The Mozley Park Historic District is a typical early 20th-century
residential neighborhood, located approximately three miles west of
downtown Atlanta. The community is named after the original landowner,
Dr. Hiram Mozley, who's heirs inherited the land after his death in
1902. The houses in the district were built over a 20-year period,
beginning around 1920 when the basic street arrangements were completely
mapped. The houses built in the oldest section of the neighborhood
are Folk Victorian cottages and Craftsman bungalows built on small
lots with varied setbacks and no driveways. There have been modest
changes to the houses, including new awnings, siding, and rear additions.
The overall neighborhood plan is that of a gridiron, typical of many
Atlanta neighborhoods. Many of the streets have retained their original
granite curbing and narrow sidewalks with hexagonal pavers. Lots are
primarily 50 feet wide.
Mozley Park Historic District
National Register photograph by Yen Tang
The district also includes the Mozley Park Recreational Area.
In 1922, the citizens of Mozley Park and the surrounding area asked
the Atlanta City Council to purchase the Mozley estate for a recreation
area to serve residents of the southwest side of Atlanta. The Civil
War breastworks and trenches that remained on the site were leveled.
A park was developed with roadways, landscaped areas, lakes, a swimming
pool, and a bathhouse. The only other non-residential building in
the district is the Frank L. Stanton Elementary School, named for
Georgia's first poet laureate. It was built on a wooded hill adjacent
to Mozley Park. The school is a traditional two-story, red-brick
building with limestone trim and awning windows. In the 1950s and
1960s, public project developments, including the construction of
Interstate 20, altered portions of the landscape in Mozley Park.
Some older houses and streets have been demolished. But because
of the minimal alterations to the majority of the houses, the neighborhood
has maintained its integrity as an early 20th-century residential
Mozley Park Historic District is roughly bounded by Westview
Dr., West Lake Ave., Seaboard Coast Line Railroad tracks, and Rockmark
and Martin Luther King, Jr., drs. The houses in the district are
private residences and are not open to the public. Mozley Park at
1565 Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. is open 6:00am to 11:00pm daily.