My exterior built environment is Auburn Avenue. It is a historic African American street located in the east of downtown Atlanta. The site was built in 1865 as a special place for black businesses. As I observed the site I noticed the structure of the street. Auburn Avenue is a one way street that runs an Atlanta Street Car right through the middle. There are no bicycle lanes at the beginning of the street, but as you walk further you notice the labeling of “bicycle lane” located on the further left side of the street. The street has sidewalks built high from the ground, which is a great safety hazard to pedestrians. There is a Street Car stop at the beginning of the street and the structure of it is quite different from the rest of the street. The stop sits highest from the ground and it is accessible for those who are in a wheelchair. Auburn Avenue is a one way street that is very open and easy to navigate, even for people who are in a wheelchair.

Auburn Avenue is a street of many great artifacts such as club Peacock, which is located at the top of the street. It is one of Atlanta’s leading nightclubs in Atlanta during the 1930’s. Some of the most popular entertainers have performed there such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown. Walking further down the street is Bethel AME, which is the oldest predominately black church located NE of Auburn Avenue. The church was founded in 1847 and was used for community meetings. Another artifact that struck me was the paintings on the wall of historical black people who were considered “Heros”. The paintings were of Evelyn Gibson Lowery and John Lewis. These paintings for located on the sidewall of two buildings that seemed to be vacant.

Auburn Avenue is a colorful street thanks to the graffiti on the wall. The buildings that seemed a lot more new, were painted in attractive colors that would most likely attract customers. Compared to the newer buildings, the older buildings were simply brown, black, or grey. Despite the colorful look at the top of the street, as I walked along the street it gave off a gloomy mood. This could’ve been because of the chilly whether or the fact that I know the street use to be a very busy area and it isn’t anymore. Auburn Avenue was a place of great prosperity for black owned businesses. I can see that once was from the 4 beauty shops, 2 barbershops, and clubs. This street has obviously lost its value, because a lot of the shops were closed as far as business and some were closed before 6 o’clock.