Atlanta offers blend of history, modern culture

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Atlanta offers blend of history, modern culture
January 18, 2010
Steve Call
Ironton Tribune

A few years back I traveled to a peach of destination, namely Atlanta, Ga.

Today modern Atlanta is a supreme example of the New South, a high-speed city that still embraces its history and heritage.

Explorations here can take you to Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace, the Atlanta History Center, the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, and the more-recent Centennial Olympic Park, from the 1996 world games.

Modern-day pursuits include a CNN Studio Tour and the World of Coca-Cola, highlighting two of the many worldwide companies that make Atlanta their headquarters.

As a history buff with a free day to take in the surroundings I crafted a tour that explored the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This was a journey through Atlanta’s neighborhoods traced this historic movement that changed a country and empowered a people.

My starting point was in the Sweet Auburn District where the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site is located.

The Sweet Auburn district houses the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, the restored King Birth Home, Ebenezer Baptist Church where three generations of the King family preached and the burial site of MLK Jr. and his wife Coretta.

The birthplace home of Dr. King, Jr. may be visited only with a park ranger led tour. The tours are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the tour at the National Park Service Visitor Center in person upon arrival to the park. The tour is strictly limited to 15 people per tour! They fill up fast on weekends and holidays.

At the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame you can stand in the footsteps of civil rights leaders where the shoe prints of heroes such as Rosa Parks, President Jimmy Carter, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and 14 others have been embedded in a permanent concrete memorial in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Space exists eventually to hold more than 600 footprints of exceptional men and women.

Guided walking tours of the Sweet Auburn district are offered Saturday from March-November. To schedule a tour, contact the Atlanta Preservation Center.

I continued to the APEX Museum short for the African American Panoramic Experience. Here they did a great job of interpreting and presenting history from an African American perspective in order to help all American and International visitors better understand and appreciate the contributions of African Americans to America as well as the world. You’ll hear stories of early African-American pioneers in Atlanta and of Auburn Avenue, plus learn about the powerful black families that helped transform Atlanta.

For lunch I stopped at a local institution, Gladys Knight & Ron Winan's Chicken & Waffles.

I was told that this diner hearkens back to 1930s Harlem when celebrities visiting Wells restaurant in the early morning hours couldn't decide if they wanted dinner or breakfast.

The strange but delicious combination of juicy fried chicken with sweet, syrupy waffles was born. Open until 4 a.m. on weekends, stop for lunch, dinner or a late-night snack from the musically themed menu.

Refueled, I planned on spending the afternoon in the museums and galleries located at the Atlanta University Center. This is the largest concentration of African-American colleges in America and includes Spelman, Morehouse and Morris Brown colleges and Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center and Morehouse School of Medicine.

Venues to explore here include The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art which emphasizes works by and about women of the African Diaspora.

The Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries on the campus of one of the city's oldest black universities feature 640 works of art, including contemporary American, African-American and African in paintings, sculptures and murals.

Hammonds House Galleries and Resource Center of African-American Art displays art by people of African-American heritage, and disseminates an understanding of art from the African Diaspora.

The gift shop here was small but packed with unusual and unique treasures.

That evening I deviated from the Civil Rights theme and headed for dinner at another Atlanta restaurant icon The Varsity.

Located in downtown ATL it’s the world’s largest drive-in. It can accommodate 600 cars and over 800 people inside.

On days when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are playing a home football game over 30,000 people visit The Varsity. Sorry Buckeye fans the Varsity Club or VC on Lane Avenue in Columbus doesn’t compare.

Here, a legendary volume of food is prepared and consumed. Two miles of hot dogs, a ton of onions, 2,500 pounds of potatoes, 5,000 fried pies and 300 gallons of chili are made from scratch daily.

It was crowded and hectic place but worth the visit and a must to any tourist’s itinerary. For more information on Atlanta contact the local tourism office at www.atlanta.net or dial 1-800-ATLANTA.