Historic Oakland Foundation

Hardscape - HOF's preservation staff continued Historic Oakland Foundation's largest preservation project to-date in the Cemetery's East Hill completing the restoration of 2 acres of the 6 acre section, including 2,000 linear feet of retaining walls. Additionally, time-sensitive critical restoration projects and family-funded lot improvement projects were conducted. The nearly $2 million rehabilitation of the 1899 Oakland Bell Tower (architect: Smith Dalia Architects) was completed with a ribbon cutting ceremony in November 2022. The restoration of Oakland Cemetery's roads and gutters were included in the 2022 City of Atlanta Infrastructure bond that passed in May 2022. In all of its work, HOF's restoration department follows the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.Capital Campaign - In 2019, HOF embarked on a $12.5 million capital campaign to restore a significant section of the cemetery (East Hill), renovate the historic 1899 Oakland Bell Tower, build a new visitor's center and offices at the main gate, and address various site infrastructure issues. The HOF board committed over $1.7 million and The City of Atlanta, through Invest Atlanta, committed $4.7 million to start the campaign, followed by various foundations. HOF has already completed the majority of the East Hill restoration project, the Bell Tower rehabilitation, and, in 2023, will break ground on the new Visitor Center with a Special Administrative Permit (SAP) approved in 2022 and Land Disturbance Permit submitted.

Programming/Education - In 2022, Oakland Cemetery saw record attendance: exceeding 125,000 annual visitors for the first time. Driven by the Foundation's strong special event calendar and community programs, including Illumine, Capturing the Spirit of Oakland, and Sunday in the Park ft. Tunes from the Tombs, the Foundation welcomed thousands of visitors in 2022. Notably, HOF partnered with the Mexican Consulate to host a Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) event that welcomed over 9,000 visitors in November.

Gardens - HOF's Gardens department completed the landscape restoration in the historic African American Burial Grounds (5 year, $600,000 project) as well as conducted significant new installation (32 lots) on the Cemetery's East Hill. HOF added more resources to the gardens team to provide additional human resources to handle the Foundation's increasing maintenance responsibilities. HOF's Plant Sales grossed $150,000. HOF's gardens department restores and establishes landscape with two main priorities: 1) historical appropriateness, and 2) sustainability. Oakland's gardens reflect the diversity of the Victorian gardening tradition and provide seasonal beauty.