Atlanta Metro
By: Gabriel de la Mata and Taylor Quan
What is Atlanta Metro?
Demograhics
Downtown Atlanta
Night time Atlanta
Atlanta Falcons Multi-Purpose Stadium
Unique Town
Day 1
- Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site: Come visit the fascinating Martin Luther King Jr, National Historic Site. It is about 35 acres. See how the African Americans struggle to gain civil rights in the South. Find out about Martin Luther King Jr.'s legend. Have a look at the Paschal's Restaurant, one of the first African-American owned eateries. It turned into a unauthentic headquarters for Civil Right leaders. Next, go to Thumbs Up Diner to eat lunch.
- Martin Luther King Jr. House: After lunch, go see Martin Luther King Jr. House. The house was built in 1895. Martin grandparents bought the house for $3, 500 in 1909. His parents moved in after getting married. In 1929, Martin Luther King was born here so this is called his birth house. There is a front porch, parlor, study, dining room, kitchen, laundry, bedroom, and bathroom on the first floor. There are four bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor.
- Ebenezer Baptist Church: Then, come visit the Ebenezer Baptist Church. The church was found in 1886 by John A. Parker. The Ebenezer Baptist Church is a spiritual home to man citizens in "Sweet Auburn". Martin Luther King Jr. was a member of this church. He was baptized and became a minister in this church. Martin Luther King Jr.'s was the assistant pastor for his dad until he died. The church held his funeral to say a final farewell.
- Jimmy Carter Library: Afterwards, come see the Jimmy Carter Library. It opened on October 1, 1986. Jimmy Carter said he wanted the library somewhere in Georgia. it has 27 million pages of paper. For dinner, one should go to Sotto Sotto. I would suggest to eat the Milky buffalo mozzarella arranged among strips of roasted pepper, white anochovies, and capers or the Risotto Mantecato which is a nontraditional combo of creamy, al dente rice streaked with caramelized onions, slashes of twelve- year-old balsamic vinegar and wisps of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- The Courtyard Atlanta Midtown/ Georgia Tech: Check in at 1132 Techwood Dr NW Atlanta, GA 30318 where you will be enjoying the next four nights.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Location: 501 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30312, United States
Day 2
- Centennial Park: Have fun at the fantastic Centennial Park. First, go see the Fountain of Rings. It is the most known landmark in Georgia. It has synchronized water dances with familiar tunes and lighting effects four times a day every year. It sprays 15 to 30 feet tall during the Fountain Show. It can reach up to 12 feet on regular bases. About 5,000 gallons of water is recycled from the fountain. It has 410 fog jets, 1,004 light bulbs, 251 water jets that is controlled by a computer, and it has tons of water pipes. The rings are each 25 feet in diameter. It is the center piece of the park. Second, come visit the Gateway of Dreams. It has a statue of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is the founder of the International Olympic Committee. Barron Pierre was a French educator and historian. The Quilts are along the northeastern part of the park. The Quilts were made by contrasting bricks. Also, they meet up by the Water Gardens. Third, visit the Quilt of Dreams. It has a statue of Billy Payne. It celebrates the Olympic games CEO Billy Payne's ten year quest of bringing the Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta. Fourth, see the honorable Quilt of Olympic Spirit. It salutes 10,000 athletes, who was in the 1996 Olympic Games. Fifth, visit the one and only Quilt of Origins. It has the tribute to Olympism and Hellenism Sculpture. It captures an enduring essence of the Olympic Games. Sixth, go see the Quilt of Remembrance. It marks the dark spots of the games like the July 27 , 1996 pipe bomb explosion. Seventh, the respecting Quilt of Nations. It honors all 197 nations in the 1996 Games. This is the largest number of nations participating. Eighth, come visit the Paralympic Legacy. It is on the northern side of the park. It honors the 1996 Paralympics. The Paralympics had 3,310 participants. It also had 104 countries. Ninth, it made 268 world records. Next, go to Ray's in the City for lunch.
- World of Coca-Cola: Then, go see the World of Coca-Cola. It opened in 1991. It was at the heart of Atlanta. It was only one story. They wanted a bigger place so it moved. The tour starts from the top and goes down. People can take pictures with the Coca-Cola polar bear. There is a station to test try all the flavors. See how Coke has an influence on society. It has a vault for the secret formula. There is also a theater.
- Georgia Aquarium: After, come visit the Georgia Aquarium. It has 100,000-120,000 sea creatures. It opened in 2005. The aquarium has ten million U.S. gallons. It was the largest aquarium in the world. It was donated by The Coca-Cola Company. It has seven exhibits. For dinner, go to the Sundial Restaurant Bar & View.
- Fox Theatre: After dinner, catch a show at the famous Fox Theatre. It was a former movie palace. The theatre was built in 1929. Olivier J. Vinour built the theatre. It was located at the large Shrine Temple. It can seat 4,678 people. They had the Atlanta Ballet play here. After bankruptcy, it became a place for big bands to play in. The Southern Bell Building was built adjacent to the theatre on the west side. The Fox was about to be destroyed but the National Register of Historic Places saved it. They spend lots of time and money to restore the building. The restoration let it seem to be the same with new parts. The Fox Theatre is the only movie palace left.
1996 Centennial Summer Olympic Games
Day 3
- Stone Mountain: Come visit Stone Mountain. It is a dome-shaped mountain made of quartz monzonite. The elevation is 1,686 feet or 514 meters. It is a pluton, which is a body of intrusive igneous rock that is crystallized from magma cooling below the Earth's crust. The Venable Brothers William Hoyt Venable and Samuel Hoyt Venable owned this mountain. Georgia bought it in 1985. The mountain has the faces of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis on their horses. It was once a site for the Ku Klux Klan. The scarce Georgia oak was first discovered on the apex of Stone Mountain. Also, the extremely uncommon Confederate Yellow Daisy grows on the mountain during autumn. Tennis, archery, and track cycling were played on this mountain for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Martin Luther King Jr. mentioned the mountain in his "I Have a Dream" speech. You can either hike up the mountain or ride the sky lift up the mountain. For lunch, you can eat at the Marketplace inside the park for a variety of food selections. Go eat at Base Camp BBQ for dinner. At Base Camp BBQ, you will get lots of delicious meat. After dinner, enjoy the fascinating laser show on the big rock!
Day 4
Margaret Mitchell House & Museum: Come see the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum. It was built in 1899. Margaret and her husband John Marsh moved in here after they got married. Margaret called it "the Dump". Margaret Mithchell wrote Gone With the Wind. There were only two apartments occupied by the Fall of 1931. In the spring of 1932, Margaret and her family left the apartment for a bigger one. The new owner made the apartments popular again after WWII. Georgia Tech students used these apartments. It was reborn as the Windsor House Apartments. The old apartments wore away. Mary Rose Taylor restored the buildings, Suber, Barber, Choate, Hertlein and the Cresent Apartments.
Atlanta Botanical Garden: Visit the magnificent Atlanta Botanical Garden. The garden is 30 acres. It founded in 1976. Bill Warner was the first executive director. In 1980, the garden was gained a 50-year lease with the city. The Gardenhouse was the first permanent structure. There was an exhibtion for a statue of Niki de Saint Phalle was opened for people to see in April 29, 2006. France, Germany, and California gave the Garden gigantic mosaics. It has many theme gardens like the Japanese Garden, Upper Woodland, Storza Woods, Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory, and the Fuqua Orchid Center. Eat lunch at the Blossom Garden Cafe.
Piedmont Park: Go see the Piedmont Park. It is 189 acres. Dr. Benjamin Walker owned this place first for a farm and place to live. Then, he sold it to the Gentleman's Driving Club for an exclusive club and racing ground for horse enthusiasts. The Driving Club agreed with the Piedmont Exposition Company. The agreement was to use the land for fairs and expositions. The park was initially designed by Joseph Forsyth Johnson. In October 1887, the Piedmont Expostion opened. It had the Cotton States and International Expostion in 1895. It was redesigned by Frederick Law Olmsted in the early 20th century. This redesigning made more scenic places. It was used for playing sports. The Atlanta Crackers, Atlanta's first professional baseball team, played in this park in 1902-1904. University of Georgia vs. Georgia Tech played a game of baseball here. Georgia and Auburn played a game in the park too. It gained picnic tables, tennis courts, a dock, and two playgrounds. One can play sports, fish, ride bikes, walk, skate, and listen to concerts. For dinner, go to the Mary Mac's Tea Room for great southern cuisine. Please their famous fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese, and the cheese grits. Remember to refresh yourself with their popular iced tea. Since you are in Georgia, you must try the amazing peach cobbler.
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: Enjoy the evening by listening to the award winning music concert at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It was founded in 1945. Robert Shaw was the founder of the orchestra and he became the Music Director of the Orchestra. The first concert was under Henry Spokin, who was a Chicago music educator and the conductor until 1966, the orchestra played as the Atlanta Youth Symphony, In 1947, the organization changed its name to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It became a full-time orchestra in 1968. Then, they gained a chorus in 1970. Yoel Levi became the Music Director and Principal Conductor. The Orchestra played in the opening and closing of the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics. They traveled to Europe and played at the California's Ojai Festival. The ASO opened a 12,000 seat Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Fulton County. In 2005, the orchestra built a new Princal concert hall.
Mary Mac's Tea Room
Dinner
Dessert
Day 5
- Zoo Atlanta: Check out of the hotel. Visit Zoo Atlanta. It opened in 1889. It is 40 acres. The Zoo has 1,500 animals. George V. Gress donated animals to Atlanta. They started with a black bear, a jaguar, a hyena, a gazelle, a Mexican hog, lionesses, monkeys, and camels. The Zoo's collection increased after Asa G. Candler Jr. donated animals in the 1930s. The Zoo was redesigned in the 1950s and 60s. The Atlanta Zoological Society raised money and understanding for the organization. The zoo got really bad in the mid-1980s. The government help the Zoo. It has seven exhibits: The Ford African Rainforest, Boundless Budgies: A Parakeet Adventure, Trader's Alley and Complex Carnivores, African Plains, Asian Forest, World of Reptiles, and the Children's Zoo.
- Fernbank Museum of Natural History: See the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. It was made in 1992. Emily Harrison created the museum. It is 65 acres. Graham Gund Architects built this building. The museum presents exhibits and programs on natural history. It has a 123 foot long Argentinosaurus and a Giganotosaurus. They have an exhibit named, "A Walk Through Time in Georgia", this tells two stories of Georgia's natural history and how the planet was created. They won the 2011 Bronze Award for Best Museum and the 2012 Thea Award for outstanding Achievement for a Museum Exhibit. Also, it is the home of the IMAX Theatre. For lunch, go to Cameli's Inc.
- Underground Atlanta: Experience the great shopping experience. It was built after the Reconstruction Era. There was a freight depot that was made to replace the one that was destroyed by Sherman's troops. This depot is the oldest building in downtown Atlanta and it is the entrance to Underground Atlanta. The depot was three stories high but the second and third level was burned down. It gained lots of shops like hotels, banks, saloons, and law offices. It gained electric street car in 1889. 100 trains a day goes from Atlanta to New York City. It had lots of iron bridges were created so it could cross the railroad tracks. Haralson Bleckley redesigned two bridges to make them into linear malls. He also built a plaza between the bridges. In the 1920s, storekeepers started to move their shops to the second floor of their buildings second floor and turned the first floor into a "storage room". The first floor became speakeasys and jukejoints during Prohibition. Bessie Smith's "Atlanta Blues" opening lines tells the importance as an entertainment district. The five blocks were filled and the street level increased to one and a half stories at the end of the 1920s. The 12 acre area was forgotten as the city of Atlanta continued to grow. The stores were rediscovered and Steven H. Fuller and Jack R. Patterson, two Georgia Tech graduates, plan to developed something here to rebuild "the city beneath the city". In May 2, 1967, they started to lease buildings under Central Ave., Pryor, White Hall, Hunter, Alabama, and Wall Street arches. Steven and Jack bought all the corporation's stock in October 1967 and November 1968 construction began. After the passing the constitutional amendment, the area became a historic site. On April 8, 1969, Underground Atlanta opened with new stores. 1972 was the year Underground Atlanta prospered. Underground Atalanta closed because of fires. In June 15, 1989, Underground Atlanta reopened. They tried to help the area by saying "The fun in the Town is Underground during 1996 Olympics but they had $ 6.5 million in red. For dinner, eat at Footprints Jamaican Restaurant and Lounge. After dinner,
Georgia Institute of Technology
Brown Thrasher
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