By Thornton Kennedy
Now that the shorter, colder days are upon us, Historic Oakland Foundation is offering two weekend tours Saturdays at 2:00pm and Sundays at 2:00pm through mid-March. Sights, Symbols & Stories of Oakland walks visitors through the period gardens, history, customs, architecture, and art that give Oakland its distinctive character. Oakland is a museum of Atlanta’s history with more than 70,000 stories to tell stories filled with victories and tragedies, both beautiful and stunning.
Tours begin at the Visitors Center/Museum Shop located at the Bell Tower building. Parking is free. Reservations are not required.
Each tour lasts 1.5 hours. For more information, visit www.oaklandcemetery.com.
Tour Prices are:
Adults (18 – 64) – $10.00
Students (with ID) – $5.00
Seniors (65 & older) – $5.00
Children (6 – 17) – $5.00
Families (2 adults & 2 children) – $26.00
Foundation Members – Free
Oakland Cemetery is a 48-acre Victorian-style garden cemetery located at 248 Oakland Avenue just across Memorial Drive from Grant Park. Founded in 1850, it is one of the largest park spaces and significant cultural sites in metro Atlanta. Among the approximately 70,000 interred at Oakland are Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell, golf great Bobby Jones, a number of former Atlanta mayors including Maynard Jackson; and six former governors. The cemetery also includes the unmarked graves of paupers, Confederate, and Union soldiers; a Jewish section; and an African American section. The grounds of the cemetery are an example of the 19th-century landscape idea of a cemetery-park and provide an ideal setting for its profusion of Victorian cemetery art.
Historic Oakland Foundation was founded in 1976, the same year Oakland was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Foundation partners with the City of Atlanta to preserve, restore, enhance, and share Oakland Cemetery with the public as an important cultural resource and an island of tranquility in the heart of the city. For more information about donations, tours, events, and other ways to support Oakland, please visit www.oaklandcemetery.com or call 404-688-2107.
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