City Parks as Stages for Public Protest
Myriad public parks across the nation have witnessed significant demonstrations in which ordinary people and groups gathered to make their voices heard. This session will explore the legacy of three distinct twentieth century protests that have occurred in New York City, NY; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; and how these events are made visible today.
In “The Battle of Central Park” of 1956, a group of more than 50 mothers and their children successfully thwarted the plans of New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses to build a parking lot on a wooded parcel used by local children as a play area. Eleven years later, architect Richard Dattner redesigned the nearby West 67th Street Playground as the first Adventure Playground, and on the site of the demonstration itself, another playground (now the Tarr-Coyne Tots Playground) was established in 1968.
That same year, during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, anti-Vietnam War protestors gathered in Grant Park shouting from bullhorns at the base of the General John Alexander Logan Monument. The ensuing clash with Chicago police turned the park into a site of mixed legacy, now remembered as ground zero for anti-war discord.
In Atlanta in the 1980s, the expansion of Ponce de Leon Avenue into an expressway threatened the Picturesque character of the Druid Hills neighborhood—the last residential community designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., and the only subdivision in which all three Olmsteds were involved. Protestors transformed the neighborhood’s Shadyside Park into a “tent city” and slept under trees to prevent their removal. At the adjacent Dellwood Park, lawn expanses served as stages for rallies where speakers, including then-city council member John Lewis, denounced the proposed freeway.
The free webinar will be moderated by Mitchell Silver, planner and former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The program is associated with TCLF's report and digital exhibition Landslide: Demonstration Grounds about public protest sites that have shaped American attitudes and ideals.
Silver will be joined by:
Megan Fitzpatrick, Director of Preservation and Research, Landmark West!
Ron Henderson, FASLA, Educator and founding principal, LIRIO Landscape Architecture
Spencer Tunnell, II, Founder and owner, Tunnell & Tunnell Landscape Architecture
Learn more about the speakers.
1.25 LA CES™ professional development hours will be available to attendees.
