By Liza Mueller
Restoration Memorial & Preserve is a Department of Parks and Recreation-led master planning and design effort focused on the former Atlanta Prison Farm site, which is intended as a public green space and memorial. Located adjacent to Intrenchment Creek near Key Road, the more than 125-acre site sits within the broader South River watershed. The long-term vision is to create a public green space for the entire City that serves the local community’s needs, supports ecological restoration, offers opportunities for reflection, education, recreation, and healing, and elevates this site’s story to regional and even national significance.
In early 2026, the City of Atlanta invited residents and stakeholders to the first of four public meetings to learn about the project and help shape the future of a historically significant landscape. That process—rooted in listening, stewardship, and acknowledgment of the site’s layered history, from Indigenous land stewardship and agricultural labor to incarceration and civic change—is now complete.
The public was invited to join the project team on Monday, Nov. 16 at the Oakland Visitor Center for the Restoration Memorial & Preserve Final Presentation of the Master Plan for the former Atlanta Prison Farm. The presentation is the culmination of a year-long planning process of research, engagement, and design.
Attendees had an opportunity to hear about the work completed and see the results of the historical, archaeological, and ecological research, as well as the planning and design effort to preserve, restore, and remember the site’s history for generations to come.
