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. After he was discharged from the military, Monroe worked for a local nursery, C. A. Dahl Company, in 1920. Monroe married Ila Smith (1898-1983) in 1921 and they had two children, Evelyn Doris (1922-1995) and William (Billy) Lott, Jr. (1925-1999). Monroe founded his own nursery in 1925, Monroe's Landscape and Nursery Company, which was located on Monroe Drive (originally Boulevard, but renamed in 1937 in Monroe's honor) in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood. Monroe was one of the earliest professionally trained landscape architects to practice in Atlanta. He was well known for his use of stonework and rock gardens in naturalistic settings that included waterfalls, ponds, bridges, retaining walls, and terraces. 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 clients 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. William L. Monroe, Sr. died in 1965. His son, William (Billy) L. Monroe, Jr., served in the United States Army during World War II and upon being released from service in 1946, attended University of Georgia. He joined his father's business in 1948 and operated the nursery until retiring in 1986.