On a sunny August morning in 2013, a small group met in the parking lot behind Whole Foods on Ponce de Leon Ave., just west of the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail. In addition to their passion for history and horticulture, the group brought along a cherry picker – courtesy of Sunbelt Equipment Rental – and … Continue Reading →
MURAL SALUTES THE MISSING HISTORIES OF ADRIENNE McNEIL HERNDON AND WESTSIDE ATLANTA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS: Deisha Millar, Bang! Arts Media Deisha@bangarts.com 404-663-3833 January 9, 2018 – Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta artist, Charmaine Minniefield has been commissioned by DoSomething.org, Hands On Atlanta and Spelman College to create a mural on the newly opened Westside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine. The mural construction is part of Spelman’s 2018 MLK … Continue Reading →
Salvaging History From Excelsior Mill
Part of the beauty of building the Atlanta BeltLine is exploring the history of the city’s bypass of old railroad corridors that make up the 22-mile loop. Along with the development of transit, trail, and park infrastructure, historic preservation is one of the main components of building the Atlanta BeltLine. Artifacts, old rails, and even … Continue Reading →
Community Love: Digital History on the Atlanta BeltLine
This past semester, Georgia State University professor Adina Langer led a Master’s class in history: Theory and Practice of Digital History. As a semester-long assignment, the students were required to study the Atlanta BeltLine from a historical perspective, focusing on a topic with geographical ties to the railroad corridor. The project culminated in the Rail Corridor … Continue Reading →
Southwest Atlanta and the Original Streetcars
Before southwest Atlanta developed into the neighborhoods that exist today, the area was once a rural outlier of a city in its infancy as a transportation hub. The history of West End, Westview, and Adair Park were very much shaped by the original lines of transportation around which they existed – stage coaches, the early … Continue Reading →
Saving the Southern Magnolia on the Eastside Trail
The majestic magnolia that towers over the Eastside Trail just north of Ponce de Leon Ave has withstood the test of time and seen many changes in its surroundings over the years. Once a feature of the original Ponce de Leon Park (and, later, Spiller Field) where the Atlanta Crackers played minor league baseball, the … Continue Reading →
Digging up History at the Eastside Trail Gateway
People sometimes ask us what we’ve learned from the time we started building the Atlanta BeltLine, and often the answer is: “Expect the unexpected.” Because we are working with and remediating a 100+ year old railroad corridor, it isn’t uncommon that the documents and records have been lost over the years, leaving our team to … Continue Reading →
History on the Atlanta BeltLine – Piedmont Park
Part of what is exciting about the Atlanta BeltLine project is that there is so much history buried in Atlanta, and much of it can be found by exploring the rail corridor that loops the city. For those of you that love Atlanta as much as we do, seeing glimpses of the past makes the … Continue Reading →
Art Calling to Mind Atlanta’s History
Now that the 2013 Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibit is drawing to a close, we are taking a moment to look back on this year’s incredible visual and performing art. Many of this year’s installations call out Atlanta’s history as a railroad hub, and echo the transformative nature of the Atlanta BeltLine by playing … Continue Reading →
