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Key Attractions Martin Luther King Jr Historic District The 13-hectare (33-acre) Historic District in Sweet Auburn includes the large bay-fronted Victorian house that was home to three generations of the extended King family and where Martin Luther was born in 1929. Also included, just two blocks west, is the red-brick Ebenezer Baptist Church where he succeeded his father and grandfather as pastor in 1960. A period fire station, which was the scene of first desegregation protests, is also part of the district. The nearby Martin Luther Center for Nonviolent Social Change is a family-endowed memorial centre, a tribute to King's Nobel Prize-winning work for equality for blacks via the use of civil disobedience and non-violent marches. The whole district, maintained by the National Parks Service and oriented towards school groups, contains many potent reminders of Atlanta's violent past. Possibly the most moving is the recording of the 'I have a dream' speech, which can be heard in the Martin Luther Center. Visitors should not assume that King's work of desegregation is complete; some areas south of I-20 and to the west of the city are almost exclusively black, poor, and feared by local whites. 449 Auburn Avenue Tel: (404) 526 8900 or (800) 526 1929, toll free. Fax: (404) 526 8901. Web site: www.nps.gov/malu Transport: MARTA bus 3 to Auburn Avenue. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1700 (winter); daily 0900-2000 (summer). Admission: Free (self-guided tour cassette US$1). Margaret Mitchell House and Museum It was here, in Apartment #1 of this turn-of-the-century southern-style house, that Margaret Mitchell wrote the novel Gone With The Wind. The apartment has been recreated as it would have been then; while the rest of the house has been turned into the Gone With The Wind Museum, where fans can admire posters, a life-size portrait of Scarlett O'Hara, costumes and props from the film. Margaret Mitchell's early writings, the typewriter she used, her Pulitzer Prize and personal memorabilia are also on display. 990 Peachtree Street Tel: (404) 249 7015. Web site: www.gwtw.org Transport: MARTA Midtown station; then walk one block east to corner of Tenth Street. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1600. Admission: US$6 (concessions available). High Museum of Art The main section of the High Museum of Art is located at the Woodruff Arts Center. This beautiful white award-winning building, designed by Richard Meier, houses European, American, African, decorative and twentieth-century art. Permanent collections are extensive and include a 'Learning to Look / Looking to Learn' interactive exhibition that is aimed at children. Temporary exhibitions change frequently and call for revisiting. There is also a second building - the Photographic Galleries - which house the folk art collection plus changing photographic exhibitions. Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street NE Photographic Galleries, Georgia Pacific Center, corner of Peachtree Street and John Wesley Dobbs Avenue Tel: (404) 733 HIGH (4444). Fax: (404) 733 4502. Web site: www.high.org Transport: (Woodruff Arts Center) MARTA Arts Center station; (Photographic Galleries) MARTA Peachtree Center station. Opening hours: (Woodruff Arts Center) Tues-Sat 1000-1700; Sun 1200-1700; (Photographic Galleries) Mon-Sat 1000-1700. Admission: (Woodruff Arts Center) US$6; (Photographic Galleries) free. Special exhibitions may cost extra. Museum of Natural History The largest natural history museum south of the Smithsonian, the well-laid-out exhibits include a display on the development of life on earth, ranging from dinosaurs to mammals. The geology, flora, fauna and Indian pre-history and history of Georgia, right up to 1838, is explained in a range of galleries. The development of handcrafts is illustrated with ethnic weaving, pottery and jewellery from Asia. An original concept aimed at children, is the interactive light-and-sound exhibits called 'Sensing Nature', which allows comparison between animal and human senses. These comprehensive permanent exhibits are augmented by special exhibitions (for example of Egyptian art), as well as presentations in the IMAX film theatre. 767 Clifton Road NE Tel: (404) 929 6300. Fax: (404) 378 8140. Web site: www.fernbank.org Transport: MARTA bus 2 to North Avenue or Avondale Station. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700 Admission: US$8.95. Governor's Mansion This pre-Civil War porticoed mansion, beautifully decorated with genuine Federal Period furnishings, offers a fascinating glimpse of a divided world based on slavery. 391 West Paces Ferry Road NW Tel: (404) 261 1776. Transport: MARTA rail to Lindbergh station; then bus 40 to West Paces Ferry. Opening hours: Tues-Thurs 1000-1130. Admission: Free. Sci-Trek -Science and Technology Museum One of the USA's top ten science centres, Sci-Trek has more than 150 interactive exhibits, which allow users to learn about colour, light, magnetism and radio waves, as well as workshops and live demonstrations. The evolution of the computer and the communications revolution from smoke signals to the internet are permanent exhibits. 395 Piedmont Avenue Tel: (404) 522 5500. Fax: (404) 525 6906. Web site: www.scitrek.org Transport: MARTA Civic Center station. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1700; Sun 1200-1700. Admission: US$7.50 (concessions available). Atlanta History Center Two historic houses, located in the north of Atlanta, make up the Atlanta History Center. Swan House, an elegant classical-style mansion, named for the swan motif recurring throughout the interior, was built in 1928 for Edward and Emily Inman, heirs to a cotton brokerage fortune. Tullie Smith Farm is a plantation-plain house, built in the 1840s by the Robert Smith family who were yeomen farmers. The entire farm complex was moved intact from east of Atlanta in rural Georgia in the 1960s. The outhouses include a separate open-hearth kitchen, blacksmith shop, smokehouse, double corncrib, pioneer log cabin, and barn complete with animals, as well as traditional vegetable, herb and flower gardens. Throughout, Civil War exhibits vie for attention against attractive specimens of southern folk needlework and handcrafts and - more parochially - Bobby Jones golfing memorabilia. There are signposted nature trails in the 13 hectares (33 acres) of gardens. 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW Tel: (404) 814 4000. Fax: (404) 814 4186. Web site: http://www.atlhist.org Transport: MARTA rail to Lenox or Buckhead, then bus 23 to Peachtree/West Paces Ferry Road. Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1000-1730, Sun 1200-1730. Admission: US$10 (concessions available); small extra charge for guided tours of the houses. Cyclorama and Civil War Museum During the Civil War, Atlanta was the centre of the struggle for the south. Here, the viewer is transported to the heart of the 1864 Battle of Atlanta. Completed in 1885, the Cyclorama is an oil painting, stretched onto a circular structure measuring 123m (404ft) in diameter. Visitors seat themselves in the middle of the painting; surrounded by the sights of the battle, but also sound and light effects and a running commentary. An adjoining museum contains relics that commemorate the Confederate cause. Grant Park, 800 Cherokee Avenue SE Tel: (404) 658 7625. Fax: (404) 658 7045. E-mail: atlcyclorama@mindspring.com Transport: MARTA bus 31 from Five Points. Opening hours: Daily 0920-1630 (winter); daily 0920-1730 (summer). Admission: US$5 (concessions available). CNN Center The fast-moving Turner Broadcasting System's CNN international studios and newsrooms can be viewed on a CNN Studio Tour, which includes the special effects department and the newsroom; on weekdays at 1500, visitors can take part in a (pretty inane) live game show. Techwood Drive/Marietta Street Tel: (404) 827 2300 or (877) 266 8687. Fax: (404) 827 4035. E-mail: cnn.studio.tour@cnn.com Transport: MARTA W1 station. Opening hours: Daily 0900-1800 (tour every 15 minutes). Admission: US$7 (concessions available). Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta participates in the North American Species Survival Plan, which encourages the breeding of endangered species in captivity. Atlanta has been breeding orangutangs and gorillas and is hoping for success with tigers, pandas and black rhino. This seems to justify the zoo's existence; while the collections of tropical birds and children's petting corners make it a family-friendly day out. Grant Park, 800 Cherokee Avenue SE Tel: (404) 624 5600. Fax: (404) 627 7514. Web site: www.zooatlanta.org Transport: MARTA bus 31 from Five Points. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1730 (until 1830 Sat and Sun in summer). Admission: US$15 (concessions available). |