William Lott Monroe, Sr. (1892-1965), landscape architect, was born in Biscoe, North Carolina and graduated from Elon College. Through his military service, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1917, staying after discharge to work for the local nursery C. A. Dahl Company in 1920. Monroe married Ila Smith in 1921 and they had two children, Evelyn Doris and William (Billy) Lott, Jr. In 1925 Monroe founded his own nursery, Monroe's Landscape and Nursery Company, located at 1898 Monroe Drive (originally Boulevard, but renamed in 1937 in Monroe's honor) in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood, next to his home at 1896 Monroe Drive. He created a formal garden, named Monroe Gardens, that was open to the public on his residence property and included a lodge that hosted clubs, concerts, and dances. Monroe designed for both residential and commercial properties and was well known for his use of stonework, streams, and rock gardens in naturalistic settings. Beginning in the 1930s Monroe served as special consultant for Fulton County and helped to develop Chastain Memorial Park as well as Adams Park. Many of Monroe's projects included Buckhead residences such as the Troy Chastain estate on Habersham Road, the Hugh Nunnally estate on Blackland Road, and the Chester Martin estate on Blackland Road. Monroe also worked on projects outside of Atlanta, such as Dunaway Gardens in Coweta County and Berry College in Rome. Monroe served as president of the Southern Nurserymen's Association and helped support the establishment of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Georgia. William L. Monroe, Sr. died in 1965. His son, William (Billy) L. Monroe, Jr., joined his father's business in 1948 and operated the nursery until retiring in 1986.