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Atlanta dedicates Westside Park as Shirley Clark Franklin Park; Central Avenue renamed
Summary
City and community leaders gathered at the former Bellwood Quarry to unveil Shirley Clark Franklin Park and to mark the unanimous city vote renaming a portion of Central Avenue Shirley Clark Franklin Boulevard. Speakers credited Franklin with infrastructure and youth initiatives tied to the park's creation.
Atlanta officials and members of the public on March 18, 2025, dedicated the city’s largest green space as Shirley Clark Franklin Park and announced that a stretch of Central Avenue will be renamed Shirley Clark Franklin Boulevard, honoring the former mayor’s role in buying and converting the former Bellwood Quarry into a reservoir and park.
The dedication at the newly named park in northwest Atlanta brought Mayor Andre Dickens; Council members including Dustin Hillis, Jason Dozier, Andrea Boone and Marcy Collier Overstreet; members of the Shirley Clark Franklin commission; family members of Franklin; and community groups. The City Council voted unanimously to rename the park and the street, officials said; the transcript did not specify roll-call tallies.
Why it matters: City leaders said the site — purchased under Franklin’s administration and developed as Westside Park and a 2.4-billion-gallon reservoir — improved the city’s water security and created a major public amenity for neighborhoods long described as underserved. Speakers framed the naming as recognition of Franklin’s investments in…
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