• Welcome
  • Introduction Video
  • About this Project
  • Meet the Leaders (Index)
    • Henry Aaron
    • Ralph David Abernathy
    • Julian Bond
    • Joseph E. Boone
    • John Wesley Dobbs
    • W.E.B. Du Bois
    • Alonzo Herndon
    • Jesse Hill, Jr.
    • Donald Lee Hollowell
    • Hamilton E. Holmes
    • Maynard Jackson
    • Martin Luther King, Jr.
    • John Lewis
    • Joseph Lowery
    • Benjamin Mays
    • James & Robert Paschal
    • Roslyn Pope
    • Booker T. Washington
    • Domonique Wilkins
    • Hosea Williams
    • Andrew Young
  • Interactive Map
  • Explorer's Toolbox
  • Historic Districts
    • MLK Historical Park
    • MLK Park Photo Gallery
    • Nat'l Center for Civil & Human Rights
    • Rodney Cook, Sr. Park
    • Sweet Auburn District
  • Newsletter
Black Leaders of Atlanta

Rodney Cook, Sr. Park

"Find something worth dying for as well as worth living for and die for it daily." —  ​Joseph E. Boone
Opened in 2021, this 16-acre park in Vine City is an important stop on the Atlanta Freedom Trail Tour. Named for a Buckhead insurance executive who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders, this new park features a splash pad, performance plaza, two picnic pavilions, a pond, fitness area, boardwalk, playground, sports courts and a lawn area with an amphitheater. Eventually, it will also house an array of statues depicting local civil rights leaders such as John Lewis and Joseph Lowery, along with Cook.
​The $34 million park — collaboration between the City of Atlanta’s Parks and Watershed Departments, the Trust for Public Land, and the National Monuments Foundation — also serves as a water management system for the Proctor Creek Basin similar to Historic Fourth Ward Park.
Landscape Architectural Renderings
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Illustration map showing inventory & location proposed monuments
​Black Leaders of Atlanta project was created by ATLsherpa. ​You can subscribe to a complimentary podcast & newsletter to get updates and access to new tours and other educational tools.
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Learn More

  • History of the Park (TMF)
  • Proposed Monuments & Renderings (TMF)
  • ‘Atlanta Way’ questioned in pitched debate to name civil rights park (AJC)
  • Cook Park (TPL)
  • Photos: After delays, Vine City’s Rodney Cook Sr. Park poised for winter debut (CA)
  • Stormwater Park Serves as Catalyst for Neighborhood Revitalization (HDR)
  • Upper Proctor Creek Sewer Capacity Relief – Rodney Cook Park, Sr Park in Historic Vine City (DoWM)

Points of Interest*

  • ​Atlanta University Center
  • Centennial Olympic Park
  • National Center for Civil & Human Rights
  • Georgia Aquarium
  • Georgia World Congress Center
  • Mercedes-Benz Stadium
* All of these can be found on the Atlanta Freedom Trail Interactive Map

Getting There

​
  • Freedom Trail Interactive Map
  • ​Google Maps
  • Rodney Cook Sr Park is about 6/10 mile (walking) from the Vine City MARTA station
  • ​Public parking is very limited at this time
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INDEX + INTERACTIVE MAP + MATCHING QUIZ + EXPLORER'S LOG
CONTACT + DONATE + EXPLORE + LEARN + FOLLOW + SUBSCRIBE
website by ATLsherpa
  • Welcome
  • Introduction Video
  • About this Project
  • Meet the Leaders (Index)
    • Henry Aaron
    • Ralph David Abernathy
    • Julian Bond
    • Joseph E. Boone
    • John Wesley Dobbs
    • W.E.B. Du Bois
    • Alonzo Herndon
    • Jesse Hill, Jr.
    • Donald Lee Hollowell
    • Hamilton E. Holmes
    • Maynard Jackson
    • Martin Luther King, Jr.
    • John Lewis
    • Joseph Lowery
    • Benjamin Mays
    • James & Robert Paschal
    • Roslyn Pope
    • Booker T. Washington
    • Domonique Wilkins
    • Hosea Williams
    • Andrew Young
  • Interactive Map
  • Explorer's Toolbox
  • Historic Districts
    • MLK Historical Park
    • MLK Park Photo Gallery
    • Nat'l Center for Civil & Human Rights
    • Rodney Cook, Sr. Park
    • Sweet Auburn District
  • Newsletter