Dellwood
Atlanta, Georgia
Druid Hills & Olmsted Linear Park
Atlanta, Georgia
United States

About Druid Hills & Olmsted Linear Park

In 1890, Frederick Law Olmsted traveled by train, streetcar and then horseback from Asheville, where he was working on Biltmore, to Atlanta. There, he would design the “ideal residential suburb” for developer Joel Hurt, who had amassed 1,400 acres of woodland and scrub farmland. Three years later Olmsted and his son, John Charles, created a preliminary plan. 

Olmsted’s plan envisioned a residential community of spacious lots along curvilinear streets, with a linear park and parkway as the centerpiece of the design. In addition to two lakes and six parks, one of the property’s main features was its position along a two-mile stretch of Ponce de Leon Avenue. The linear parkway included a 40-foot-wide carriageway and trolley-track connecting the development to the city. Olmsted Brothers continued the project after the senior Olmsted’s retirement and drew up a planting plan for the park as well as the final 1905 graphic plan. 

It was not until 1908 when the project was sold to the Druid Hills Corporation that lots began to be sold and houses built. Early residents included Asa Candler, Coca-Cola magnate and head of the Druid Hills Corporation, along with successful businessmen, professionals and seven prominent Atlanta architects who built their own homes in the new suburb and designed homes for others. 

The years after World War II brought changes that threatened the integrity of the Olmsted plan. The greatest threat was a proposed roadway that engulfed the neighborhood in a decade-long fight marked by protests, arrests and court cases. 

The Olmsted Network (formerly the National Association of Olmsted Parks) joined with the Druid Hills Civic Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to oppose the road in a long but ultimately successful campaign. A master plan for the linear park was completed and the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance emerged from that plan as the park conservancy. 

Today, Olmsted Linear Park Alliance and the Druid Hills Civic Association continue as stewards of Druid Hills and its linear park. The residential community and its linear park are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1975) and have local protection as designated historic districts. 

 

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    Dellwood Park path and trees. 2023. Photo by Olmsted Linear Park Alliance.

    Dellwood Park looking towards Deepdene Park. 2025. Photo by Victoria Vanhuss.

    Panorama of our group learning about Dellwood Park during Pop-Up Atlanta 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    Looking from Dellwood Park to the homes on S Ponce De Leon Ave. 2025. Photo by Victoria Vanhuss.

    Open lawn at Dellwood Park. 2023. Photo by Victoria Vanhuss.

    General Plan for Druid Hills. Plan 00071-112. 1905. Courtesy of FLOHNS.

    Black and white photo of trolley-track. Photo from Olmsted Linear Park Alliance.

    Throughout the Druid Hills neighborhood there are sidewalks running between houses (independent of any road) to help commuters reach the trolley line running through the community. These paths are called "twitters." 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    Covered shelter in the snow.

    Western portion of subdivision. Plan 00071-123-pt2. 1905. Courtesy of FLOHNS.

    Planting plan for block 5. Plan 00071-97-sh2. 1902. Courtesy of FLOHNS.

    Shadyside in Olmsted Linear Park. Photo by Victoria Vanhuss.

    Springdale Park in at Druid Hills. Photo by Victoria Vanhuss.

    Lawn crafts fair in Springdale Park, Druid Hills, Atlanta. 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    Couple with stroller in Springdale Park. 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    Property of Kirkwood Land Company. Plan 00071-23. 03/18/1893. Courtesy of FLOHNS.

    Entry path into Deepdene Park in Druid Hills. 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    Stone bridge and steps in Deepdene Park. 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    Stone ballustrades in Deepdene. 2023. Photo by Olmsted Linear Park Allaince.

    Deepdene Park bridge. 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    Spencer Tunnell II leads the Olmsted Network Pop-Up Atlanta 2025 tour through Deepdene Park. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    The last remaining trolley tracks running along Deepdene Park. 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    The former trolley path running through Springdale Park in Druid Hills. 2025. Photo by Mark Roessler.

    An Olmsted Network tour concludes in Dellwood Park. 2025. Photo by Victoria Vanhuss.

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Downing Park 

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