Historic Lynwood Park unveils final transformation

Event fulfills promises of historic recognition

Brookhaven, GA, Sept. 11, 2023 – The City of Brookhaven wraps up its most comprehensive set of upgrades in the 2018 Parks Bond program with a final unveiling of historic monuments and naming dedications on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 2 p.m. at the Lynwood Park Recreation Center, 3360 Osborne Road in Brookhaven.

“The history of the building we know as the Lynwood Recreation Center is so important to the City’s history and is now preserved for today’s children and future generations to understand history, not in the abstract, but in concrete,” said Mayor Pro Tempore and District 1 Councilwoman Linley Jones.

Lynwood Park was established in the early 1930’s and was the first predominantly Black subdivision in DeKalb County.  Residents throughout the following years suffered discrimination and segregation.  In 1968, students of the school, known as the Lynwood Trailblazers, bravely entered the previously segregated DeKalb County School System. The Brookhaven City Council issued its first official historic designation for Lynwood Park and its community in 2020, but monument signage was delayed until after $10 million in park improvements were completed.

In June 2023, the new Lynwood Park upgrades were available for use, including:

• The splash pad with a zero-depth area with multiple spray features.
• A 5-foot-deep lap pool.
• A new pool house with new men’s and women’s restrooms with changing areas and showers.
• A new pavilion.
• A new synthetic turf field striped for youth soccer and youth baseball/softball with a second pavilion.
• Additional parking.

While Lynwood Park upgrades occurred throughout the park, painstaking efforts were made to ensure the historic school was preserved in its present state.

At the Sept. 12 event, Brookhaven will unveil the bronze historic recognition plaque, a historic showcase with memorabilia of the community’s storied history, naming dedications of the gymnasium and community room, and the dedication of the aforementioned synthetic turf field in memory of a longtime community member.

Previously installed gateway markers at the roundabout intersection of Windsor Parkway and Osborne Road have been accented with art crosswalks, created by local artist Turiya Clark, who grew up in Lynwood Park. The entrance monuments, identifying the neighborhood of Historic Lynwood Park, were specified under the terms of the 2020 historic designation.