Chastain Memorial Park (originally known as the North Fulton Park, commonly known as Chastain Park) is the second largest city park in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. It is a park near the northern edge of the city. Included in the park are jogging paths, playgrounds, NYO ball fields,

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

park and amphitheater.

Location

The wedge-shaped park is bounded on the east side by Lake Forrest Drive, on the west-southwest side by Powers Ferry Road and on the north-northwest end by West Wieuca Road. It is bisected in the middle by Nancy Creek, flowing from east to west. It is surrounded by

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

s in the

Buckhead Buckhead is the wikt:uptown, uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within ...

area of the city, and is northwest of the original Buckhead Village and the uptown Lenox area. Chastain Park is also a neighborhood on the west side of the park (across Powers Ferry Road to the west). The neighborhood is bordered by the city of Sandy Springs on the north, and by the Atlanta neighborhoods of Mount Paran/Northside on the west across Northside Drive and Tuxedo Park on the south. It is part of NPU A. The population was 2,398 as of 2010.

History

The land was originally home of Creek Indians, near the floodplain Nancy Creek. In 1840, the land was acquired by DeKalb County and used as a site for town hall meetings. In 1900, the land was sold to Fulton County with plans to build an almshouse for the poor. In 1909, the North Fulton Alm House opened. The housing was designed in a Neoclassical style by architectural firm Morgan and Dillon. At the start of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the Almshouse Cemetery was constructed. In 1940, Fulton County proposed to construct a residential area on a large portion of the land. Both almshouses were planned to be demolished, although the cemetery would be left unharmed. Under the direction of Troy Green Chastain (Fulton County Commissioner) and with help from the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

, the North Fulton neighborhood was born. Out of the original 1,000 acres, 268 became "North Fulton Park". The park was composed of the North Fulton Golf Course, a clubhouse, Olympic-sized swimming pool, tennis courts, gymnasium, bathhouse, horse stables and polo field. The construction of the park was completed in 1945, a year after the death of Chastain. To honor his contribution of the park, the county renamed the park, the "Chastain Memorial Park" on September 25, 1946.

Features

Path

PATH Foundation PATH Foundation is a non-profit organization that builds of off-road trails in and around the metro Atlanta area for walkers, runners, skaters, and cyclists. The foundation was established in 1991. The goal was to develop a network of off-road tr ...

began constructing a trail in Chastain Park in 1994, which has since expanded to a three-mile trail around Chastain Park and North Fulton Golf Course. PATH estimates an average of 250 people use the trail each hour, and is developing a second loop in the northern area of the park to meet demand.

Pool

A pool is also located within Chastain Park. It is a city pool, meaning it is open to the public most of the time, but nonmembers must pay to get in, and there are some times when only members can swim. The Chastain Park Athletic Club swim-team practices at this pool.

Chastain Park Amphitheater

References

External links

Chastain Park Conservancy
{{Authority control Parks in Atlanta