Hadley Park, Nashville

Opened on July 4, 1912, this 30-acre park in the northwest part of downtown Nashville was the city's first park, and one of the earliest parks in the United States to be designated exclusively for use by African Americans by the city's municipal authorities. The park's namesake is a matter of debate, with some claiming it's John L. Hadley, a former slave owner who later regretted his actions, and others proposing Dr. W.A. Hadley, a prominent African American physician who worked with Lewis on the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition.

The park occupies the land that was once the Hadley plantation, and the main house, where it is believed that Frederick Douglass gave a speech in 1873 from the porch, remained within the park until 1948. In the 1930s, stone columns bearing the names of African American soldiers from Davidson County who had died in World War I were erected at the park's main entrance on 28th Street.

The park is situated between Fisk University and Tennessee State University, both historically African American institutions. It has an L-shaped layout and is shaded by large-canopy trees, including hickory, ash, and elm, scattered across the gently rolling terrain. The southern part of the park features picnic shelters, two baseball diamonds, a playground, and open grassy fields, all surrounded by a paved walking trail that follows the outline of the adjacent streets. The northern section of the park houses the bandshell and the Hadley Park Community Center, with a U-shaped parking area in front. Further north is the Hadley Park Tennis Center, opened in 2018, with nine outdoor hard courts and four indoor courts in a grid layout.