Restoration of the Crowley Mausoleum
Miles J. Edwards
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Today is December 13th and we are exactly one month away from the Community of Belvedere Park's first community event planned for 2024, the restoration of the Crowley Mausoleum.
In 1850, a Virginia resident by the name of, James Crowley, moved to DeKalb County, Georgia, and occupied a 500 acre tract of land. Before Crowley's arrival, during the 1930s the city of Decatur (the capital of Georgia at the time) was the center of an argument about whether or not it should expand to accommodate the new railroad terminus.
At the time the city of Decatur was the state capital of Georgia and residents didn't like the idea of expanding to become a larger city. Some residents of DeKalb County moved to the western area of the county to form Fulton County from a small encampment called Thrasherville, later then named Terminus, then Marthasville, and now our very own city of Atlanta.
James Crowley later died in 1859 and left his family his large 500 acre estate that he was buried on. But over the years, the descendants of the Crowley family left the Crowley estate to start their own families in other locations across the country. Over the years parcels of the estate was sold off as the Belvedere Park community began to take development and grow.
During the 1960s, developers of the old Avondale Mall (originally called Columbia Mall [name comes from Columbia Drive]) purchased the last large remaining piece of the Crowley estate, but the cemetery grounds that the Crowley family was buried in over the years still remained. So the developers made an agreement with the Crowley Family to never destroy the graves. Instead, the developers built the Crowley Mausoleum to house 13 graves of James Crowley and his family so they will be protected and never be touched no matter the development in the Belvedere Park and Avondale area.
In 2001, Walmart purchased the old Avondale Mall and opened their Supercenter in 2008. Walmart continues to honor the agreement that the developers of the Avondale Mall made with the Crowley family by keeping the mausoleum in safe and intact, but the Crowley family is held responsible for the regular maintenance of the mausoleum.
Today, the Crowley Mausoleum remains on a small piece of land in a growing commercial landscape along Memorial Drive in Belvedere Park. Because there are no longer any recognized descendants of the Crowley family around the Crowley Mausoleum has grown into great despair and becoming an eyesore with graffiti, vandalism and homeless encampments posing possible dangers to residents.
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For many of us Eastside kids that grew up in the eastern metro Atlanta community. The Crowley Mausoleum was a neighborhood landmark that was apart of our everyday lives because of attending school nearby (Avondale High School), shopping, hanging out or watching dollar movies at Avondale Mall.
The East Atlanta/South DeKalb County community of Belvedere Park continues to be the home of the Crowley Mausoleum. Belvedere Park is the eastside corridor to the city of Atlanta. According to the 2002 Census, Belvedere Park is a community of 15,113 people and 3,251 households. A racial makeup of: 9,309 Blacks (61.6%), 4,702 Whites (26.94%), 780 Hispanics (5.16%), 704 Mixed/Other (4.66%), 217 Asians (1.44%), 24 Native Americans (0.66). The median income for families are: $37,207.
The community of Belvedere Park. a grassroots nonprofit, is organizing a cleaning restoration of the Crowley Mausoleum for Saturday, January 13th, 2024. We will be pressure washing the exterior walls, landscaping the surrounding area, trimming trees overgrown trees on the cemetery rooftop and more. Our goal is to help strengthen our community by helping residents live healthier lifestyles and attract more business opportunities to the area for local business owners.
The Community of Belvedere Park will also be offering community services such as: clothing, health checks, and we are currently looking into having a variety of local healthcare providers onsite to speak to and enroll residents into the Affordable Care Act before the January 15th deadline.
Walmart will also be onboard to assist providing water and snacks to volunteers.