Touch Grass: Atlanta

This week Touch Grass was away from Portland, so this article is for anyone planning a trip to Atlanta, Georgia! During the Quest’s time at the Fall Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) conference, many walks were taken around downtown – including to Centennial Olympic Park, a “22-acre greenspace that serves as Georgia’s legacy of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games,” according to the Georgia World Congress Center Authority website. The park is a massive space in the city, meant to be impressive for the games, and in addition to grassy areas also includes water features, a ferris wheel, and a statue of the iconic Olympic Rings. 

Centennial Olympic Park is open seven days a week and has a visitors center open six days a week aside from Sunday, meaning it is a great place for an afternoon stroll or an evening walk to after dinner ice cream – as we discovered there is an interesting place called The Yard Milkshake Bar just a few minutes walk away. Inside the park itself, there are a few smaller gardens commemorating various things and people, such as the Ivan Allen Tribute to former Mayor of Atlanta Ivan Allen, who served the city from 1962 to 1970, leading Atlanta through the Civil Rights Movement. To learn more about his actions in this period, there is an article about him in the New Georgia Encyclopedia online.

As an important feature of the Olympics, the park is located in a prime area for tourists, with many hotels, the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca-Cola all around its periphery. While these attractions bring in many people, Centennial Olympic Park is worth a visit in its own right, and is free to enter, unlike other spaces. With many water features and plenty of green space around, the park is an easy escape from the concrete of downtown, and a good reference point for a visitor to the city. To learn more about the park, visit its section on the Georgia World Congress Center Authority website, and check it out on Instagram @centennial_park. So, go out and touch grass in Centennial Olympic Park, if you’re ever in Atlanta!