D.H. Stanton Park is one of the nicest parks I have ever stepped foot in.

The facilities, atmosphere, appearance, and location of this park make it extremely appealing. Whether you want an open field to kick a soccer ball around, a softball field to play kickball in, grills to have a cookout, playgrounds for your kids to play on, a track for you to run, or just a place to casually hangout with friends, this park provides it all. I sounded a little bit like an infomercial there, but it’s true! It is quite refreshing to see a park that is not just a patch of grass and some seats/sculptures, which from my experience, is the standard of a “park” in Atlanta.

On a Friday afternoon, the park was nearly completely empty. It was extremely peaceful, beautiful, and impressive to me. I found the location of the park convenient for the neighborhoods it was close to, considering it had three separate walking entrances. In regards to this, I found it difficult to find somewhere to park. This might be an intentional decision to the designer, and if it were, I see why. The entire park embodies the ideas of being active and healthy. Driving there would kind of defeat the point wouldn’t it?

The facilities present in this park along with the atmosphere it brings reminded me exactly of the social and cultural expectations of a project like the Beltline. This park has the potential to bring all sorts of people together, doing all sorts of activities: and that’s exactly what the Beltline does daily. I truly loved this park, and I think I would enjoy going back on a busier day with some friends and/or family.