Restored Abana Courtyard coming soon!
Restored Abana Courtyard coming soon!
By Ceci Villanueva, GPC Staff
Honoring its mission to preserve and maintain the historic features of Grant Park, the Grant Park Conservancy (GPC) has broken ground on the restoration of the Abana Courtyard. The stately overlook, once a place to see and be seen, has been out of the public view for over 50 years.
Situated on the southwest corner of Grant Park, behind the Erskine Memorial fountain, the Abana Courtyard was once the place to people-watch and enjoy the breeze over Lake Abana. Through the first half of the 20th century, countless Atlantans visited the six-acre lake to swim and play, picnic around the fountain, and take in the scene from the grand overlook perched above the water.
Lake Abana was closed in 1958, the same year the city integrated public facilities. Shortly thereafter it was drained to make way for a major expansion of Zoo Atlanta. For over 50 years, the intricately constructed brick and stone courtyard lay behind a chain link fence, out of sight and forgotten. A few steps away, the Erskine Fountain, donated to the City of Atlanta in 1896 to honor federal Judge John Erskine and installed in Grant Park in 1912, suffered decades of neglect and fell into disrepair.
With the help of neighbors and supporters, the GPC restored the Erskine Fountain in 2020. The nautically themed bronze bowl and surrounding marble bench, designed by artist J. Massey Rhind, were painstakingly restored to their original magnificence. A vibrant feature of the park, the historic fountain flows once again on Cherokee Avenue.
The GPC is now reclaiming the Abana Courtyard and surrounding areas for everyone to enjoy. The project, which broke ground in August, involves replacing swaths of asphalt with permeable pavers, adding new green space, and installing a new iron fence on the brickwork of the overlook. Construction work is scheduled to last three months.
Very soon, the chain link fence will come down and the Abana Courtyard will open to the community for the first time in more than 50 years.
While the Grant Park Conservancy has raised much of the $230,000 total cost of the restoration, they still need our help to complete the project. Please consider donating to the project by visiting: www.gpconservancy.org/donate and choosing Abana Courtyard in the drop-down menu.
