Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Created | Updated Mar 15, 2003
Although
Atlanta
is located in the 'Heart of the
South'
and even served as a capitol for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, certainly no southerner outside of the city would consider this a southern style city. Perhaps the only remnant of southern culture still found in the city is the occasional
y'all
said by a few business executives during a meeting in a skyscraper downtown.
Known for many things, such as the home of
Coca-Cola,
the 1996
Olympic Games
and a funny little
baseball
team called the 'Braves,' Atlanta is put on the map by things resulting from these happenings. For example, the 1996 Olympic games bombing, the Buckhead murders which occurred after Super Bowl 2000, Waffle House
and as the home of
Martin Luther King Junior.
The Lay of the Land
Atlanta is in the Piedmont region of Georgia. It's an inland city. It doesn't have convenient access to any interesting body of water. Interstates 20,
75
and 85 all meet there. Atlanta, and several very small cities, are surrounded by Interstate 285, which is known as the Perimeter. The city is part of Fulton and Dekalb* Counties. Several suburban counties surround Atlanta. Cobb County to the Northwest, Gwinnett County to the Northeast, Rockdale County is East, Henry County is Southeast, Clayton County is South of the city, and Douglas County is to the West. Each of these counties is part of the Atlanta greater metropolitan area.
Terminus and Beyond
The history of Atlanta is rather boring and uninteresting. It wasn't even in Georgia until the Creeks ceded the land in 1821. In 1837 the Western and Atlantic Railroad was being plotted out, and the end of that railroad, was called Terminus. A small rowdy town grew up around Terminus.
The citizens didn't much care for the name Terminus. In 1843, it was renamed Marthasville in honour of Martha Atlanta Lumpkin, the daughter of a former governor. In 1845, a railroad engineer suggested that the name of the town be changed to Atlanta, and in 1847, the city was incorporated with that name.
During the Civil War *, some rowdy tourists led by General Sherman burned the city during his famous March to the Sea. It was rebuilt and has some few million people now, though if the rate at which it has grown in the last 2 decades continues there should be about 200 million people by the end of the year 2020 (rough estimate, of course).
Transportation
Atlanta Roads
The KGB used to make sure that maps of Russia were inaccurate to make invasions more difficult. That could explain why post-Gen. Sherman Atlanta streets wander aimlessly. - Anoynoumus1
The one most definitive trademark of Atlanta has to be its road system. Not just the highways, mind you, which could probably have been designed better by a monkey playing with spaghetti, but every single road in the whole city. Take, for just one of many examples, a road called Ponce de Leon. It goes through the worst, most dangerous part of town and if you continue along it for about another 10 minutes you will swerve and curve your way into the best and most expensive part of town. If you go any different road long enough you will probably end up crossing over Ponce De Leon a minimum of 2 times. There really is no point in explaining the system of roads in Atlanta, for the main reason that there is none. This is mostly due to the fact that Atlanta sprung up with new suburbs so quickly to meet the demand of the rush of people moving in that there was no time to plan.
If you come from any different part of the world to live in Atlanta you will never understand how the roads curve so much and get from one place to another and never cross the road you want to actually be on, while people who grow up in Atlanta understand the roads completely and have no idea why on earth anyone would question their effectiveness.
Another odd trait about the streets in Atlanta is that many of them are named Peachtree. There are at least twenty roads that include Peachtree in their name. In addition to Peachtree Road, Avenue, Circle, etc., there's also Peachtree Memorial Drive, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Peachtree Valley Road, West Peachtree Street, and the list goes on. Curiously enough, no one has ever seen a peach tree in Atlanta*.
Peachtree makes a good tour through the centre of the city. It begins at Five Points in downtown. It runs through business districts and hotels as it passes through downtown and midtown. As it passes in front of Macy's, you cross the geographical divide
*.
Then it goes through beautiful areas of churches and high class apartments. Then it comes to Buckhead, an entertainment district with numerous bars and restaurants. It continues to Lenox Square* and out to the perimeter.
On a more practical note, driving around Atlanta during rush hour (from 6am-9am and 4pm-6pm) is as frustrating as anywhere else. Traffic is particularlly bad on the top end and the east side of the Premiter (I-285 from I-75 on the north to I-20 in the east). Driving directly through town on I-75 and I-85 is also a bad idea. Try using the premiter on the south and west sides of town to avoid traffic, and listen to one of the news stations for traffic conditions 2.
Atlanta's Public Transportation
If you're intimidated by the road system*, wait until you try out the public transportation system. The central public transit system is MARTA*. MARTA provides bus and light rail service to the City of Atlanta and Dekalb and Fulton Counties.
MARTA has a reputation for bringing crime into the areas it serves, so the suburban counties don't want anything to do with it. Therefore, they have set up their own bus systems. Cobb County and Gwinnett County are served by Cobb Community Transit and Gwinnett County Transit respectively. Clayton county is served by Clayton County Transit Service (C-TRAN) which is operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA*) who in turn subcontracts it back to MARTA. There is also Quicklink a joint operation by MARTA and http://www.greyhound.com/ that provides service between Atlanta and Macon3.
It's no wonder that Atlantans commute farther than residents of any other metro area.
Hartsfield International Airport
Once you are ready to leave Atlanta the fastest way is to visit Hartsfield International Airport. The airport is a hub for Delta Airlines, and one of the busiest in the nation. The airport is administered by the city, and the contracting of services has been the source of several controversies, scandals, and bribery cases in court.
What's in Atlanta?
Five Points
Five Points is the convergences of Peachtree, Edgewood Street, Decatur Street, and Marietta Street. It's an often referred to landmark. It's right in the middle of downtown. It's just blocks from the Underground.
The Underground
Atlanta is a railroad town, and the city is bisected by multiple tracks. Crossing the tracks by car, carriage or on foot used to be very dangerous. In 1891, the city bridged the railroad gulch. In the 1920s the city started expanding the bridges until the entire downtown area went up on stilts. Most buildings have a first floor that opens onto the original streets while most people enter and leave through the second floor. The areas under the streets is known as The Underground.
In 1968, bars and clubs moved into the Underground and it became a popular area for nightclubbing. The Underground declined, and the bars closed down by 1981. In 1989, the Underground was reborn as market place. It's become a mall with overpriced shops, restaurants and entertainment. If you walk outside by the fountain you can see members of several different street gangs.
Little Five Points
Once in decline, this neighbourhood has been reborn as homosexuals, yuppies and hippies moved in. Now it's a diverse community with restaurants, bookstores, shops, pubs and neighbourhood theatres within walking or biking distance.
Zoo Atlanta
Atlanta gained a zoo when they bought a bankrupted circus at auction. The city wanted the wagons and railroad cars, but they wound up with the animals too. The zoo was set up in Grant Park, which is east of downtown on I-20. It's been expanded over the years and now has exotic animals from around the world including some Pandas.
Centennial Park
Built for the 1996 Olympics, Centennial Park remains as part of the revitalization of downtown. It's now the venue for many concerts and events.
Grady Hospital
A place to avoid. Grady is operated jointly by Fulton and Dekalb Counties. Due to the crime ridden nature of some of the downtown areas, Grady has an excellent trauma centre. If you're shot, there's no better place to go.
Buckhead
Buckhead was originally in the sticks. It started as a country store at a crossroad. The head of a deer was put up where travelers could see it, and the name stuck. The area became the site of country estates for Atlanta's wealthy. With the advent of the automobile, the estates became year round homes.
Now Buckhead is many things. Along Peachtree Road, it's chock full of bars, pubs and restaurants. It's also an area of very expensive homes and elite retail. Some of the areas here are old neighbourhoods with 40 year old $40,000 homes that would sell for nearly a million dollars today. Driving through much of Buckhead is like driving through a park. Be warned, that if you don't know the area, it can be hard to find your way out to a major road.
Stone Mountain
Just east of the city Stone Mountain pokes up over the horizon. It is the largest exposed granite mound in the world. It sports a 3 acre relief
*
of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson. It is a popular tourist attraction. Stone Mountain Park is a state owned privately operated amusement park. There are several historic attractions at the park, including a grand plantation. The laser show is well worth seeing.
Atlanta in the Guide
This is where you can find other information about Atlanta or this article. Everything below this point will be stripped from the finished product.
Conversations About Atlanta or this Article.
- The Collaborative Writing Workshop conversation on the article
- The SEURG Mark II conversation about this entry.
Possible Source Material
- Atlanta, Georgia, USA - The original inspiration for this project.
- Atlanta, Georgia - A sparse entry by No Talent.
- Atlanta History
Links Intended for Inclusion
For further reading
- Atlanta Then and Now by Michael Rose a spectacular photographic tour of the city. It shows pictures of the city in the 18th Century compared to modern pictures of the same locations.
