History of Grant Park Told Through Photographs

By Katie Combs
The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Historic Grant Park by local authors Jennifer Goad Cuthbertson and Philip M. Cuthbertson. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by of the oldest existing park in Atlanta.
Both the neighborhood of Grant Park and the 131-acre park take their shared name from railroad executive Lemuel P. Grant. The park was a gift to the City of Atlanta from Grant and was designed by John Charles Olmsted, the stepson of Frederick Law Olmsted. It became an urban haven where people came to “take the waters” from its natural springs, canoe on Lake Abana, and stroll the winding pathways in the pastoral park.
A neighborhood sprang up around this oasis and was filled with homes that were designed in the spirit of Victorian painted ladies, Craftsman bungalows, Queen Anne, and New South cottages. In 1979, the structures within the neighborhood and park were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Images and relics of this idyllic area have been preserved by organizations such as the Atlanta Preservation Center, the Atlanta History Center, the State of Georgia, and Georgia State University. These collections, along with those of past and present neighborhood residents and local churches, are showcased in Historic Grant Park.
Highlights of Historic Grant Park:
Proceeds will benefit the Atlanta Preservation Center and its efforts restore the original Grant home.
The Grant home, referred to locally as the Grant Mansion, was saved from Sherman’s torch because of a Masonic connection.
FDR visited Girls High School in 1932, and the school was later renamed for Roosevelt.
The book is available at area bookstores, independent retailers, online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at www.arcadiapublishing.com or (888)-313-2665.