Greenwood Park (Tennessee)

Greenwood Park was the first urban park and recreation area established for the African American community in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][2] It was located on a 40-acre (16 ha) plot approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) east-southeast of downtown along Spence Lane between Lebanon Pike and Elm Hill Pike, across from Greenwood Cemetery.[1][3] The park was founded in 1905 by Preston Taylor, a wealthy minister and former slave.[1][4] It remained open until 1949.[4]

Greenwood Park
The park entrance
TypeUrban park
LocationNashville, Tennessee
Coordinates36.144067°N 86.722433°W / 36.144067; -86.722433
Area40-acre (0.16 km2)
Established1905
Closed1949

Natural features of the grounds included hills, dales, evergreen trees, and streams.[3] The park, which was lit by electric lights, also had a restaurant, theater, roller rink, roller coaster, shooting gallery, merry-go-round, zoo, swimming pool, and a baseball diamond.[3][4] The ballpark's grandstand had seating for a few thousand people and hosted the games of the independent minor league Nashville Standard/Elite Giants and local amateur Negro league teams.[3][5]

It was the home of a large annual fair hosted by the Tennessee Colored Fair Association.[6] The 1909 fair was to include oration by Booker T. Washington and music by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.[6]

The park was served by electric streetcars and was at the end of the Fairfield Street trolley line.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Story of Greenwood". Historic Nashville. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  2. Phillips, Betsy (February 19, 2015). "Fascinating figures and forgotten stories from African-American history in Nashville". The Nashville Scene. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  3. Richardson, Clement (1919). The National Cyclopedia of the Colored Race. Montgomery: National Publishing Company. p. 335. Retrieved December 31, 2019 – via Internet Archive. Tennessee Colored Fair Association,.
  4. "Greenwood Park - 3A 129 - Nashville, TN". Waymarking. Groundspeak. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  5. Nipper, Skip (October 18, 2013). "Tom Wilson and the Nashville Elite Giants". 262 Down Right. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  6. "Tennessee Colored Fair Association advertisement – Trials and Triumphs". Nashville Globe. July 23, 1909. p. 8.
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