Thursday, February 11, 2010

A promenade in Lullwater Park - Emory University, Atlanta



About two weeks ago we drove to the Emory University campus grounds in the Druid Hills area of Atlanta. Their brochure says: “The University is recognized internationally for its outstanding liberal arts college, superb professional schools and one of the Southeast's leading health care systems.” It also says: “Emory ranks among the top 20 national universities in the U.S.” Distinguished faculty members include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Booker Prize-winning novelist Sir Salman Rushdie, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, symphony conductor Robert Spano and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a visiting professor there for two years. Emory alumni have included one U.S. vice president, seven U.S. senators, 13 U.S. representatives, three governors, three ambassadors, one Supreme Court justice, several university presidents, five Pulitzer Prize winners, an astronaut….and one of my daughters and my son-in-law both of whom received Masters Degrees there before going on to medical school.

Seal of Emory University


Map of Emory University Campus – Lullwater Park surrounds Candler Lake.



The main campus covers more than 600 acres. It includes Lullwater Park which is a 185 acre park owned by Emory and also home to its president's residence. The public is invited to enjoy the lawns and wooded paths surrounding the mansion, so a couple of weeks ago we went for a visit. The park is closed to all gas powered vehicular traffic making it entirely green – and especially quiet during week days as there are very few visitors.


Entrance to Lullwater Park and the president’s residence (Click on picture to enlarge it.)
The land originally belonged to the Creek and Cherokee Nations. The Native Americans who occupied and hunted in this area were forced away by the white settlers in the 1820s and the land divided into lots. Paths where the Cherokee Indians had walked with their moccasins were then used by settlers on horses. Log cabins were built on the lots; one had a church which was destroyed by General Sherman during the Civil War.



We walked through the stone gate posts - it was drizzling and gray. Going down the paved trail over Peavine Creek - which is a branch of the historic Peachtree Creek – our only fellow stroller was a lady walking her dogs.


Peavine Creek
Since we are in winter and most shrubs and trees have shed their leaves we could see farther into the park. We passed many old, gnarled trees – some of their branches had fallen to the ground and were covered with moss. There were maples, oaks, magnolias, pines, dogwoods and other trees.


The sun had appeared but the air was cool and crisp. Some of my pictures were taken in the mist, some under sunlight. Walking down a gently rolling hill we came upon a shimmering lake.





Canada geese were happily flying around and squawking.

Don't forget to click on pictures to enlarge them


Walking around the lake we could hear a roaring noise. We quickly found that this was coming from falls near a decaying mill – the dam on South Fork Peachtree Creek. In the early 1920s the dam and power house furnished electricity to the Lullwater house.



A little further we saw the 210 foot long suspension bridge which was completed in 2008 by the company Sahale – if you wish more information on the bridge click here. We walked across the bridge which was swaying a bit under us as in an Indiana-Jones movie. (It was built to connect the Veteran’s Medical Center to the Emory Campus.) This is a low-environmental impact bridge which fits well between the trees.



We walked back to the mill so I could take closer pictures. I entered the roofless tower. Here we were close to the center of vibrant Atlanta but so far away from its hectic pace. My husband snapped me while I was photographing the creek.



This is what I was seeing




As we were returning to the paved trail Lullwater House came into view – and what an outstanding house in the middle of all this secluded scenery. It is built of stones and not at all in the Southern style with Doric columns but is a sprawling English Tudor mansion. Here is its history: Asa Candler (1851-1929) was a Georgia man who owned a drugstore in Atlanta and manufactured medicines. He bought the Coca-Cola formula from its inventor in 1887 and marketed it successfully into the Coca-Cola Company. This made him a millionaire. In 1907 he established the Lullwater estate where his fourth child, Walter, built the Lullwater House in 1925. Walter Candler sold the estate (including the house, the landscaped grounds and the artificial lake) to Emory University in 1958 and it has been home to Emory’s presidents since 1963.


Click to enlarge pictures

The house was built from stone quarried on the site then the hole was filled to make a swimming pool. The house is 11,425 square-feet and is imposing. Walter Candler raised racing horses and had a race track on the grounds. He also owned Hereford cattle, hogs and chickens. There was a pasture round the lake and even boat races on the lake. Here is a postcard that shows part of its interior.



It is hard to believe that we are less than ½ hour from downtown Atlanta with all its activity and noise. This is a refuge for the few students who jog or hike the grounds and the rare strollers like us. In 1963 26 acres were sold to the U.S. government for the Veterans Administration Hospital – the site where Walter Candler used to have a lake clubhouse and serve barbecue. More construction was planned in Lullwater park but students and residents in the area petitioned to conserve the park . A task force was organized with a comprehensive management plan. The university president vowed that he would protect the land from further land development.



The late British broadcaster Alistair Cooke said in one of his “Letters from America” that Emory was the "most beautiful campus in America" with "plunging hills and gardens and little lakes, all set off with towering trees"… "Visiting Emory was like walking into the Garden of Eden.” In 2009 Emory was named one of the nation's top ten greenest colleges. Let’s hope it will stay this way. We all need to stay vigilant and keep beautiful natural habitat intact for future generations.



I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend? – Robert Redford, American actor, director, environmentalist born in 1936.


38 comments:

""°o.O Nancy O.o°"" said...

*** Hello Vagabonde ! :o) ***

Les oiseaux, le ciel bleu, les vieilles pierres, l'eau, les arbres même dégarnis, le soleil, le pont, les feuilles mortes, les chemins, le ruisseau... toutes tes photos m'enchantent et tu as su photographier cette nature si belle ! MERCI A TOI !!!! BISES AMICALES !!! :o)

Roger Gauthier said...

Woohoo, Vagabonde, Kolossal ! Quel endroit magnifique, même en « hiver » si j'ose dire. Parce que comme hiver...

N'oublie pas : ces bernaches du Canada, on vous les prêtes pour un court moment, pas plus, et puis hop taxi ! Retour à la maison... :-)

DJan said...

What a lovely tour around this campus. I knew very little about the university, and now I am happy to have learned all of this important information. I love your collages, and the capture of the geese in flight is exceptional!

I wonder what the campus looks like in the summer, if it is so lovely even in the wintertime.

wenn said...

lovely scenery!

Vicki Lane said...

Beautiful shots, Vagabonde. A bit of a stroll down memory lane for me. I attended Emory University my freshman year of college ('60 - '61) and it is, indeed, a beautiful campus. It was my first taste of seasons, after growing up in Florida -- daffodils, a touch of snow, autumn leaves -- I still remember a particular ginkgo turning bright gold.

Unfortunately, it couldn't compete with the fact that my boyfriend (now my husband) was at University of Florida and I transferred the next year. But I have very fond memories of Emory and Atlanta.

Fennie said...

Bonjour Vagabonde.

Comme c'est beau ce campus! Tout est joli mais ca a aussi l'air d'etre un peu froid malgre le soleil. Alors, il y a un morceau de bon qui est arrivé de Coca-Cola!

(Et je me souviens d'un pont comme celui-la en Alberta!)

claude said...

Wow ! Quelle belle visite je viens de faire, Vabagonde !
Cet endroit est fabuleux.
Merci de tes explications toujours très complètes et bien documentées.
Bien la citation de Robert Redford.
C'est sans aucun doute un endroit à préserver. c'est trop beau !

Paty said...

hi, the pictures are incredible, it must be a really magical place!

Elaine said...

Your photos and tour are wonderful. Emory's campus looks spectacular and Lullwater House looks beautiful. I would love to be able to tour inside it. I especially like the two collages of you photographing the stream and your husband photographing you. It is nice to see the view from two different perspectives. Thanks for taking us along.

Darlene said...

Lullwater House is fascinating. The different architectural styles seem to work well. I wonder if the house was enlarged at one time with a different style.

Thank you for a tour of the Emory campus. I would never have seen it if it weren't for you.

Baino said...

Thank you for the tour. Looks like it belongs more in Europe than Atlanta but what a treasure of a place and look at the sunshine! Winter or not, it looks glorious.

Unknown said...

Bonjour Vagabonde
Super reportage : de magnifiques photos de la nature avec des explications complètes.
Merci pour ce partage.
Bon dimanche
Amitiés
Yves

Pondside said...

What a beautiful place - it's like a picture-book university. It's the sort of place I'd always imagined attending, but then I ended up at a very modern university, all steel and concrete with no sweet distractions and nothing that would ever, ever call me back a single time after I received my degree.

Marguerite said...

Merci beaucoup for the lovely tour of this beautiful university. Your photos are spectacular and it looks like such a nice sunny day. Happy Valentine's Day, cher ami!

kyh said...

that looks like a small version of the mighty Niagara Falls! Thanks for the tour, the pics are lovely, and I'm sure it feels great to be there! :))

Putz said...

not interested in atlanta V, or the middle east, or the far east, only europe, i guess, switzerland, luxemborug. france have been crossing my mind lately

PeterParis said...

A fantastic and very complete tour of a campus, certainly one of the world's most beautiful ones! Bravo for the photos, the text, the quotes... and yes, you must be proud of your daughter! :-)

""°o.O Nancy O.o°"" said...

*** Bonjour Vagabonde ! :o) Je viens te souhaiter un agréable mardi et je te remercie pour ta fidélité chez moi , ça fait plaisir ! :o) GROS BISOUS à toi !!!!! :o) ***

Anonymous said...

Thanks a bunch for visiting my Pick a Peck of Pixels and for the comment. Sometimes I don't know what to post each day but it is usually something that I just took a picture of that caught my eye. This post was of something that I used to spend lots of time on. Learning as much as possible about Medieval Manuscript decoration and illumination. I even wrote a book about it but it is done and still in my desk drawer.

Thank you very much for taking the time to put this post together. I didn't know anything about the university and less about Asa Candler.

The only thing I can compare this to would be the Biltmore House and I don't really think there is a comparison.

Your post includes some great photography.

alaine@éclectique said...

Thank you for sharing that with us; what a beautiful place.

We've booked the tickets for Italy and I've printed out your recommendations for Milan. We also plan a day trip by train to Venice from Bologna. xa

Friko said...

We never hear of the beautiful places in the States, it's always just big cities and vast distances, never the hidden gems. Your blog helps me to understand the USA and that it has as many peaceful, domestic and friendly areas as any other nation on earth.

Louis la Vache said...

You do such a fine job of weaving text and images together. Very interesting post.

Reader Wil said...

Merci pour la promenade dans ce parc. Vos photos sont très belles comme toujours, Vagabonde! Merci aussi de votre visite et commentaire!

Kenza said...

Ce Park est vraiment grandiose, de l'espace et une nature luxuriante!!
Et toutes tes photos sont magnifiques!! Bravo pour ton si beau reportage.
Dans ton dernier commentaire chez moi, tu dis que les expositions te manquent, lors de ton prochain passage en Europe, tu me fais signe et je t'envoie une liste des expositions encours...
Très belle et agréable journée en vagabondage

Ruth said...

Well isn't this interesting! Even more so connected with my current post about my university. Emory looks very beautiful, and I did not know all these details about it. My friend years ago moved to Atlanta and works at Emory. We don't keep in touch now. The park is a terrific resource for the whole community. And wow, all those distinguished and visiting professors.

MSU has a beautiful campus too. It is very large (I think the largest in the world), but much of it is devoted to farms for research. We have gardens, but not a park like this, how wonderful.

I do wish my university would get more green, and shed the Monsanto connection. Apparently our campus is heading toward greenspace with no vehicles in the next 10 years, except for buses you'd ride in from the peripheral parking ramps.

Ruth said...

Well isn't this interesting! Even more so connected with my current post about my university. Emory looks very beautiful, and I did not know all these details about it. My friend years ago moved to Atlanta and works at Emory. We don't keep in touch now. The park is a terrific resource for the whole community. And wow, all those distinguished and visiting professors.

MSU has a beautiful campus too. It is very large (I think the largest in the world), but much of it is devoted to farms for research. We have gardens, but not a park like this, how wonderful.

I do wish my university would get more green, and shed the Monsanto connection. Apparently our campus is heading toward greenspace with no vehicles in the next 10 years, except for buses you'd ride in from the peripheral parking ramps.

Ginnie Hart said...

One thing to add to this wonderfully informative post, Vagabonde, is that Emory also has Candler School of Theology, one of the United Methodist Church's 13 seminaries. Totally top notch. One of my ex-partners got her MDiv there, so I am familiar with that part of the campus. However, you have given me a wonderful education on everything else. I can't believe I never photo-hunted that place like you did. BRAVO to you!

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

Oh I wish I had such a vast land of 600 acres! I would have turned it into a mini forest :) The photos in the post clearly show however, that the current use is also almost at its best!

Wednesday Wallpaper - Buffalo Life

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

Forgot to thank you for sharing such a lovely place with your beautiful photographs :)

Vagabonde said...

Nancy, Roger, Claude, Yves, Reader Wil et Kenza - Merci d’avoir pris le temps de venir me voir. Je suis toujours très contente de lire vos commentaires.

Vagabonde said...

DJan, Wenn, Vicki, Fennie, Paty, Darlene, Baino, Pondside, Marguerite, Kyh, Peter, Abe Lincoln, Alaine, Friko, Louis la Vache and Bhavesh - Hello y’all - Thank you for your kind words about my post, they mean a lot to me.

Vagabonde said...

Putz- Thank you for coming to my post even though you are not interested in local reports. If you look in my older posts I think I do have some about other parts of the world. I will write more about my trips overseas from time to time, but I also write about things around me since I live here now. I’m glad you stopped by.

Vagabonde said...

Ruth and Ginnie – I appreciate your comments. Ruth, did you do a photo post on your campus in Michigan? Ginnie – I understand now why Desmond Tutu was not listed as a former faculty member at Emory, he must have taught at the Candler School of Theology. Thanks for mentioning this school.

lorilaire said...

En parcourant ton post,tu m'as rappelée le souvenir d'un livre "le chemin des larmes en deux tomes de Janet Dailey qui parle de l'exode de ces indiens Cherokees, javais beaucoup apprécié cette lecture qui nous permettent d'être moins ignorant !

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

What a beautiful tour of Emory. I am ashamed to say that we live two hours north of Atlanta and hardly ever go there other than to drive through on the way to Florida. The traffic is frightening to me.

We should take a leisurely weekend trip and see this gorgeous spot.
Sam

Kathryn Stripling Byer said...

When our daugther Corinna was two, my husband received a summer Humanities grant to attend a 6 week seminar in Victorian Lit. at Emory. I remember rolling her in her "tot-rod" around some of these areas. We loved it.
Being born and raised in SW Ga., I grew up with the local prejudice toward Atlanta, the big city that looked down on us "sodbusters."
Fortunately, I grew up enough to get beyond all that, though I must say I hate Atlanta traffic!

livininlb said...

I love going back and rereading your old posts. I always seem to find something new or something that I missed the first time! I put your Robert Redford quote on my info page on Facebook. It's a great one. Thanks for sharing...xoxo

Anonymous said...

WALT Page I used to park in the VA Hospital parking lot,walk down the trail,me and a group of friends in the 70s,and e would go to this park and play guitar and sing and throw Frisbee.Climbed the tower many times.Took pictures for art class,just had alot of fun there.We were only 16,17 yrs old.What a beautiful place.Thanks for reminding me of some great times.I will have to do it again soon,as I am from Decatur(East Lake),and now live north a little(Duluth),only 15,16 miles away.


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