Inman Park

While reading I was struck by Stilgoe’s description of Llewellyn Park, which was the first American villa park, and remembered that in Olmsted South: Old South Critic, New South Planner Rick Beard compared Atlanta’s Inman Park to Llewellyn Park. Inman Park is Atlanta’s first planned garden suburb and was built in the late 1880s. According to our syllabus we’ll be discussing this period next week, however I believe there are similarities. Like Llewellyn S. Haskell, developer Joel Hurt’s vision depended on industrial technology: a rail stop or later electric streetcar. At the Trolley Barn in Inman Park I can imagine how commuters made their way into the downtown. In Atlanta, the streetcar allowed families to live in the “borderlands” while men commuted into work each morning. Both suburbs also emphasized landscaping. Ponds, scrubs, and trees, both exotic and local, were used to create an open environment around the stately “cottages.” Still standing today, Springlake Park captures the “picturesque” nature of suburb living. In Inman Park, homes like Asa Candler’s brick, two-story columned portico, created the private nooks described by Stilgoe. The architecture of the Inman Park homes emphasized a private and secluded world. After reading Stilgoe I wonder what women thought of their homes? As one walks through Inman Park it is difficult to remember that the downtown business district lies merely a few miles east. My digital camera doesn’t seem to be working, but after walking around Inman Park yesterday I was able to find photos of the Trolley Barn, Candler home, and Springlake Park at the Inman Park Neighborhood Association’s website. (www.inmanpark.org) I’m now looking forward to the next two chapters in Stilgoe on the planned residential community.