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UNITED STATES | Atlanta, Georgia Travel Guide
Saturday, May 11, 2024
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Downtown and Midtown
Downtown Atlanta
For years, Downtown was the place to work, not live. The 1996 summer Olympics changed all that. New sculptures, attractive street lights, and landscaping have encouraged Downtown migration. The downtown Ambassadors (see page 16) patrol the streets offering security and assistance. Affiliated with the
police, they keep the area rid of potential horrors. Old abandoned buildings, and former downtown businesses like the William Oliver building and the King Plow Arts Center (a renovated factory) have been converted into spacious loft apartments and businesses. This new breed of housing has encouraged the young, artistic crowd to flock to the downtown area. The proximity to the Atlanta Convention Center, CNN, Georgia Dome, Philips Arena, restaurants, nightlife, art and cultural events creates a thriving, lively neighborhood.
Peachtree
Peachtree is the street where Coca-Cola first fizzed and Atlanta’s first Black millionaire set up shop. This is where Henry Grady and Margaret Mitchell lived and wrote and died. Where generations have listened to the Atlanta Symphony, admired paintings at the High, and watched movies at the Fox. This is where multitudes turned out to cheer
Jefferson Davis and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bobby Jones and the Braves, the peg-legged veterans of the battle of Peachtree Creek and the marathon runners of the Centennial Olympic Games. Almost 100 streets in Atlanta now contain the word “Peachtree” in their names. They appear in more than 15 counties. There are so many Peachtrees, in fact, that some local governments discourage creating new ones. Yet, “Peachtree” happens. And why not?
Peachtree is more than just the name of Atlanta’s main street. Peachtree is a microcosm of the city’s present and an archive of its past. Peachtree is the heart of Atlanta. Today’s Peachtree begins in the southern end of Downtown and rides a ridge north before turning east and bursting into a confusion of peachtreesomething roads near the Perimeter. Should you step off Peachtree you will find distinctive neighborhoods nestling among the trees only yards from this major thoroughfare.
Midtown Atlanta
Just north of Downtown is the city’s cultural center and enclave for singles, young professionals and the alternative lifestyle crowd. Midtown is aptly named for its location, being the midpoint between Downtown and Buckhead.
Midtown’s special appeal is that it is the very heart of art and culture in Atlanta. The Woodruff Arts Center, housing the Atlanta Symphony and Alliance Theatre is adjacent to the High Museum of Art, at Peachtree and 15th Streets. Merely two blocks distant you’ll find the 14th Street Playhouse, housing several independent theater companies.
The highlight of Atlanta’s literary and cultural history is the recently restored Margaret Mitchell House, home of Atlanta’s famous author at Peachtree and 10th Street.
Midtown also is home to Piedmont Park, Atlanta’s weekend gathering place, where in good weather you will find walkers, bicyclists, and rollerbladers filling the park. Many of Atlanta’s most important festivals and concerts are held here.
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