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Piedmont Driving Club

1887 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)Atlanta sport stubsGentlemen's clubs in the United StatesGolf clubs and courses in Georgia (U.S. state)Sports clubs established in 1887
Sports venues in AtlantaSquash venues in the United States
Piedmont Driving Club circa 1938
Piedmont Driving Club circa 1938

The Piedmont Driving Club is a private social club with two club houses in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1887 originally as the Gentlemen's Driving Club, the name reflected the interest of the members to "drive" their horse and carriages on the club grounds. The club later briefly used the adjacent grounds as a golf course until it sold the land to the city in 1904 to create Piedmont Park. The club admitted its first black member in 1994.The club's facilities include golf, tennis, platform tennis, squash, swimming, exercise facilities, massage, casual and fine dining, and event space for larger gatherings. In May 2000, the club built a Rees Jones-designed 18-hole championship golf course and executive par-3 course several miles from the main clubhouse on Camp Creek Parkway. In 2014, the club hosted one of two 2014 US Amateur Qualifier golf tournaments in Georgia. In 2018, it also hosted the Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship.From July 2008 through December 2009, it underwent a renovation to its informal dining and athletic facilities. The squash program was expanded to include two international hardball doubles courts and two international singles courts. The club hosted the annual cross-border, US versus Canada, Lapham Grant competition for the second time in 2012. The club also serves as one of several host venues for the Peachtree Invitational platform tennis tournament.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Piedmont Driving Club (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Piedmont Driving Club
Active Oval, Atlanta

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 33.788333333333 ° E -84.376944444444 °
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Address

Piedmont Driving Club

Active Oval
30309 Atlanta
Georgia, United States
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Piedmont Driving Club circa 1938
Piedmont Driving Club circa 1938
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Craigie House

The Craigie House was a historic home located at 1204 Piedmont Avenue NE in Atlanta, Georgia, across from Piedmont Park. Built in 1911, it originally served as the home of the local chapter (the first in Georgia) of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and was the second-oldest DAR structure in the United States. Historians believe parts of the home were brought from the park after the 1895 Cotton States Exposition was held there. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but was not given any legal protection by the city. A tree fell on the building during the mid 1980s, and it was again damaged by Hurricane Opal in 1995. It was listed as one of the state's most endangered historic places by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 2011, and after having changed hands multiple times, was purchased in March 2013 by a person who later began to renovate the interior for use as a private home while preserving the exterior.During the February 2014 winter storm, most of the building collapsed, except for the front façade. The combination of snow, sleet, and freezing rain apparently triggered the disaster, which did not injure anyone since it was still vacant during renovations, and at night, with workers (and nearly all Atlantans) having stayed at home for the day due to the storm. The owner still intends to at least save the historic front when rebuilding.The remains of the building were demolished in April 2016.

Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park

Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's farm and residence. He sold the land in 1887 to the Gentlemen's Driving Club (later renamed the Piedmont Driving Club), who wanted to establish an exclusive club and racing ground for horse enthusiasts. The Driving Club entered an agreement with the Piedmont Exposition Company, headed by prominent Atlantan Charles A. Collier, to use the land for fairs and expositions and later gave the park its name. The park was originally designed by Joseph Forsyth Johnson to host the first of two major expositions held in the park in the late 19th century. The Piedmont Exposition opened in October 1887 to great fanfare. The event was a success and set the stage for the Cotton States and International Exposition which was held in the park seven years later in 1895. Both exhibitions showcased the prosperity of the region that had occurred during and after the Reconstruction period. In the early 20th century, a redesign plan called the Olmsted plan, was begun by the sons of New York Central Park architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. The effort led to the addition of scenic paths in the park and the joining of the park with the Ansley park system. Over the years, the park has also served as an athletic center for the city. Atlanta's first professional baseball team, the Atlanta Crackers, played in the park from 1902 to 1904. Several important intercollegiate rivalries were also forged in the park including the University of Georgia vs. Georgia Tech baseball rivalry and Georgia versus Auburn football which has been called the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". Throughout the 20th century, many improvements have been made in the park, including the addition of covered picnic areas, tennis facilities, the Lake Clara Meer dock and visitors center, and two playgrounds. In 2008, a ground-breaking ceremony was held for a 53-acre (210,000 m2) extension to the park. On April 12, 2011, Mayor Kasim Reed cut the ribbon to open the first phase of a major expansion into the northern third of the park. Additional areas at the far north of the park (near Ansley Mall) are to be developed next.