American Lives

This old building footprint has been left intact at the south-western corner of Ponce de Leon Ave and Mytle St NE in Atlanta.

It was the site of a very small florist shop in the mid-eighties.

Andrew Wood has always assumed that it started life as an early streetcar (tram) stop before the flower stand was there. It is legally owned by Georgia Power, like the few remaining streetcar wire poles in front of Ponce City Market. No one is allowed to touch the poles, or even paint them.

There was also a streetcar/trolley pull-over at the corner of Saint Charles and Ponce De Leon Place. It is lined with granite much like this but was larger. It was entirely rebuilt when new construction went in on that corner, and yet obviously its ownership was grandfathered to the power company.

Located on a side portion of a charming, dormered residence at 574 Collier Road, this carriage step is a remnant from a time in which horse and buggy were the mode of transport.

Collier Road, located within a very desirable closed-in, established neighborhood, is named for Andrew Jackson Collier. The Collier family were amongst those pioneers who received large plots land in the 1822 land lottery, which ceded Muscogee lands to white settlers in what is now Atlanta.

Andrew Jackson Collier ran a grist mill whose grinding wheels have been preserved nearby in Tanyard Creek Park, where the mill operated.

This carriage hitching post sits next to the carriage step at 574 Collier Road.

This area is also rich in American Civil War history. Tanyard Creek Park was at the center of the Battle of Peachtree Creek, which was fought on 20 July 1864, and was the site of some of the bloodiest fighting of the entire civil war.

Along Collier Road and across Bobby Jones Golf Course are several historical markers which describe the battle.

The 'Five Points Monument', an artesian well), Five Points Intersection, Peachtree St NW and Marietta St NW.

This bronze and mild steel monument was created by George Beasley in 1996. Thirty-six feet in height (eleven meters), it commemorates the historic intersection at which trolley tracks and an artesian water tower once stood, as well as the five streets which intersect to form the heart of Downtown Atlanta.

The sculpture is an asymmetric interpretation of the water tower's traditional girder construction. Its structural steel trusses allude to the trolley tracks which are now buried below the street.

Northside Drive Mercedes Benz Stadium Pedestrian Bridge, 490 Rhodes St NW.

Opened in time for Super Bowl LIII, this bridge provides safe passage over Northside Drive, connecting pedestrians to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a MARTA station, parking, and the surrounding neighborhoods in downtown Atlanta.

The cost of the build generated some controversy - exceeding $33 million to the astonishment and exasperation of many Atlanta residents - as did the decision to close it to the general public during a recent major event at the stadium.

Street art on Tennelle St SW, Cabbagetown, originally by Nick Turbo and Lilla Webb but with later adjustments, especially the alligator and frog!

Some of Atlanta's most engrossing street murals can be found in Cabbagetown. This former blue-collar mill town became an eastside destination neighborhood for artists, when they could easily afford its colorful array of 'shotgun' houses and other modest housing.

More recently, Cabbagetown has emerged as a literal palette for artistic talent, with works to be found from Memorial Drive to Carroll Street and, especially, on the vast walls of Wylie Street.

Krog Street Tunnel, Cabbagetown side, approaching from Estoria St SE.

The famous Krog Street tunnel is an ever-changing urban canvas of images, words, and ideas.

Local artists are free to add their contributions to it, which means that it has been decorated fully from one end to the other. It's a very popular place for photos shoots and filming, and the graffiti art can be very outspoken regarding flash-points in current culture or world and local events.

Krog Street is a half-mile stretch of tunnel which connects Inman Park and Cabbagetown. It is named for Frederick Krog, who lived nearby. There was also a manufactory close by which, for more than a century, produced cast-iron cooking ranges.

The Stove Works, as it was known, has been a modern adaptive re-use success story.

Krog Street tunnel is one of the few ways of being able to enter Cabbagetown directly, much to the chagrin of residents: the passage is prone to flooding (which is being remediated) or the all-too-often box truck whose driver underestimates the height of the bridge and becomes stuck under its 'arches'.

Krog Street Tunnel, Cabbagetown.

The tunnel is a pedestrian-safe access point underneath Hulsey Yard, which divides Cabbagetown from Inman Park.

The rail line which runs above is a fabulously effective border. In the past there were a few additional passages which provided access. Krog Street and Boulevard are the only two which remain currently in this area which has seen explosive growth and gentrification.

The yard is operated by CSX, spanning the distance between two MARTA stations, bordering two 'Landmark Historic Districts', and being bisected by the Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail. Its days are numbered though, with the Hulsey Yard Study Committee gauging possible options for a redeployment of the land when CSX moves its operations to a site which is better suited to today's rail freight needs.

Private gates, opposite Atlanta History Center's main entrance on West Paces Ferry Rd NW.

The address at 127 W Paces Ferry Rd NW appears to house a private garden, with a small, white building at the far end. An Art Deco Revival home was on the property for many years, although this had been completely renovated in the 1980s.

In 1975, Mrs Hiram Simkins unfortunately burned to death in her home here when she was trying to light her cigarette with a match, which then fell onto her synthetic nightgown.

The building was frequently listed for sale for a million-plus dollars. Currently no home appears to be on the lot, only the ruins of a pool.

Additional information by Andrew P Wood.