{"nrhp_refnum":"00000071","name":"Washington Park Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. of Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. and Ashby St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Atlanta","county":"Fulton County","state":"GA","lat":33.760920881500056,"lon":-84.42094343633278,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-02-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Community Planning and Development","Architecture","Landscape Architecture","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historically African-American residential neighborhood about two miles west of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, with 448 contributing resources including houses, a city park, and community buildings. It was developed from several subdivision plats beginning around 1906, with most houses built between 1919 and 1958.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is significant for its role in African-American community development in Atlanta. Developer Heman Perry and later Black-owned firms built housing here that had previously been available only to whites. Washington Park, begun in 1919, was the city's first recreational park open to African-Americans. The area also holds intact examples of Craftsman bungalows and other early 20th-century house types.","narrative":"Washington Park is a historically African-American neighborhood roughly two miles west of downtown Atlanta, bounded by Ashby Street, the Norfolk Southern Railroad, Simpson Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. It grew from four subdivision plats, giving it both gridiron and curvilinear streets. African-American developer Heman Perry adopted several plans earlier abandoned by white developers and offered Black families housing opportunities previously limited to whites. Most houses date from 1919 to 1958, and the bungalow is the most common type, alongside English cottages, Georgian houses and Colonial Revival homes. Community landmarks include a 1930 hospital, a 1925 theater, a 1955 International Style bank and a 1911 school. Washington Park, begun in 1919 and finished at 25 acres in 1928, was the first city recreational park available to Black Atlantans. Highway and transit construction, public housing and neglect have removed some historic buildings and park features, yet much of the original layout survives.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Heman Perry (developer); Service Construction and Engineering Company; Aiken and Faulkner Company (later Aikens Construction Company)","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival, English Vernacular Revival, Craftsman/bungalow, International style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Some historic fabric has been lost to MARTA construction, modern housing and redevelopment; the park, houses and community buildings remain in use. Heman Perry's \"Dream House\" at 996 Simpson Street is vacant.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:43.040764-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/00000071.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208388","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park,_Atlanta","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7972094"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/fulton-county/washington-park-historic-district-00000071/"}