Rediscover Centennial Olympic Park: A guided tour of Quilt Plazas and Water Gardens

Let’s take a walk. We are going to explore an area of Centennial Olympic Park’s most distinctive features, the Quilt Plazas and Water Gardens. Located along the east border of the Park, the five 60-feet-by-60-feet plazas tell the impressive story of Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Games. A cascading series of beautifully landscaped water features weave together the quilts. Boulders and rocks from area riverbeds and a meandering walkway accent this oasis.



Fun fact: approximately 131,000 gallons of water circulates within the formal and informal pools that combine to create the flowing gardens. Listening to the sounds of the water, we will wander through the Quilt Plazas.

First, let’s begin our walk with a bit of background information.

The “Look of the Games” is a design undertaken by every Olympic host city’s organizing committee to create a visual identity for the Olympic Games. The “Look” appears on all banners, decorations and signage used during the 17-day international gathering. The “Look” chosen for the 1996 Olympic Games is a system of graphics symbolizing Atlanta’s character and natural beauty, the ancient traditions of the Olympic Games and the cultural heritage of the American South. Called “A Quilt of Leaves,” the design is symbolic of:

The Quilt Pattern


Leaves

Centennial Olympic Park’s leaf motif.

The first quilt in the gardens we’ll discover is the Quilt of Dreams.

The Quilt of Dreams plaza at Centennial Olympic Park.

The Quilt of Dreams celebrates Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) CEO Billy Payne’s original dream and 10-year quest to bring the Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta.

The second quilt we’ll investigate is the Quilt of Remembrance.

Quilt of Remembrance plaza at Centennial Olympic Park.

The Quilt of Remembrance features a mosaic of stones from around the world to honor the 111 people injured by the 1996 Olympic Park bombing. An eternal light shines in this plaza in memory of Alice Hawthorne, who perished.  

The third quilt we’ll study is the Quilt of Origins.

The Quilt of Origins at Centennial Olympic Park.

The Quilt of Origins captures the enduring essence of the Olympic Games with a sculpture that symbolically honors the progression of athletes from the original Greek Olympians to modern-day competitors.

The fourth quilt we’ll survey is the Quilt of Olympic Spirit.

The Quilt of Olympic Spirit salutes the 10,000 athletes that participated in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

The fifth quilt we’ll view is the Quilt of Nations.

The Quilt of Nations pergola at Centennial Olympic Park.

The Quilt of Nations honors the 197 nations that participated in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. This is the largest number of countries ever represented in the history of the Olympic Games.

With recent renovations complete, we invite you to rediscover Centennial Olympic Park (and tag your social media posts with #RediscoverCOP) this summer. You will be stitching together memories that weave the story of your own legacy.