Memorial Park, a historic landmark in Athens, Georgia, has served as a backdrop for medical patients, annual traditions and occasional tragedies for over 50 years.

Settled in the Five Points neighborhood, Memorial Park is one of the most popular places in Athens for families because of its amenities. The park contains a swimming pool, a lake, the Birchmark Trail and Bear Hollow Zoo.

In the 2013 article “A Five Points Treasure for Fifty Years,” Charles Rowland explained how the park was first established as a sanitarium in 1924 but was later transformed into a park for children and families in 1945. One of its first buildings, a hospital called Fairhaven, was renovated into a theater and now hosts programs and performances.

“The building’s renovation was carefully done to allow for modern improvements that will ensure the place continues to be used while it still retaining some of its historical integrity,” Rowland wrote.

According to a 2015 article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Memorial Park holds an annual Memorial Day festival where “re-enactors dress in authentic uniforms and equipment to portray soldiers from ancient Romans to Texas Rangers.”

Georgia Heights on Twitter: “Commemorate Memorial Day at Athens Memorial Park on Monday, May 30 from 1pm – 3pm. Don’t miss out! #GeorgiaHeights pic.twitter.com/iVO4wddJtv / Twitter”

Commemorate Memorial Day at Athens Memorial Park on Monday, May 30 from 1pm – 3pm. Don’t miss out! #GeorgiaHeights pic.twitter.com/iVO4wddJtv

Not all events associated with the park have been positive. In 2008, a woman named Cayle Bywater went missing at Memorial Park and, two weeks later, her body was recovered from the lake at the park, according to the Augusta Chronicle. Bywater seemed “to [not] have been the victim of violence.” The case was ruled an accidental drowning and a memorial service was held in her honor at the park on Jan. 20, 2007.

As the first park in Athens, “[Memorial Park] remains a special treasure for Five Points,” Rowland wrote.