Greenwood Park (Tennessee)

{{Infobox park

| name = Greenwood Park

| photo = Greenwood Park Nashville.jpg

| photo_width = 255

| photo_caption = The park entrance

| type = Urban park

| location = Nashville, Tennessee

| coords = {{coord|36.144067|-86.722433|display=inline}}

| area = {{convert|40|acre|km2|sing=on}}

| established = {{start date and age|1905}}

| closed = {{end date and age|1949}}

}}

Greenwood Park was the first urban park and recreation area established for African Americans in Nashville, Tennessee.{{Cite web|title=Story of Greenwood|accessdate=December 24, 2019|url=http://www.historicnashvilleinc.org/history/african_americans_nashvillem|website=Historic Nashville|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820123600/http://www.historicnashvilleinc.org/history/african_americans_nashvillem|archivedate=August 20, 2016}}{{Cite web|last=Phillips|first=Betsy|title=Fascinating figures and forgotten stories from African-American history in Nashville|accessdate=December 31, 2019|date=February 19, 2015|url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pith-in-the-wind/article/13058108/fascinating-figures-and-forgotten-stories-from-africanamerican-history-in-nashville|website=The Nashville Scene}} It was located on a {{convert|40|acre|adj=on}} plot approximately {{convert|3|mi|km}} east-southeast of downtown along Spence Lane between Lebanon Pike and Elm Hill Pike, across from Greenwood Cemetery.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nationalcycloped01richrich|quote=Tennessee Colored Fair Association,.|title=The National Cyclopedia of the Colored Race|first=Clement|last=Richardson|access-date=December 31, 2019|publisher=National Publishing Company|location=Montgomery|date=1919|page=[https://archive.org/details/nationalcycloped01richrich/page/335 335]|via=Internet Archive}} The park was founded in 1905 by Preston Taylor, a wealthy minister and former slave.{{cite web |title=Greenwood Park - 3A 129 - Nashville, TN|url=https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMD52H_Greenwood_Park_3A_129_Nashville_TN|website=Waymarking|publisher=Groundspeak|accessdate=December 24, 2019}} It remained open until 1949.

Natural features of the grounds included hills, dales, evergreen trees, and streams. The park, which was lit by electric lights, also had a restaurant, theater, roller rink, roller coaster, shooting gallery, merry-go-round, zoo, swimming pool, and a baseball diamond. The ballpark's grandstand had seating for a few thousand people and hosted the games of the independent minor league Nashville Standard/Elite Giants and local amateur Negro league teams.{{cite web|first=Skip|last=Nipper|url=http://262downright.com/2013/10/18/tom-wilson-and-the-nashville-elite-giants/|title=Tom Wilson and the Nashville Elite Giants|work=262 Down Right|date=October 18, 2013|accessdate=February 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203010912/http://262downright.com/2013/10/18/tom-wilson-and-the-nashville-elite-giants/|archive-date=February 3, 2015|url-status=dead}}

It was the home of a large annual fair hosted by the Tennessee Colored Fair Association.{{cite web|url=http://digital.mtsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15838coll7/id/49|title=Tennessee Colored Fair Association advertisement – Trials and Triumphs|newspaper=Nashville Globe|date=July 23, 1909|page=8}} The 1909 fair was to include oration by Booker T. Washington and music by the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

The park was served by electric streetcars and was at the end of the Fairfield Street trolley line.