As my friend took her midterm exams and handed in papers, I continued to explore the city on my own. On my third day there, I decided to learn more about the history of Atlanta. I took the MARTA and then a bus to get to the Atlanta History Center out past Peachtree. I felt a bit out of place walking on the side of the road with all of the BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Audi cars driving by me. After passing a few swanky bridal shops and hotels, I made it to my destination.
First, I headed into the Centennial Olympic Games Museum. There I absorbed as much information as I possible could on the general history of the Olympic Games, Atlanta's bid to host, and what happened in each event during those 17 days in July 1996. I loved seeing how the number of athletes and events increased with each round of Olympic Games. It was also pretty cool to see each of the mascots and the cultural reasoning behind them all. I most definitely do not remember Izzy (aka Whatizit)! Most interesting of all though, was seeing how political tension between countries can change and even cancel the infamous international sporting event.
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| Examples of the Olympic medals handed out to athletes in 1996. |
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| The flame was flown from Greece and then transported by train! |
Next, I wandered through Turning Point: The American Civil War exhibit. One of the nation's largest and most complete exhibits, Turning Point boasts more than 1,500 artifacts, from both sides of the Civil War. Walking through the rooms, I learned about the complications and intricacies of firearms, what both Confederate and Union soldiers wore and carried with them, the importance of the Postal Service, and even how bank notes worked back in the 19th century. I easily spent two hours in that exhibit, soaking up as much American history as I possible could.
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| Old Civil War letters |
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| Confederate bank notes |
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| Largest collection of Civil War mortars |
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| Oldest standing wagon from the Civil War |
Next, I headed outside to wander the grounds. I walked through the old Smith family farm, which was built in the 1840s. The house was originally located outside of Atlanta, but was moved to its current spot in the 1970s. Surprisingly, unlike the rest of the city, the house survived both the Civil War and the Reconstruction era.
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| Original slave home from the Smith family farm |
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| Modernity peeks out from behind an old well on the Smith family farm. |
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| Spring is here! |
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| Peace statue |
I took my time following the little trail around the 22 acres of land the Atlanta History Center owns. I saved the Swan House for last. Edward Inman was the heir to a large cotton brokerage fortune in the post-Civil War era. After acquiring land in Buckhead, he hired the firm of Hentz, Reid, and Adler to design a home for his family. Philip Trammel Shutze designed the home and adapted Italian and English classical styles (which are quite apparent when you walk through the place.) There are swans throughout the home, as well as eagles, one of Mr. Inman's favorite animals. The Inmans moved into the house in 1928; sadly, just three years later, Mrs. Inman was left alone in the large house after her husband suffered from a heart attack. She lived in the house until 1965. The Atlanta Historical Society purchased the house, land, and furnishings a year later.
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| The Swan House |
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| Hello lovely! |
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| Walking up the back entrance |
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| Tacky as anything! |
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| Mrs. Inman's bathroom, which is covered with fake marble because she wasn't pleased with the real marble! |
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| Another tacky bedroom! |
After a long walk through the gardens, I made my back to the bus stop and then back to Midtown. My ticket to enter the Atlanta History Center included entrance to Margaret Mitchell's old apartment which was located a convenient block or so from where I was staying. I just made it in time to catch the last tour of the day. Author of the classic Southern love novel,
Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell was born and raised in Atlanta. A feisty little lady, Margaret claimed that Scarlett was in no way based off of her own life; however, my tour guide was sure to point out quite a few similarities. Supposedly, she had read all of the books in the local library that her husband told her it was time she wrote her own. Whenever company arrived unexpectedly, she would throw a towel over the typewriter to hide what she was working on; however, people talk and most of Atlanta knew she was up to something spectacular.
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| Margaret Mitchell lived on the first floor. |
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| Mitchell's old apartment complex |
After checking out Margaret's house and watching a short documentary on the trials and tribulations of making
Gone With The Wind into a movie, I headed over to Piedmont Park. There I wandered the paths and stumbled across an odd-looking family of ducks. My phone conveniently died right around the time I was supposed to meet with my friend, but luckily I was able to plug my phone in at the Georgia Tech bookstore.
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| Atlanta has odd ducklings! |
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| View from the park |
I found my friend and we headed off to grab a quick bite to eat before seeing Aziz Ansari at the Fox Theater. Aziz admitted to being in a relationship during his show, which was extremely unexpected given his comedy shows usually revolve around the single, childless life. His jokes were just as hilarious as usual, but it was still a bit mind boggling to accept the now taken Aziz as reality. By the end of the night, my friend thought her spleen had burst;I was rubbing my cheeks because they hurt so much from laughing.
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| I loved the Middle Eastern decorations. |
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| Inside the Fox Theater |
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| This guy |
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He made me cry from laughter.
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I must shamefully admit that I was unable to make it to the Martin Luther King Jr. historical site before it closed, but now I have an excuse to return back to this lovely city in the future.
The next morning we left bright and early for my favorite Southern city, New Orleans. I could not wait to revisit the Big Easy and see how far she had come since I last helped out as the JMU May ASB group leader. Tune in next week for my posts on New Orleans and the recent Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.
Bonne fin de journée!
La petite pamplemousse
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