1902: Sweethearts could visit Grant Park for a row around Lake Abana.
Photograph courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center
From the 1880s to the mid-20th century, Atlantans spent summers cooling off at Lake Abana in Grant Park. Alongside it were a gigantic pool, tennis courts, and a pavilion that screened motion pictures. In 1886 a performer dubbed Professor Leon tightrope-walked across the lake, while his wife put on an “aerial sewing exhibition” atop a 50-foot-high platform. Nearly 10,000 people attended the show. In the 1960s, to avoid integrating the swimming hole, the city drained the pond and turned it into a parking lot for the zoo. From the 1880s to the mid-20th century, Atlantans spent summers cooling off at Lake Abana in Grant Park. Alongside it were a gigantic pool, tennis courts, and a pavilion that screened motion pictures. In 1886 a performer dubbed Professor Leon tightrope-walked across the lake, while his wife put on an “aerial sewing exhibition” atop a 50-foot-high platform. Nearly 10,000 people attended the show. In the 1960s, to avoid integrating the swimming hole, the city drained the pond and turned it into a parking lot for the zoo.
