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Atlanta | |
Key Attractions |
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Atlanta,
Key Attractions Since 1898, Cyclorama’s painting, The Battle of Atlanta, has told the story of the 1864 conflict through narrative, music, art and sound effects. This most unusual, historical exhibit makes a huge impact on visitors. The vast, panoramic painting in the round, completed in 1885, is an icon of a bygone era and is the world’s largest painting. This type of amusement was immensely popular at the turn of the century and its existence today is a testament to Atlanta’s commitment to preserve its history. However, it is not unbiased in its approach to the Battle of Atlanta: the message is decidedly anti‐war and pro the Southern cause. On a lighter note, visitors should look for the inclusion of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. His image was added to the painting in the 1940s to reflect the popularity of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind. An adjoining museum contains relics that commemorate the Confederate cause. 800 Cherokee Avenue, Grant Park Tel: (404) 658 7625. E‐mail: atlcyclorama@earthlink.com Transport: MARTA bus 31 from Five Points Station. Opening hours: Daily 0930‐1630. Admission: US$6 (concessions available). Martin Luther King Jr Historic District The 13‐hectare (33‐acre) Historic District in Sweet Auburn includes the large bay‐fronted Victorian house that was home to three generations of the extended King family and where Martin Luther was born in 1929. Just two blocks west from there is the redbrick Ebenezer Baptist Church where he succeeded his father and grandfather as pastor in 1960. A period fire station, which was the scene of one of the first desegregation protests, is also part of the district. The nearby Martin Luther King Jr Center for Nonviolent Social Change is a family‐endowed memorial centre, a tribute to King’s Nobel Prize‐winning work for equality for blacks via the use of civil disobedience and non‐violent marches. The whole district, maintained by the National Parks Service and aimed primarily at school groups, contains many potent reminders of Atlanta’s tumultuous past. Possibly the most moving is the recording of the ‘I have a Dream’ speech, which can be heard in the Martin Luther King Jr Visitor Center along with other informative and moving exhibits about the Civil Rights Movement. 450 Auburn Avenue (Visitor Center) Tel: (404) 331 6922. Fax: (404) 730 3112. or www.thekingcenter.com Transport: MARTA bus 3 to Auburn Avenue. Opening hours: Daily 0900‐1700 (winter); 0900‐1800 (summer). Admission: Free. Margaret Mitchell House and Museum It was here, in Apartment 1 of this turn‐of‐the‐century apartment building that Margaret Mitchell wrote the novel Gone With The Wind. The apartment has been recreated as it would have been then, while the rest of the house has been turned into the Gone With The Wind Museum, where fans can admire posters, a life‐size portrait of Scarlett O’Hara, costumes and props from the film. Margaret Mitchell’s early writings, the typewriter she used, her Pulitzer Prize and other personal memorabilia are also on display. This museum has struggled for existence and has experienced fires on at least three occasions. Prior to the 1996 Olympics, Daimler‐Benz funded a complete restoration of the house as a museum. 990 Peachtree Street Tel: (404) 249 7015. Transport: MARTA Midtown Station; then a short walk one block east to the corner of Tenth Street. Opening hours: Daily 0930‐1700. Admission: US$12 (concessions available). High Museum of Art The main section of the High Museum of Art is located at the Woodruff Arts Center. This beautiful white, award‐winning building, designed by Richard Meier, houses European, American, African, decorative and 20th‐century art. The permanent collection is worth an afternoon’s viewing and the temporary exhibitions change frequently. A second location contains the Photographic Galleries, which house the folk art collection plus changing photographic exhibitions. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street Photographic Galleries, Georgia Pacific Center, corner of Peachtree Street and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue Tel: (404) 733 HIGH/733 4444 (Woodruff) or 577 6940 (Photographic). Transport: MARTA Arts Center Station (Woodruff Arts Center); MARTA Peachtree Center Station (Photographic Galleries). Opening hours: Tues‐Sat 1000‐1700, Sun 1200‐1700 (Woodruff Arts Center); Mon‐Sat 1000‐1700 (Photographic Galleries). Admission: US$8 (Woodruff Arts Center); free (Photographic Galleries). Special exhibitions may cost extra. Jimmy Carter Library and Museum This is the only Presidential Library in the southeastern United States that examines and honours the early life, political career and presidency of Jimmy Carter. As well as the library, the museum has a permanent display of hundreds of artefacts from Carter’s years in the White House (1977‐1980), including the Camp David Accords. Lovely gardens, a great view of Atlanta’s skyline and a gift shop with unusual souvenirs complete the experience. 441 Freedom Parkway Tel: (404) 331 3942. Fax: (404) 730 2215. Transport: MARTA bus 16 from Five Points Station. Opening hours: Mon‐Sat 0900‐1645, Sun 1200‐1645. Admission: US$7 (concessions available). Fernbank Museum of Natural History The largest natural history museum south of the Smithsonian is a visually dazzling experience. The dramatic 26m‐high (86ft) Great Hall skylight, a spectacular wall of windows and a fossil‐embedded limestone floor captures the attention of visitors as soon as they enter. Exhibits include displays of geology, flora, fauna, Indian pre‐history and the history of Georgia up to 1838. The development of handicrafts is illustrated with ethnic weaving, pottery and jewellery from Asia. An original concept, aimed at children, is the interactive light‐and‐sound exhibits called ‘Sensing Nature,’ which allows comparison between animal and human senses. 767 Clifton Road NE Tel: (404) 929 6300. Fax: (404) 378 8140. Transport: MARTA bus 2 from North Avenue or Avondale stations. Opening hours: Mon‐Sat 1000‐1700, Sun 1200‐1700. Admission: US$12 (concessions available). Fernbank Science Center This intriguing attraction, about 1.5km (one mile) from the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, is owned and funded by the Dekalb County School system. It is home to one of the largest planetariums in the United States and the Exhibit Hall houses an original Apollo capsule, authentic moon rock and much more space memorabilia. On a clear Friday evening, visitors can accompany the astronomer on duty for a tour of the galaxy through the Observatory’s telescope. 156 Heaton Park Drive NE Tel: (404) 378 4311. Transport: MARTA bus 2 to Clifton Road. Opening hours: Mon 0830‐1700, Tues‐Fri 0830‐2200, Sat 1000‐1700, Sun 1300‐1700. Admission: Free. US$4 (Planetarium Shows); concessions available. Governor’s Mansion The Governor’s Mansion is a gem of a Greek Revival‐style building. Thirty rooms are furnished with early 19th‐century paintings, porcelain and a remarkable collection of Federal‐period furniture. The Governor of Georgia and the First Lady still live there, but visitors can take a self‐guided tour Tuesday to Thursday mornings. The Governor’s Mansion is located 1.5km (one mile) east of the Atlanta History Center (see below). 391 West Paces Ferry Road NW Tel: (404) 261 1776. Transport: MARTA bus 40 from Lindbergh Station. Opening hours: Tues‐Thurs 1000‐1130. Admission: Free. Atlanta History Center The two historic houses, located in the Buckhead neighbourhood of Atlanta make up the Atlanta History Center. Swan House, an elegant classical‐style mansion named for the swan motif recurring throughout the interior, was built in 1928 for Edward and Emily Inman, heirs to a cotton brokerage fortune. The Tullie Smith Farm is a plantation‐plain house, built in the 1840s by the Robert Smith family who were yeomen farmers. The entire farm complex was moved intact from rural Georgia to the east of Atlanta in the 1960s. The buildings include a separate open‐hearth kitchen, a blacksmith shop, smokehouse, double corncrib, pioneer log cabin and barn, complete with animals, as well as traditional vegetable, herb and flower gardens. Throughout, Civil War exhibits vie for attention against attractive examples of Southern folk needlework and handicrafts and – more parochially – Bobby Jones golfing memorabilia. There are signposted nature trails in the 13 hectares (33 acres) of the gardens. 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW Tel: (404) 814 4000. Fax: (404) 814 4186. Transport: MARTA to Lenox, Buckhead or Arts Center stations, then bus 23 to West Paces Ferry Road. Opening hours: Mon‐Sat 1000‐1730, Sun 1200‐1730. Admission: US$12 (concessions available). SciTrek – Science and Technology Museum If there is a budding Einstein or Madam Curie within the family, this is the place to take him or her for some hands‐on experience. Interactive exhibits, a Cyber Playground, the Electromagnetic Junction and the Information Petting Zoo are just a few of the experiences you will discover within SciTrek. The hands‐on approach to science allows visitors to explore maths and science in a way that is both interesting and lively. Permanent exhibits include a 12m‐high (40ft) Eiffel Tower made of erector (Meccano) set pieces; an Electric Magnetic Junction that lets you close a circuit with your own body and Mind’s Eye, a perception and illusion exhibit that explores the range and limits of the human senses. 395 Piedmont Avenue Tel: (404) 522 5500. Fax: (404) 525 6906. Transport: MARTA Civic Center Station. Opening hours: Mon‐Sat 1000‐1700, Sun 1200‐1700. Admission: US$9.50 (concessions available). CNN Center This complex houses the global headquarters of CNN, plus the studios and newsrooms for CNN’s international networks. The studio tour offers a fascinating glimpse of the ‘on air’ experience. The escalator in the CNN Center is the longest freestanding escalator in the world, rising 49m (160ft), or approximately eight storeys, in height. On weekdays at 1500, visitors can take part in the open‐air forum called ‘Talk Back Live,’ which originates from the centre. Tickets to the show are free and are on a first come, first serve basis. The Center also houses a movie theatre, restaurants, bank, post office and speciality stores including the Atlanta Braves (baseball team) speciality store and, of course, the Turner Broadcasting store. 1 CNN Drive, Techwood Drive/Marietta Street Tel: (404) 827 2300 or (877) 266 8687. Fax: (404) 827 4035. E‐mail: stour@turner.com Transport: MARTA World Congress Center Station. Opening hours: Daily 0900‐1800 (tour every 15 minutes). Admission: US$8 for the basic tour, US$25 for a special tour that includes the visitor in a newscaster’s jacket taping a ‘special news bulletin’ as a souvenir. World of Coca‐Cola Visitors are invited to come and have a drink of ‘Georgia Champagne’, or ‘co‐cola’ as it known by the natives. The World of Coca‐Cola comprises a three‐storey celebration and sales pitch of the soft drink that is known throughout the world. There is a self‐guided tour with tastings of Coca‐Cola, along with soft drinks from over 40 countries. In the ‘Everything Coca‐Cola’ store there is a large selection of branded merchandise. Yes, it’s commercial. Yes, it’s tacky – but Coca‐Cola is an integral part of Atlanta and its financial success. 55 Martin Luther King Jr Drive Tel: (770) 578 4325, ext 1465. Transport: MARTA Five Points Station. Opening hours: Mon‐Sat 0900‐1700, Sun 1200‐1800. Admission: US$6 (concessions available). Zoo Atlanta One of the oldest zoos in the USA, Zoo Atlanta participates in the North American Species Survival Plan, which encourages the breeding of endangered species in captivity. Atlanta has been breeding orangutans and gorillas and is hoping for success with tigers, pandas and black rhino. One of its key attractions are the two giant pandas from Chengdu in the Republic of China, but there are also gorillas, orangutans, tigers, lions, giraffes, elephants and so on in their natural habitats. Grant Park, 800 Cherokee Avenue SE Tel: (404) 624 5600 or (888) 945 5432. Fax: (404) 627 7514. Transport: MARTA bus 31 from Five Points Station. Opening hours: Daily 0930‐1730 (until 1830 Sat and Sun in summer); last admission one hour before closing. Admission: US$16.50 (concessions available). |