Cloverdale, Montgomery

Last updated

Cloverdale is a neighborhood within the American city of Montgomery, Alabama. It is the largest garden-landscaped neighborhood in the state of Alabama. Built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is one of Montgomery's "genteel" areas. [1] The term serves two purposes: the "original" Cloverdale area, and the larger area, which includes other historic neighborhoods such as Cloverdale-Idlewild.

Contents

History

Purchased by William Graham in 1817, Cloverdale rests in a portion of the original 160-acre (0.65 km2) lot. This area of land was originally called "Graham's Woods" because of its thick growth and distance from the city of Montgomery. The landscape was covered with virgin pines, a few of which still exist on the lawns of some Cloverdale homes. Consequently, this area was sometimes called "The Pines" in addition to the name "Graham's Woods". In addition to the pine trees, there were also a number of open glens where clover grew in abundance, and this seems to be the likely origin of the name, Cloverdale, which was adopted in 1892.

The picturesque natural garden landscape developed in Europe during the early 19th century and was popularized during the mid-century in America by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted was America's preeminent landscape architect and responsible for a number of nineteenth century residential suburbs, including Riverside (1869) in Chicago and Druid Hills (1893) in Atlanta, Georgia.

The plan for Cloverdale has basic qualities which are similar to Olmsted's suburban residential designs elsewhere around the country. Olmsted was at work on the landscape plan for the Alabama State Capitol grounds in Montgomery in 1889, contemporary with the early development of Cloverdale. No documentation, however, has yet surfaced to substantiate any definite Olmsted influence.

A more likely designer of Cloverdale was the English landscape architect Joseph Forsyth Johnson, who emigrated to America in the 1870s after a successful career designing the grounds for a number of estates in England, Ireland and Russia. A comparison of Cloverdale with Johnson's design for the residential suburb Inman Park in Atlanta reveals some remarkable similarities. Both, for example, had proposed lake sites and both have long, narrow, central park areas surrounded by curving streets.

The earliest documentation discovered for the construction of a house in Cloverdale is from a letter dated 1892. This house, which was located on the corner of what is now Felder Avenue and Norman Bridge Road, was demolished for an apartment complex in the late 1940s.

In 1893, The Cloverdale Land and Development Company was bankrupt, due to the nationwide economic panic of that period. During the next fifteen years, the Cloverdale site lay dormant with the exception of some activity along the north side of Felder Avenue, where a small golf course and tennis courts were built, the beginning of the Montgomery Country Club.

In 1908, there were only ten houses in Cloverdale, but by 1916 there were one hundred twenty-five. Many of these homes were designed by Montgomery's leading architects, B. B. Smith, Weatherly Carter, Frank Lockwood Sr., and Frank Lockwood Jr. One house was designed by Mobile architect Nicholas Holmes Sr.

In 1910, the residents of Cloverdale voted for the first time to incorporate their suburb into a self-governing village. They elected Charles Tullis as the first mayor. This period also saw the development of a small commercial strip on the corner of Norman Bridge Road and the north side of Cloverdale Road, and this became Montgomery's first suburban commercial area. In the late 1920s, another similar business strip began to develop on the corner of Fairview Avenue and Woodley Road.

Cloverdale has been one of Montgomery's choice residential areas since the turn of the century. [2] It is one of Montgomery's earliest suburbs and is the oldest landscape garden designed residential area in Alabama, predating similar areas in Birmingham. Its short existence as an incorporated village (1910–1927) gave it a special sense of neighborhood, which it has retained to some degree to the present day.

Old Cloverdale Historic District

The original landscaped area of Cloverdale is now known as Old Cloverdale. Old Cloverdale is between Felder Avenue and East Fairview Avenue from the north & south, and between Norman Bridge Road from the west and College Street, Watson Avenue & College Court from the east. [3] Areas outside of these boundaries are not inside the Old Cloverdale Historic District; parts of some surrounding neighborhoods such as the Garden District, Edgewood, and Cloverdale-Idlewild are part of what some generically call the "Cloverdale" area of Montgomery.

The neighborhood of Old Cloverdale became an official historic district on December 17, 1996. [4] This helps to maintain and protect the charm, look, and character of the neighborhood.

Old Cloverdale is home to Cloverdale Park, Mary Ann Neely Park, Fitzgerald Park, LeGrande Park, and Milo Howard Park. [5] [6]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1920 537
U.S. Decennial Census [7]

Cloverdale was listed as an incorporated town on the 1920 U.S. Census with a population of 537. It would be annexed by the city of Montgomery in 1927.

Points of interest

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cascade, Seattle</span> Neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States

Cascade is an urban neighborhood abutting Downtown Seattle, Washington, United States, located adjacent to South Lake Union. It is bounded by: Fairview Avenue North on the west, beyond which is the rest of the Cascade Neighborhood; the Interstate 5 interchange for Mercer St to the north, beyond which is Eastlake; Interstate 5 on the east, beyond which is Capitol Hill; and Denny Way on the south, beyond which is Denny Triangle. It is surrounded by thoroughfares Mercer Street (eastbound), Fairview Avenue N. and Eastlake Avenue E., and Denny Way. The neighborhood, one of Seattle's oldest, originally extended much further: west to Terry Avenue, south to Denny Hill on the South, and east to Melrose Avenue E through the area now obliterated by Interstate 5. Some recent writers consider Cascade to omit the northern "arm", while others extend it westward to cover most of South Lake Union.

Midtown is a collection of neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee, to the east of Downtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdon College</span> Methodist liberal arts college in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.

Huntingdon College is a private Methodist college in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1854 as a women's college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Park, Denver</span> United States historic place

Washington Park is a neighborhood and public urban park in Denver, Colorado. The Washington Park is a blend of historic and contemporary styles of architecture. The park was first developed by Architect Reinhard Schuetze in 1899. Its design was influenced by city planner Kessler, the Olmsted Brothers and philanthropist Margaret "Molly" Brown. The park is popular with both tourists and area residents, with some comparing it to New York City's Central Park. Apart from activities such as walking, biking or volleyball, the park serves as a center for community gatherings, such as the annual Furry Scurry. Wedding receptions are often held in the historic boathouse pavilion. In 2012 the American Planning Association designated the park one of its “Great Public Spaces in America”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.</span> American landscape architect; not to be confused with his father, who designed Central Park

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was an American landscape architect and city planner known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite National Park. He gained national recognition by filling in for his father on the Park Improvement Commission for the District of Columbia beginning in 1901, and by contributing to the famous McMillan Commission Plan for redesigning Washington according to a revised version of the original L’Enfant plan. Olmsted Point in Yosemite and Olmsted Island at Great Falls of the Potomac River in Maryland are named after him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods in Spokane, Washington</span>

Neighborhoods in Spokane, Washington are officially grouped by the Spokane City Council into three main city council districts: 1, 2, and 3. Each city council district contains multiple, official neighborhoods that are recognized with a neighborhood council. Informally, neighborhoods are colloquially grouped by local geographical, geological, cultural, or historical features The list of neighborhoods below is organized based on the official designations by the City of Spokane. Unofficial neighborhoods and districts are listed within the official neighborhood in which they are located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Park, Denver</span> Park and neighborhood in Colorado, US

City Park is an urban park and neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. The park is 330 acres (1.3 km2) and is located in east-central Denver. The park contains the Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Ferril and Duck Lakes, and a boathouse. City Park is also the name of the neighborhood that contains the park, though the park is the vast majority of the neighborhood. To the immediate north of the park is the City Park Golf Course. City Park is the largest park in Denver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Park Historic District (Dayton, Ohio)</span> Historic district in Ohio, United States

South Park is a 24-block, 150-acre area of more than 780 structures primarily dating from the 1880s to the early twentieth century. It is located south of downtown Dayton, Ohio, just north of the University of Dayton campus and Woodland Cemetery, and east of Miami Valley Hospital. Mainly residential in character, South Park is significant because of the variety of its architecture, which includes vernacular, cottage, and high style examples, and because of its association with John H. Patterson, founder of the National Cash Register Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenway (parkway)</span> Road in Boston, United States

Fenway, commonly referred to as The Fenway, is a mostly one-way, one- to three-lane parkway that runs along the southern and eastern edges of the Back Bay Fens in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As part of the Emerald Necklace park system mainly designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the late 19th century, the Fenway, along with the Back Bay Fens and Park Drive, connects the Commonwealth Avenue Mall to the Riverway. For its entire length, the parkway travels along the Muddy River and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston. Like others in the park system, it is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Sedgwick is one of the 26 officially recognized neighborhoods of Syracuse, New York, United States. It borders four other Syracuse neighborhoods, with Northside to the north and west, Near Northeast to the southwest, Lincoln Park to the south, and Eastwood to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Hills Parkway</span> United States historic place

Blue Hills Parkway is a historic parkway that runs in a straight line from a crossing of the Neponset River, at the south border of Boston to the north edge of the Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Massachusetts. It was built in 1893 to a design by the noted landscape architect, Charles Eliot, who is perhaps best known for the esplanades along the Charles River. The parkway is a connecting road between the Blue Hills Reservation and the Neponset River Reservation, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cloverdale Historic District</span> Historic district in Alabama, United States

The Cloverdale Historic District is a 156-acre (63 ha) historic district in Montgomery, Alabama. It is roughly bounded by Norman Bridge and Cloverdale roads, Fairview and Felder avenues, and Boultier Street. It contains 463 contributing buildings and 4 structures that date from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries. The district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 12, 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden District (Montgomery, Alabama)</span> Historic district in Alabama, United States

The Garden District is a 315-acre (127 ha) historic district in Montgomery, Alabama.

Cloverdale-Idlewild is a neighborhood in Montgomery, Alabama. It is circumscribed by Edgemont Street, Norman Bridge Road, Fairview Avenue, and Audubon Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Lockwood (architect)</span> American architect

Frank Lockwood (1865-1935) was one of Montgomery, Alabama's leading architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Fulton Memorial Park</span> United States historic place

Lewis Fulton Memorial Park is a public park in the city of Waterbury, Connecticut. Located north of the city center, it was developed in the 1920s through the philanthropy of William Fulton, a brass company owner, as a memorial to his son Lewis. Its grounds were designed by the Olmsted Brothers landscape architects, and were largely completed by 1925. The park includes facilities for both active and passive recreation, and retains many Olmsted-designed features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockwood, Spokane</span> Spokane Neighborhood in Washington, United States

Rockwood is a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington. It is located on the south side of the city to the southeast of Downtown Spokane and expanding southeasterly from close to the city center. Its proximity to downtown makes it one of Spokane's older neighborhoods, with mature trees lining most of its streets. Due to its location on the hill leading up from the Spokane River Valley, the street grid breaks down in many places around Rockwood. The most notable of these is along the winding Rockwood Boulevard, which was designed by the Olmsted Brothers and weaves its way from the northwesternmost corner of the neighborhood through the center and across to the eastern border, highlighting the basalt bluffs and other natural topography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture of Spokane, Washington</span> Overview of the architecture in Spokane, Washington

Spokane and its neighborhoods contain a patchwork of architectural styles that give them a distinct identity and illustrate the changes throughout the city's history. Spokane has a rich architectural history for a western city of its size and much of it is a product of its circumstances at the turn of the 20th century when as a rapidly growing city, the Great Fire of 1889 destroyed 32 blocks of the city center which was quickly rebuilt in a more grand fashion by a community flush with money coming from regional mining districts. Many of the architects that found work in the city and building on the blank slate of the downtown commercial district became highly esteemed architects such as Kirtland Cutter, who has been credited with giving the city a distinctive character. In particular, the city has a high concentration of Romanesque Revival style institutional and commercial buildings and American Craftsman bungalow residences. The architecture of Spokane gained national recognition in industry publications in the early 20th century.

References

  1. Carter, Dan T. (2000). The politics of rage: George Wallace, the origins of the new conservatism, and the transformation of American politics. LSU Press. p. 135. ISBN   978-0-8071-2597-7.
  2. Gamble, Robert S. (2001). Historic Architecture in Alabama: A Guide to Styles and Types, 1810-1930. University of Alabama Press. pp. 162–63. ISBN   978-0-8173-1134-6.
  3. "The Old Cloverdale Association - Montgomery, Alabama". www.oldcloverdale.org. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.
  4. "The Old Cloverdale Association - Montgomery, Alabama". www.oldcloverdale.org. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.
  5. "Parks". www.funinmontgomery.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-18.
  6. "City of Montgomery : Parks". Archived from the original on 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  7. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2013.