Piedmont Heights Walking Tour

Monroe GardenS, Landscape & Nursery

1900 Monroe Drive NE

In 1937, the northern section of Boulevard Avenue was renamed Monroe Drive, honoring William L. Monroe, Sr., founder of Monroe’s Landscape and Nursery Company and Monroe Gardens. In 1925, Monroe bought 15 acres, which he transformed into beautiful gardens as well a nursery, where he grew plants for his landscaping clients. He designed and installed over 10,000 gardens—private, commercial, and public—throughout Atlanta and the Southeast. His clients included Emory University, the Coca-Cola headquarters, Chastain Park (originally named North Fulton Park), and many more. Monroe’s grounds were a popular wedding venue and social hangout with a fishing pond, waterfall, wishing well, picnic areas, an outdoor bar, and more. Monroe died in 1965, leaving his son, Billy, to run the business until its closing in 1985. Now you can find relics of an outdoor chapel, bomb shelter, and outdoor fireplace among the Ansley-Monroe Villas townhomes property.

Nearby on the southeast corner of Monroe Drive and Rock Springs Road, William Monroe, Sr. built this home in 1951 for his daughter, Evelyn, and her family. Today it is subdivided into eight apartments.

GO TO THE NEXT LANDMARK ON THE PIEDMONT HEIGHTS WALKING TOUR: Henri Jova Trust Company Bank Building

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