Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Atlanta

  • Atlanta – Birthplace of Martin Luther King

    Atlanta – Birthplace of Martin Luther King

    After visiting Atlanta Zoo and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, I didn’t have much hope of getting a ticket for the birthplace of Martin Luther King. So, my plan was just to go to the visitor centre and see that, but I thought I’d ask about a ticket anyway. And, good fortune prevailed, there was one ticket left for the last tour of the day. This isn’t always possible, many reviews state just how difficult it is to get a ticket to visit the property and it’s recommended to go early on in the day.

    It’s a short walk from the visitor centre to the birthplace home of Martin Luther King, one of the greatest of American political leaders. There were 15 people allowed on the tour and access is only granted to the house to those who have a ticket, which is issued free of charge.

    The plaque at the entrance to the property, which is at 501 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta. King was born on 15 January 1929 in what was a predominantly black area at the time, living at the house with his grandparents, parents and siblings for the next twelve years. King was assassinated in Memphis in 1968 and so he feels like a figure from history, but if events had turned out differently, he could still be alive today.

    Given how many people were living in the house, it’s not the largest, but the family were comfortable there. The tour lasts for around half an hour and it was led by an enthusiastic ranger who gave information about the building and the family who lived there. Photos inside aren’t allowed, which is probably for the best as there isn’t much time for the rangers to guide people around as it is.

    The building was owned by the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change after his death, but the National Park Service purchased it relatively recently for $1.9 million. It’s fortunate that the property has survived, a sweeping plan to modernise the area was proposed in 1966 which would have seen its demolition, but there was too much opposition to that.

  • Atlanta – Georgia State Capitol (John A. Treutlen Bust)

    The bust of John A. Treutlen in the Georgia State Capitol, a German born merchant who became the first post-British Governor in the state. His family’s trip to get to America was an eventful one, with the boat sailing from Gosport in the UK to Georgia. The crew died en route from illness, so another passenger with no sailing experience had to use his knowledge of geometry to get them there. That’s quite a story in itself.

    Treutlen became one of the early revolutionaries who was opposed to British rule over the Americas and he was involved in 1777 with drafting Georgia’s first state constitution. His governorship was a troubled one politically and he made many enemies within the state as factions started to fight each other. He was replaced by John Houstoun in 1778, who was one of the attendees at the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Treutlen was killed by a mob in March 1782 and it’s thought that it happened in front of his family.

  • Atlanta – Georgia State Capitol (Jimmy Carter Portrait)

    Around the walls of the Georgia State Capitol are portraits of former state governors. One of the best known of all the governors of the state was number 76, Jimmy Carter, who was the democratic governor from 1971 until 1975. He was the 39th President of the United States, and the only governor from Georgia to go on to hold that role.

  • Atlanta – Georgia State Capitol (Gold on Rotunda)

    A slightly quirky exhibit in the Georgia State Capitol, which is the box which the rotunda’s gold travelled in. The gold was sent from Dahlonega and Lumpkin County in August 1958 and to add some theatre to the proceedings, it was carried in an 1830s train.

    The building’s rotunda wasn’t originally made from gold, it was made from the decidedly less impressive combination of tin and wood. This didn’t last that well and repairs were frequent, so someone had a marvellous idea to use gold instead. Actually, the arrangements weren’t great, as it wasn’t clear that the Governor knew that the gold was coming on an 1830s train and it got a little ignored.

    So, the story ends nicely. Well, it doesn’t quite. The state didn’t quite get the gold to adhere correctly to the rotunda and by the 1970s half of it was missing. In 1979, it was decided to repeat the whole collecting gold and sending by wagon train thing, which worked well. And today the rotunda is safe, with the gold adhering this time, so there might not be a wagon train carrying gold being sent to Atlanta again for some time…..

  • Atlanta – Replica of Liberty Bell

    This feels a little more relevant to me now that I’ve seen the actual Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. It’s a replica of the original bell and this is one of 55 replicas which were cast as part of the Liberty Bell Savings Bonds drive in 1950. The 55 that were made were for one each for the 48 states, one for the District of Columbia and several for the territories. Only one of the bells has gone missing (although goodness knows how you lose a bell like that) and there’s a list of their whereabouts at http://tomlovesthelibertybell.com/liberty-bell-replica-locations/.

  • Atlanta – Atlanta Zoo

    Some photos from my visit to Atlanta Zoo in October 2015. Unfortunately writing this over three years after means I’ve forgotten parts of the visit, but I do remember seeing the pandas close-up. It was all clean and organised, with plenty of space for the animals and I don’t recall there being that many other visitors there.