By Lorna Gentry
Historic Grant Park (Arcadia Publishing, 2011), written by long time Grant Park residents Philip and Jennifer Cuthbertson, is now available electronically via Apple iBooks on the iTunes store (www.itunes.apple.com). Published last year as part of Arcadia’s “Images of America” series, Historic Grant Park is the first book to be published on the park and neighborhood and contains more than 100 pages of stories and historic photographs, including then-and-now pictures that show how the 131-acre park and surrounding neighborhood have changed since the park was donated to the city by L.P. Grant in 1883.
The authors are donating book sale proceeds to the Atlanta Preservation Center to help restore the Grant Mansion. The Cuthbertsons held a book signing party at the mansion last May on the 127th anniversary of the date L.P. Grant donated the property to Atlanta for the city’s first park. “We are very pleased with the reception our book has received across Atlanta and even more pleased that we are able to generate dollars to support the efforts of the Atlanta Preservation Center to restore the original home of Lemuel Pratt Grant,” says Jennifer Cuthbertson.
Phil Cuthbertson adds, “We’re hoping the book will encourage others to support the restoration effort and become members of the Preservation Center. As the city of Atlanta has grown and changed, we’ve lost a number of icons, such as Terminal Station, Rich’s Department Store, Lowe’s Grand Theater, and the Henry Grady Hotel. Among the few that remain are places like L.P. Grant Park and the Grant Mansion, which was built in 1857.”
Since publishing the book the Cuthbertsons have met a number of people throughout the region who have personal ties to the neighborhood. One woman told them she grew up on Milledge Avenue across from the Hartsfield family when former Atlanta mayor William B. Hartsfield was a child.
“My favorite book signings have been at senior residential centers around the city,” says Phil. “We’ve met many former residents of Grant Park who had knowledge of specific photos in the book. One woman identified her best friend and her Dodge car in a picture taken in front of Roosevelt High School in 1947, the year the school transitioned from Girls High to a co-ed Roosevelt High. We also met a 102-year-old woman who was a graduate of Girls High and she still goes to reunions.”
Jennifer adds, “We met a woman who grew up on Grant Street and was friends with the children of Hyman Weinman, who ran Weinman Grocery, which was at the corner of Sydney and Broyles streets. Most current Grant Park residents know this as the old Kelly’s Grocery. She still sees one of the Weinman sons at synagogue and was able to put us in touch with a daughter, now 92 years old and living in Macon.”
In addition to the eBooks (Apple iBook format only), paperbacks are available for purchase online at Amazon.com and locally at the Preservation Center on St. Paul Avenue, Bound To Be Read Books in East Atlanta, Barnes & Noble at the Edgewood Retail District, the Atlanta History Center, and the Cyclorama Gift Shop. Signed copies are available by sending a request to historicgrantpark@gmail.com.
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