participants will be allowed to use meadow.

By ERIC STIRGUS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, October 03, 2008

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival can return to Piedmont Park next year, Atlanta officials said Friday.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race also will be permitted to end its race on 10th Street near Monroe Drive, and then participants can use the meadow in Piedmont Park, the officials said.

City officials met Friday morning with organizers of those two events and three others to plot out where Atlanta’s largest events can be held.

The events were forced out of Piedmont Park last year by drought conditions. Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Dianne Harnell Cohen said the city still needs to limit major events in Piedmont because of the ongoing drought and concerns that large crowds could do major damage to the grounds.

City officials wanted to work out agreements with the events to avoid using a lottery to decide which events could use the Midtown park. Organizers of three of the events told city officials they were willing to use other venues.

The Atlanta Pride Festival agreed to use Central Park and the Atlanta Civic Center. The Atlanta Jazz Festival will hold its three-day event next year at Grant Park. Screen on the Green will use Centennial Olympic Park.

[trainiac]

Actually groundbreaking for the park is in a couple of weeks. I believe what you saw may have been site prep on yet another "luxury" apartment project called Six60 @ Old Fourth Ward.

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7899/groundbreakingno7.jpg

I hadn't heard of that project... and I think you're absolutely right. The earth-moving was on McGill from Willoughby to one building lot west of Ashley. Hopefully they are coordinating the topography changes with the park folks.

Thanks for the info

[Chris Creech]

Speaking of all the festivals trying to find homes. Maybe Pride can move to that North Avenue Park since it's designed with festival space in mind. That location down at the civici center just sucks (pardon the pun).

[ATLaffinity]

After five years of planning and construction, Midtown Alliance is proud to celebrate the opening of the 15th Street Plaza. Midtown’s newest green space includes 30 Overcup Oak trees, new lighting, granite curbing, enhanced sidewalk areas, 88 French bistro chairs and tables and a Reading Room complete with a number of popular newspapers and magazines available to read free of charge.

OCTOBER 27-31 Lunchtime Entertainment
11:30 a.m.-1:30 pm.: Enjoy an eclectic mix of performances every day from Midtown's diverse arts community.

OCTOBER 31. Dedication Celebration
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Join Midtown Alliance with special performances by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and The Honeybees, Savannah College of Art and Design's renowned singing ensemble.

Ceremony begins at noon. Seating is limited. Please RSVP by e-mail to Debra Brown by Oct. 29 at or call 404-892-4782.

Make it a picnic! Order a boxed lunch from Einstein's Brothers and pick it up at the Plaza on the 31st for the dedication event.

[ATLaffinity]

Your eyes do not deceive, Noguchi Playscapes is being renovated! Piedmont Park is fortunate to have the only Playscapes of its kind by internationally renowned sculptor, designer, and architect Isamu Noguchi in the United States. Noguchi was officially opened in 19 76, so it's time for a little refreshing.

The City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs has enlisted a top-notch conservation team to perform the professional restoration of Noguchi Playscapes. The work has begun and is scheduled for completion by mid-December.

glad to see this considering what a nightmare that playground had become.

this PDF is about the restoration is a good read on playgrounds in general
http://ocaatlanta.com/uploaded/misc/Complete%20Noguchi%20Report%20lowres.pdf

[smArTaLlone]

After five years of planning and construction, Midtown Alliance is proud to celebrate the opening of the 15th Street Plaza. Midtown’s newest green space includes 30 Overcup Oak trees, new lighting, granite curbing, enhanced sidewalk areas, 88 French bistro chairs and tables and a Reading Room complete with a number of popular newspapers and magazines available to read free of charge.


The Business Chronicle reports that similar pocket parks are planned for Pershing Point, Ponce and Peachtree, and at least two other locations that I can't remember at the moment.

[galaca]

Your eyes do not deceive, Noguchi Playscapes is being renovated! Piedmont Park is fortunate to have the only Playscapes of its kind by internationally renowned sculptor, designer, and architect Isamu Noguchi in the United States. Noguchi was officially opened in 19 76, so it's time for a little refreshing.

The City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs has enlisted a top-notch conservation team to perform the professional restoration of Noguchi Playscapes. The work has begun and is scheduled for completion by mid-December.

glad to see this considering what a nightmare that playground had become.

this PDF is about the restoration is a good read on playgrounds in general
http://ocaatlanta.com/uploaded/misc/Complete%20Noguchi%20Report%20lowres.pdf

cool. i used to play on that slide all the time. i remember it always smelled funny inside.

[Andrea]

.

[trainiac]

From Maria Saporta's article in the ABC

Atlanta’s newest up-and-coming park now has its own conservancy with an official board.

The new park — to be known as the Historic Fourth Ward Park — is under construction and will transform a 35-acre site of mostly surface parking lots into green space south of North Avenue at City Hall East.

The Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy is an outgrowth of the Park Area Coalition, which was formed last year on an interim basis following the groundbreaking of the park Oct. 15.

The conservancy’s board held its first general membership meeting Feb. 18 to help preserve, protect and improve Atlanta’s newest park (the first phase of which is expected to be completed in spring 2010).

John Perlman , a principal with Adams & Co., is serving as chair.

Other members include Bob Bridges of the Simpson Organization; Chris Brown of the Carter Center; landscape architect Cindy Cox ; neighborhood leader Liz Coyle ; Evan Cramer of Southeast Capital Partners; Julie Dalia of the Smith Dalia architectural firm and Markham Smith of the same firm; Isaac King Farris of the King Center; Georgia Power Co.’s Kevin Fletcher ; McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP’s Sharon Gay ; Wood Partners’ Scott Greenfield ; community activist Natalie Hall ; the Zoning Review Board’s Martha Porter Hall ; Matt Hicks of the Friends of Historic Fourth Ward Park; Sweet Auburn’s Charles Johnson ; Morsberger Group’s David Laube ; neighborhood leader Derek Matory ; Inman Park’s Jonathan Miller ; Lane Co.’s Ed Monarchik ; Sage Rhodes of AT&T Inc.; Fourth Ward Alliance’s Cedric Stallworth ; landscape designer Esther Stokes and neighborhood activist Kit Sutherland.


Interesting that another OFW park just finished a massive makeover: the corner of Angier and Parkway used to be a crappy basketball court with backboards but no hoops.... now it's a pretty nice park with play areas, paths, pagoda and a classic iron fence around the perimeter. Kwanza Hall has been focusing on this hood quite a bit.

[trainiac]

Looks like it's getting pretty close. Went to the GNPS meeting this month and they said that by May the old surface lot will be gone (to be a new garden area) and the only parking will be this new deck. It's built on the rather steep hillside to the east of the gardens just north of the tennis courts at Piedmont Park.

http://jolomo.net/pics/piedmont/botanical1.jpg
http://jolomo.net/pics/piedmont/botanical2.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h186/eliahd24/urban%20hiking/IMG_4756.jpg

And here's a bonus shot over the oval which is getting new turf
http://jolomo.net/pics/piedmont/botanical3.jpg

[jurban8]

Wow once the vegetation starts to grow on the deck it'll really be hidden - they did an awesome job!

[Chris Creech]

It's great to see the park construction coming along. The whole deck controversy thing was so riduculous. I'm dating myself but I remembe when I first moved to Atlanta there were no actual buildings, and the only structure was a 20' modular building that served as the office for the one person that worked there full time, and had a desk that would hold a couple of volunteers.

[cybele]

This was a big deal for the Parks Department. It's my understanding that several comparable cities didn't make the cut.

City Parks Department accredited (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2009/03/26/atlparks0326b.html)