Woodruff Park Reading Room Opens with a New Look

February 24,2010

ATLANTA, GA – The Woodruff Park Reading Room is set to kick off its 2010 season with a new look. Starting March 1st-, the Woodruff Park Reading Room will be open to the public, and will feature a new permanent building with an expanded selection of reading material, recreational equipment and new programs.

Since March 2007, the Reading Room has served as a popular resting spot for Downtown employees, students, residents and tourists. The Reading Room provides magazines and newspapers for park visitors free of charge, with no cards or identification needed.

The new additions to the Reading Room are part of a large-scale project to refurbish and revamp Woodruff Park. Since July 2009 the park has undergone a series of cosmetic enhancements, including hardscape repaving, repairing seat walls, and restoring the park’s main fountain. There are also on-going efforts to make the park more efficient. In 2009, an investigation was launched into a sustainable water recovery system for the park’s two fountains to allow the fountains to run year-round.

“Every improvement made to Woodruff Park is being executed with the people of Atlanta in mind,” says A.J. Robinson, President, Central Atlanta Progress (CAP). “Woodruff Park is such a unique part of Downtown’s landscape, and we hope that our improvements will make it more accessible and inviting to everyone passing through.”

With the addition of the new Woodruff Park recreation building, the Reading Room will now offer park visitors a wider range of recreation items, as well as greater assistance. A Park coordinator will be on-duty during the Reading Room’s operating hours, 9 a.m. until dusk, and will assist visitors with materials, information and more.

Media Contact: Sara Milton at smilton@atlantadowntown.com or 404-658-5908

ABOUT THE WOODRUFF PARK MASTER PLAN
The Woodruff Park Master Plan presents a detailed vision of the future of Downtown’s most distinctive green space. The authority for the Master Plan is the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (DPRCA) and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, Inc. (ADID), as approved by the City Council and Mayor in 2007. Woodruff Park’s designer, Nimrod Long and Associates, was hired by CAP/ADID to spearhead all redesign and repair projects. The Master Plan will be executed in two phases, and will be funded largely through a comprehensive fund-raising program, developed by CAP, targeting support from private sources.

ABOUT CENTRAL ATLANTA PROGRESS/ATLANTA DOWNTOWN IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT:
Central Atlanta Progress, Inc., is a Downtown business association with approximately 200 members. Its mission is to build a vibrant community with strong leadership and sustainable infrastructure that is safe, livable, diverse, economically viable, accessible, clean, hospitable and entertaining.. The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable corporation created by CAP to make Downtown safer, cleaner and more hospitable.