Our Parks - Atwood Park & Garrison Gardens

Address:  Atwood Park is located between Atwood and School Streets, between Federal and Lime Streets.

Parking

•  Street parking is available on both Atwood and School Streets. 

Features  

• This 3/4-acre park has a lighted path connecting Atwood and School Streets, benches, and a half basketball court. The Garrison Gardens portion of the park is a landscaped courtyard with benches and two interpretive panels on abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and his birthplace, which is located directly across the street.  

History

•  Atwood Street and Park are named after Margaret Atwood. She lived at 54-56 Lime Street. She was a businesswoman, and she also taught young, orphaned girls how to read and write and prepared them for local workplaces (https://historynewburyport.com/margaret-atwood/).
• The park was established in 1976 on the former site of the Jackman School. 
• In 2015, a portion of the park was made into “Garrison Gardens” after William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison was the editor of the abolitionist newspaper, “The Liberator”, and one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He promoted “immediate emancipation” of slaves in the United States. His birthplace is located directly across from Garrison Gardens.