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The Olmsted Linear Park Alliance (OLPA) is a public-private partnership founded in 1997. Its mission is to implement a master plan adopted by the city of Atlanta, DeKalb County and Fernbank, Inc. Through a series of capital campaigns, OLPA has raised more than $9 million to ensure the restoration and preservation of the Olmsted Linear Park. Work on five segments—Oak Grove, Shadyside, Virgilee, Dellwood and Springdale —has given the parks back to the public for the enjoyment of all. The last segment, Deepdene, is almost complete. Already, neighbors and visitors are walking the paths along the restored creek bed and appreciating the native plants returning to life with the removal of the non-native invasive species. 

In August 1995, interested citizens and non-profit organizations joined forces to plan for the stabilization and rehabilitation of the Olmsted Linear Park. Led by the Olmsted Parks Society of Atlanta, Park Pride, the Druid Hills Garden Club and the Druid Hills Civic Association, the planning process incorporated the interests of residents, garden clubs, park advocates and preservationists. The Olmsted Linear Park Master Plan was developed with counsel from public officials and from local and national consultants, including historian Charles Beveridge, editor of the Olmsted Papers.

Atlanta, DeKalb County and Fernbank, the major stakeholders in the park, adopted the Master Plan in 1997, and the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance was created to rehabilitate the park and provide for ongoing maintenance.

The OLPA board of directors includes representatives from the Druid Hills community, the Neighborhood Planning Unit and the Olmsted Parks Society of Atlanta along with ex officio representatives from the city of Atlanta, DeKalb County and Fernbank. A non-profit organization, OLPA has undertaken the fundraising, restoration and maintenance activities recommended by the Master Plan.

Five of the six park segments have been rehabilitated, work that has included the addition of nearly 6,000 linear feet of paths and the installation of 2,600 new trees and shrubs. The most expensive aspect of the restoration was the burial of utility lines. Approximately 11 miles of conduit and cable lie beneath the period lampposts that ring the park.

 

OFFICERS

Kirk Elifson, President
William L. Hall, Vice President
Beth Grashof, Secretary
G. Robert Kerr, Treasurer

GENERAL DIRECTORS

Quigg Fletcher
Douglas M. Grimm
Cloe Larsen
Lynn Kerpel
Julie Ralston
Jennifer J. Richardson
Sally Sears
Gloria Seymour
Kevin Steward
James L. Waits
Connie Weimar
Joni Winston

APPOINTED DIRECTORS

Beth Grashof
Rhonda Mullen

EX OFFICIO DIRECTORS

Raymond B. King
Susan Neugent
Jeff Rader
Alex Wan
Roy E. Wilson

PRESIDENT EMERITA

Tally Sweat

ADVISORY DIRECTORS

Ingrid Blanton
Brian Bowen
Dennis L. Boyden
Warren Heemann
Beth C. Jones
James H. Rollins
Gale Walldorff

HONORARY DIRECTORS

Anne Cox Chambers
Bradley Hale
Spencer King
Deen Day Sanders

OLPA ADMINISTRATOR

George Ickes

 

 

City of Atlanta
Atlanta owns the Springdale, Virgilee, Oak Grove and Shadyside segments as well as the western end of Dellwood. The city has been a major contributor to the restoration effort and provides maintenance for the segments in its jurisdiction. Dianne Harnell Cohen, commissioner of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and Anne Fauver, Council member, serve as ex officio members of the OLPA board of directors. www.ci.atlanta.ga.us

DeKalb County
DeKalb County leases the Deepdene segment and the eastern end of Dellwood from Fernbank. It has been a principal donor to the restoration campaign and maintains the portions in its care. Marilyn Boyd Drew, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, and Commissioner Gale Walldorff are ex officio members of the OLPA board of directors. www.co.dekalb.ga.us

Fernbank, Inc.
Fernbank owns the eastern end of Dellwood and the 22-acre Deepdene segment. David Leeds, chairman of the board, and Susan Neugent, CEO and president, serve on the OLPA board of directors as ex officio members. A non-profit organization, Fernbank operates the Fernbank Museum of Natural History and the Fernbank Science Center. http://www.fernbank.edu

In 1890 Atlanta businessman Joel Hurt engaged Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., to prepare a plan for developing the area now known as Druid Hills. Olmsted was recognized as the nation’s preeminent designer of parks and public open spaces. His work included Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the Emerald Necklace of Boston, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and the nation’s Capitol Grounds. The Olmsted firm submitted a preliminary plan to Hurt in 1893 in which the six-segment Linear Park was first laid out. The firm completed the final plan in 1905, two years after the death of Olmsted, and remained involved with the work until 1908, when the property was acquired by the Druid Hills Corporation. The area was then developed and the Park completed under the leadership of Coca-Cola magnate Asa G. Candler. The design of Druid Hills soon became the standard by which other Atlanta developments were measured. The curving stretches of its landmark greenspace have delighted generations of area residents and the thousands of persons who come and go along Ponce de Leon Avenue every day.

The photo to the right is of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. in 1890.
(Courtesy of the National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Brookline, Massachusetts)

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