Parks and Greenspace
Kirkwood is home to five of Atlanta's public parks that are situated throughout the neighborhood. Additionally, Kirkwood is working to establish the Eastside Greenway; a series of linear parks, greenspace and urban trail network traversing the neighborhood. The "Trolley Line" of the PATH (Atlanta) network also crosses the community along much of Hosea Williams Drive and Woodbine Avenue.
Gilliam Park:: Jesse Clay, the first owner of the land, is thought to have emigrated from Bradford County, Virginia and first settled in Jasper County, Georgia, where he shows on the Federal Census of 1820 along with his wife, children, and six slaves. He purchased Land Lots 206 and 207 of the 15th District, DeKalb County, from Taylor & Watts of Jasper County in 1826. He made the final payment on the land after traveling to South Carolina and back by horseback. He initially lived on the property in a tent and drew water from a spring at Wade’s Place Hollow (now Gilliam Park).
He cleared and farmed approximately 850 acres (3.4 km2) that ranged from the curve of Gilliam Park south to Memorial Drive until his death in 1871. His son Cleveland, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, inherited the land. The majority of the land was first subdivided and sold to the Atlanta Suburban Land Company in 1892 with the family retaining the Clay home at Boulevard Dekalb (now Hosea Williams Drive) between Clay and Wyman Streets, the family burial grounds nearby, and other parcels.
The sale was prompted by increased Kirkwood development following installation of one of Atlanta’s first trolley lines in the early 1870s. That line’s right of way bordered soon to be Gilliam Park and explains the curved shape of the park’s border. In the late 1910s consolidation of the many electric trolley companies in Atlanta led to the founding of today’s Georgia Power Company. The Atlanta Suburban Land Company held the park parcel until approximately 1922, when they collapsed during a land fraud scandal.
Between 1922 and 1924 the City of Kirkwood (incorporated in 1892) was annexed in a long and at times contentious political and legislative process. General practice lawyer Rufus F. Gilliam, a former mayor of Kirkwood, was an active proponent of annexation. He lived on nearby Rogers Street with his wife Elsa and son Edwin.
The annexation agreement between the two cities included a commitment by Atlanta to create city parks in Kirkwood. Today’s park was acquired from the many parcels available after failure of the Atlanta Suburban Land Company and named after Mr. Gilliam. It has remained in Atlanta’s park inventory since. The park currently features green space, a bike trail (as part of the PATH (Atlanta) project), and a community garden.
Coan Park: Also situated along the old trolley line, Coan Park features an accessible playground allowing disabled children use of play equipment. Installed in 2011 the Coan Park Outdoor Gym provides resistance work out equipment that citizens can use. The park is also home to Coan Recreation Center, Coan Baseball Field, basketball court, several tennis courts and entertainment gazebo. The park is on the border of Edgewood and Kirkwood neighborhoods.
Coan Park originally was the Woodbine Neighborhood Club. Formed in the late 1940s, neighbors in the surrounding area bought shares to pay for the land. Contractors volunteered their labor and equipment to build a baseball/football field, basketball court and picnic area. The Atlanta Transit Company donated two old streetcars to serve as a clubhouse and meeting place. The Atlanta Crackers donated catcher's equipment for the baseball team. The park served the neighborhood until it was transitioned to Coan Park. Coan Park location on Google Maps
Bessie Branham Park (Formerly Kirkwood Park):Bessie Branham and her husband were leading citizens of Kirkwood in the early 20th century. Mr. Branham was in the publishing business. Mrs. Branham was a civic leader involved in women’s and children’s activities.
In the 1920s Mrs. Branham purchased the land that is now Bessie Branham Park and gave it to the city of Atlanta with the understanding that it would be developed as a public park. The City of Atlanta developed the park and named it after Mrs. Branham.
In 1998, Bessie Branham Park was renovated with new tennis/basketball courts, a ball field, and playground as well as a $2 million recreational center. The recreation center has a gym, workout equipment, and a state-of-the-art computer center with classes that are free to Atlanta residents. The park also features Atlanta's only Urban Treehouse that was constructed under a US Forest Service program to increase the awareness of inner-city youth to nature.
In 2002, the city of Atlanta removed a majority of the existing play structures at Bessie Branham Park without any budget or intent to replace it. The KNO, in conjunction with KABOOM!, and with the assistance of over 700 volunteers from corporate sponsors completed the design, funding and building of a new playground in 2003. The playground is now the centerpiece of the park and serves as a hub for neighborhood parents to let the kids blow off some steam! Bessie Brenham Park location in Google Maps.
Kirkwood Urban Forest and Community Garden : Community members banded together to transform 7 acres of neglected land into a park and community garden. Located on the old site of Dixie St SE's eastern branch, it is classified by the City of Atlanta as a conservation park, meaning, "Conservation parks are managed for environmental protection, but open for public access". Uniquely, this land is run by neighborhood volunteers and is generously supported by the local neighborhood organization with additional grants. The urban forest features trails among mixed hardwood trees and a wandering spring-fed creek. The community garden has a young orchard, native rain gardens, frog pond, herb beds, shade garden, personal plots, and a unusually large vermicomposting area. There are future plans for a large community pavilion, a small playground, and continued removal of invasive species.
DeKalb Memorial Park: Located at the southern edge of the neighborhood, border by Memorial Drive SE to the north, Interstate 20 to the south, Clifton Street SE to the west, and Wilkinson Drive SE to the east. The park offers 2 tennis courts, 1 basketball court, open athletic field, baseball and softball fields. There are talks about a disk golf course in the future. DeKalb Memorial Park on Google Maps
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Famous quotes containing the words parks and and/or parks:
“Perhaps our own woods and fields,—in the best wooded towns, where we need not quarrel about the huckleberries,—with the primitive swamps scattered here and there in their midst, but not prevailing over them, are the perfection of parks and groves, gardens, arbors, paths, vistas, and landscapes. They are the natural consequence of what art and refinement we as a people have.... Or, I would rather say, such were our groves twenty years ago.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Perhaps our own woods and fields,—in the best wooded towns, where we need not quarrel about the huckleberries,—with the primitive swamps scattered here and there in their midst, but not prevailing over them, are the perfection of parks and groves, gardens, arbors, paths, vistas, and landscapes. They are the natural consequence of what art and refinement we as a people have.... Or, I would rather say, such were our groves twenty years ago.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)