Washington Park Historic District

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.