Atlanta Travel Itinerary (NPS)
Sherpa Café: Episode #1
Musing (n.) — a period of reflection or thought
Welcome
Welcome to the first episode of the Sherpa Café. This weekly “mini” podcast will go out each Sunday to Premium Subscribers and Sherpa Club members. My intention is to provide you with some fun and interesting ‘morsels’ that you can enjoy with your morning coffee. You can expect to hear about people, places and events that are culturally and historically significant throughout Atlanta and the surrounding areas. These 5 -10 minute episodes will include directions on how to get these sites and/or resources you can tap if you would like to learn more about them.
Content
People, places and events that are culturally and historically significant
National Register for Historic Places will be the primary source
Narrated by ATLsherpa so you can listen and/or read at your leisure
Physical connections to the past, present and future (directions, maps, etc.)
Tips on places to eat, drink, discuss, reflect, etc.
Possibly some tours later this year — based on your feedback
Keep in mind…
Comments are encouraged, appreciated and taken to heart — about this and previous podcasts and newsletters. Maybe even rewarded…
Sherpa Café podcasts are “private” so you can share them but your recipients won’t be able to read them in their entirety.
Better to let people know about ATLsherpa (generally) and you can use the share button below to do that.
April Festivals & Exhibitions
Inman Park and Sweetwater 420 Festivals all cancelled for 2021
Dogwood Festival rescheduled until Aug 6 — 8, 2021
Atlanta Film Festival + Creative Conference, April 23 — May 2 (various locations)
Orchid Daze, through April 11 (ABG)
Atlanta Blooms, through April 30 (ABG)
Atlanta International Auto Show, April 14 - 18 (GWCC)
Georgia Renaissance Festival, May 1 — June 13 (Fairburn)
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Exhibition — Westside Cultural Arts Center (use promo code “ATLsherpa”)
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.
Atlanta: A National Register Travel Itinerary
As part of the Department of the Interior's strategy to promote public awareness of history and encourage tourists to visit historic places throughout the nation, the National Register of Historic Places is cooperating with communities, regions, and Heritage Areas throughout the United States to create online travel itineraries. Using places nominated by State, Federal and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the itineraries help potential visitors plan their next trip by highlighting the amazing diversity of this country's historic places and supplying accessibility information for each featured site. Atlanta, Georgia is the 25th National Register travel itinerary successfully created through such partnerships.
Time Periods (4)
Antebellum Atlanta
Industrial Atlanta
African American Experience
Growth and Preservation
Four corresponding essays provide historic context for many of the places included in the itinerary. We will start with the essays and then move on to the historic districts listed below. We will also visit specific places that are on the National Register within each district.
Historic Districts (24)
Adair Park Historic District
Ansley Park Historic District
Atlanta University Center District
Brookhaven Historic District
Brookwood Hills Historic District
Cabbagetown District
Castleberry Hill Historic District
Druid Hills Historic District
Emory University District
Fairlie — Poplar Historic District
Fox Theatre Historic District
Garden Hills Historic District
Georgia Institute of Technology Historic District
Grant Park Historic District
Hotel Row Historic District
Howell Station Historic District
Inman Park--Moreland Historic District
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site
Mozley Park Historic District
Stone Mountain Historic District
Sweet Auburn Historic District
Underground Atlanta Historic District
Washington Park Historic District
West End Historic District
Introduction
Atlanta began as the terminal point of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, a project authorized by the State of Georgia in 1836. Originally known as Terminus, and later Marthasville, by the Civil War Atlanta was a bustling city. Crippled by the burning of the city during the war, Atlanta rebounded during the last part of the century. Today it is home to more than 4 million people and is considered the entertainment and cultural center of the South, attracting more than 17 million travelers each year. This latest National Register of Historic Places travel itinerary highlights 70 historic places that tell the story of this capital city--from its picturesque homes to its reaching skyscrapers--tales of former slaves, educators, authors, and millionaires who have shaped the development of Atlanta over the past two centuries.
Union General William T. Sherman's occupation of Atlanta during the Civil War left much of the city in ruin, and antebellum era buildings such as the Tullie Smith House are today a rarity. Yet Atlantans rebuilt quickly as the city became the junction of three of the region's most important railroad lines, and the location for the Georgia State Capitol in 1868. The end of the 19th century brought great industrial development, with factories such as E. Van Winkle's Gin and Machine Works, lining the railroad corridors radiating from downtown. By the turn of the century, skyscrapers such as the English-American Building were dotting the city's skyline, and the dense redevelopment of downtown Atlanta had pushed residents to the edges of the city. Numerous suburban developments emerged such as West End, Inman Park, Druid Hills and Ansley Park. African Americans were establishing their own neighborhoods of Washington Park and Sweet Auburn, and institutions such as Atlanta University. Atlanta became the birthplace of the Coca-Cola empire--home to the company's founder, Asa Candler, who erected the Candler Building as a monument to himself, and the location of the early Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant. Popular authors Margaret Mitchell (Gone With the Wind) and Joel Chandler Harris (Uncle Remus Tales) called Atlanta home, as well as major leaders in the black community such as Alonzo Herndon, a former slave who founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and Civil Rights movement leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Source: U.S. National Park Service
That’s going to do it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this first episode of the Sherpa Café. When you have a spare minute, please a comment below and let me know what you think — and PLEASE use the share button below to let your friends know about ATLsherpa. I hope you have a great week and look forward to having coffee with you next Sunday. This is Steve Saenz, your ATLsherpa.