Atlanta Alive

265 Pages·2001·2.13 MB·English

by  Ann Carroll Burgess

Ann Carroll Burgess
HunterPublishing,Inc.
130CampusDrive
Edison,NJ08818-7816
(cid:1)732-225-1900/800-255-0343/Fax[phone]
Website:www.hunterpublishing.com
E-mail:[email protected]
INCANADA
UlyssesTravelPublications
4176Saint-Denis
Montreal,QuébecH2W2M5Canada
(cid:1)514-843-9882,Ext.2232/Fax[phone]
INTHEUK
WindsorBooksInternational
TheBoundary,WheatleyRoad
Garsington,OxfordOX449EJEngland
(cid:1)01865-361122/Fax[phone]
ISBN1-55650-911-1
©2001HunterPublishing,Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-
duced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyform,
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record-
ing, or otherwise, without the written permission of the pub-
lisher.
Thisguidefocusesonrecreationalactivities.Asallsuchactivi-
tiescontainelementsofrisk,thepublisher,author,affiliatedin-
dividuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any
injury,harm,orillnessthatmayoccurtoanyonethrough,orby
useof,theinformationinthisbook.Everyeffortwasmadetoin-
suretheaccuracyofinformationinthisbook,butthepublisher
andauthordonotassume,andherebydisclaim,anyliabilityfor
lossordamagecausedbyerrors,omissions,misleadinginforma-
tion or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if
sucherrorsoromissionsresultfromnegligence,accidentorany
othercause.
MapsbyLissaK.DaileyandToniCarbone,
©2001HunterPublishing,Inc.
4 3 2 1
About the Alive Guides
Reliable, detailed and personally researched by knowl-
edgeableauthors,theAlive!serieswasfoundedbyHarriet
andArnoldGreenberg.
This accomplished travel-writing team also operates a re-
nownedbookstore,TheCompleteTraveller,at199Madi-
sonAvenueinNewYorkCity.
About the Author
Ann Carroll Burgess is a professional travel writer and
broadcasterwhohaslivedinAtlantafornearlyadecade.
She currently hosts Postcards, a live call-in radio talk
showthatfeaturesinterviewswithtravel-industryguests
andreportsondestinations.
Her work has appeared in magazines and newspapers in
bothCanadaandtheUnitedStates.
She also conducts seminars on travel writing and is a
member of the Canadian Consulate’s advisory board on
tourism.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the relevant copyright,
designs and patents acts, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior
permission in writing of the publisher. eBooks Corporation
www.hunterpublishing.com
Hunter’s full range of travel guides to all corners of
the globe is featured on our exciting Web site. You’ll
findguidebookstosuiteverytypeoftraveler,nomat-
terwhattheirbudget,lifestyle,orideaoffun.Fullde-
scriptions are given for each book, along with
reviewers’ comments and a cover image. Books may
bepurchasedon-lineusingacreditcardviaoursecure
transactionsystem.Allonlineordersreceive20%dis-
count.
Alive! guides featured include: Aruba, Bonaire &
Curaçao; Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis; Ber-
muda; Buenos Aires & The Best of Argentina; The
Catskills;TheCaymanIslands;Dallas&FortWorth;
Jamaica; Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica & St.
Lucia;Miami&TheFloridaKeys;Nassau&TheBest
of The Bahamas; St. Martin & St. Barts; and Vene-
zuela.
CheckoutourAdventureGuides,aseriesaimedatthe
independent traveler who enjoys outdoor activities
(rafting, hiking, biking, skiing, canoeing, etc.). All
booksinthissignatureseriescoverplacestostayand
eat, sightseeing, in-town attractions, transportation
andmore!
Hunter’sRomanticWeekendsseriesoffersmyriadthings
to do for couples of all ages and lifestyles. Quaint
places to stay and restaurants where the ambiance
will take your breath away are included, along with
fun activities that you and your partner will remem-
berforever.
ToBarbaraRogers,whoencouragedme
to do this project, and to Tom, who was
withmeeverystepoftheway.
Acknowledgments
This project would never have been achieved without the
assistance of many knowledgeable associates and friends
in the Atlanta community. I’d particularly like to thank
Brandy Humphries of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors
Bureau;MichaelBrubakeroftheAtlantaHistoryCenter;
Frank Catroppa of the Martin Luther King Jr. National
Park Historic Site; Kimberley Hartley of CNN; Megan
Winokur of Zoo Atlanta; Linda Martin of the Atlanta
Fulton Public Library; Tim Shannon of Pro-Active Public
Relations;KatePilgrim;SallieCruise;andPatEdwards.
We Love to Get Mail
Thisbookhasbeencarefullyresearchedtobringyoucur-
rent, accurate information. But no place is unchanging.
We welcome your comments for future editions. Please
writeusat:AliveGuides,c/oHunterPublishing,130Cam-
pusDrive,Edison,NJ08818,ore-mailyourcommentsto
[email protected]. Due to the volume of mail we
receive,weregretthatwecannotpersonallyreplytoeach
letterormessage,butyourcommentsaregreatlyappreci-
atedandwillberead.
Contents
Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
EarlySettlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The1800s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The1900s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
TheOlympicLegacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
AtlantansToday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
JustWhereisAtlanta?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
PlanningYourTrip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
WhenToVisit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
WhatToWear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
MoneyMatters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
TelephoneConnections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Holidays&SpecialEvents. . . . . . . . . . . . 17
WhereToStay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
AlivePriceScale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
GettingHere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ByAir . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
ByCar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
ByBus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
ByRail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
GettingAround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
PublicTransportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
SightseeingTours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Neighborhoods&Communities . . . . . . . . . 39
ExploringbyCar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
InformationSources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
InAtlanta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
OutsideAtlanta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
viii Atlanta Alive!
Sunup to Sundown
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
TopAttractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Downtown&Vicinity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Midtown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Buckhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
DruidHills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
LittleFivePoints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Decatur&SurroundingArea . . . . . . . . . . 71
Museums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Downtown&Vicinity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Midtown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Buckhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
DruidHills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Decatur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
OutsideAtlanta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Downtown&Vicinity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Midtown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Buckhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Atlanta’sHeritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
DesperatelySeekingScarlett . . . . . . . . . . 87
TheBattleofAtlanta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
TheAfrican-AmericanLegacy . . . . . . . . . . 93
SpectatorSports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Baseball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Football . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Basketball. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Hockey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
BicycleRacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Golf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
HorseRacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Polo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Auto&MotorcycleRacing . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Bicycling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Canoeing&Rafting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Contents ix
Golf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Tennis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
ShopTillYouDrop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Malls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Antiques&Rarities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Vintage&Consignment . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Books&Bookstores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
SybariticAtlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
DaySpas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Overnight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
SuggestedItineraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
ForOneDay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
ForaWeekend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
ForFiveDays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
After Dark
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
PerformingArts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Music. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Bars,Jazz&DanceClubs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
DowntownAtlanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Midtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Buckhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Marietta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Best Places To Stay
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Downtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Midtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Buckhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
NorthwestAtlanta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
DecaturArea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
AirportArea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Best Places to Eat
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Downtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160