The Piedmont Recreation Department's Walking on Wednesdays walking group continued to
visit Piedmont historical places of interest last Wednesday with a walk through Piedmont Park down to Palm Drive. Piedmont Historical Society had given the group historical information that helped everyone understand what they were seeing and enriched their walk.
After the Piedmont Springs Hotel, which was located where the Exedra currently stands, burned down in 1892, Frank C. Havens developed Piedmont Park in 1898. The main entrance to the park was at the current bus stop on Highland Avenue, across from the current Wells Fargo bank, and the lower entrance to the park came up from Grand Avenue. The path from Grand Avenue to Piedmont Park was lined with palm trees, and that path became Palm Drive. The path extended past the Maze, today's Witter Field, and to the paths in the park. We stopped and Dave DeRoche
read the historical sign at the Wildwood entrance to the park for us and we saw the image of the Maze. We also stopped for the attached group photo and to enjoy the view of Witter Field from the new terrace and bench dedicated to Nancy Witter Hodgkinson, which overlooks the Piedmont High football field. It was noted that the bench could become Piedmont's version of Cal's
Tightwad Hill.
Today Palm Drive has the last remaining palms of that long ago path from Grand Avenue to Piedmont Park. After seeing all of the beautiful palms, the walkers circled back to the Exedra with a three-block walk up Magnolia Avenue.
