Slide 1 of 5,

DURING the height of the civil rights movement, the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born, lived and is buried , was a bustling hub of middle-class black life. But as Atlantans raced to the suburbs, this stretch of factories and shotgun houses east of downtown fell into decay. Now, the neighborhood is generating buzz again — as a cradle of culinary and artistic innovation and as a symbol of gentrification, with a more racially mixed population.

Historic Fourth Ward Park

680 Dallas Street

(404) 590-7275

h4wpc.com

In June, after a $50 million makeover, this once-drab 17-acre plot reopened as Atlanta’s newest park — a sprawling mix of green space, jogging paths, placid lakes and playgrounds. On warm weekends, it’s crowded with relaxing picnickers, dog owners with Frisbees and children playing in water fountains. The skateboarder Tony Hawk helped design a skate park on an adjacent property.