Music Midtown

The Atlanta Dogwood Festival is an arts and crafts festival held each spring at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia, established in 1933. Originally held for nine days across two weekends and the weekdays between, it is now held only one weekend during early April, when the native flowering dogwood trees are in bloom. There was no festival in 1942–45 nor 2020.

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.

The Sidney Lanier Monument is a public monument in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Located in Piedmont Park, the monument consists of a bust of Sidney Lanier, a notable poet from Georgia. The monument was dedicated in 1914.

Free Nelson Mandela is a sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, created by David Hammons in 1987. Alternatively referred to as a monument, the piece was originally created as a statement demanding the liberation of the imprisoned South African activist, Nelson Mandela. The official title is Nelson Mandela Must Be Free to Lead His People and South Africa to Peace and Prosperity. However, it is most frequently called just Free Nelson Mandela, because those words are carved in the face of the granite rock that is the bottom portion of the sculpture. The top portion is a 12 feet high fence of iron bars radiating from the rock and topped with barbed wire. In the fence is a working gate, which was padlocked shut while Mandela was imprisoned. After Mandela's release in 1990, the padlock was unlocked with the key which had been left with Atlanta city officials by the artist. The gate has remained in an open position ever since, and the rock proclaims that there is now a "Free Nelson Mandela". There are also small segments of chain attached to the bottom corners of the rock, adjacent to the base. At some point after the gate was opened, three bars to the right of the gate were painted, respectively, green, black, and yellow, the colors of the South African flag. The entire sculpture weighs 7 tons.

The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a 30 acres (12 ha) botanical garden located adjacent to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Incorporated in 1976, the garden's mission is to "develop and maintain plant collections for the purposes of display, education, conservation, research and enjoyment."

Festival Peachtree Latino is an ethnic festival held annually Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. The festival, which celebrates Hispanic-American culture, is the largest multicultural event in the entire Southeast. The festival features arts and crafts, family activities, sporting events, a parade, dance demonstrations, ethnic foods, and a live music stage featuring international performers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. In addition, over 250 exhibitors present favorite brands, souvenirs and interactive displays. The festival, which began in 2000, continues to grow in attendance. It is free and open to the public. This festival went on hiatus in 2020.

The Peace Monument (also known as The Triumph of Peace) is a public monument in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Designed by Allen George Newman, the monument is located in Piedmont Park and was erected in 1911 by members of the Old Guard of the Gate City Guard, a Confederate-era militia, as a show of national unity in the years following the American Civil War. The monument has been the subject of controversy recently, with some calling for its removal as a symbol of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.

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.

Pioneer Women is a memorial in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Located in Piedmont Park, the memorial, designed by Steffen Thomas, was dedicated in 1938 by the Atlanta Pioneer Women's Society to honor former members of the group.

Playscapes is a playground designed by artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi. Completed in 1976, the playground is located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, in the city's Piedmont Park.

Amsterdam Walk is a retail and entertainment complex in the Virginia Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. It is housed in former warehouse space located at the far west end of Amsterdam Ave. between Monroe Ave. and the BeltLine (Piedmont Park is located immediately behind the BeltLine). There is a large gym, bars, nightclubs, and specialty retailers selling furniture, jewelry, clothing, floral design, antiques, baked goods, cooking accessories, rugs and more.

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.