Historic trees scheduled for chopping in Atlanta’s Grant Park

The crane that will lift a panoramic painting depicting the Battle of Atlanta from the Civil War is seen at Grant Park in Atlanta on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017. Moving the 6-ton Cyclorama - one of the world's largest paintings - from the park to the Atlanta History Center across town marks a major milestone in its restoration, historians said. (AP Photo/Alex Sanz) The crane that will lift a panoramic painting depicting the Battle of Atlanta from the Civil War is seen at Grant Park in Atlanta on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017. Moving the 6-ton Cyclorama - one of the world's largest paintings - from the park to the Atlanta History Center across town marks a major milestone in its restoration, historians said. (AP Photo/Alex Sanz)

By Associated Press September 4, 2017 3 min read

ATLANTA (AP) – Atlanta’s Grant Park is full of historic trees, but many near the main road are marked with orange Xs.

Leigh Finlayson lives across the street from a row of trees on Boulevard Street, many of which are more than 50 years old, where a semi-underground three-story parking deck is planned.

He’s leading the campaign to save some of the 131 trees on the chopping block by calling for the city of Atlanta to build a smaller parking deck and move it further inside the park.

Finlayson has filed a tree conservation appeal with the city to save some of the trees, WABE Radio reported .

“This is a late-life conversion, if you will,” said Finlayson, a criminal defense lawyer. “I was a Boy Scout as a kid, I spent a lot of time in the wilderness, but this was never my calling or mission until it just came to my front yard. Now it’s become a priority.”