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Built Environment Description: Clark Atlanta University’s website

Apr4

Clark Atlanta University’s website (www.cau.edu) is a great online representation of the university: informative, appealing, and organized. The website is a place of pride for the university that wants to present itself in a positive light. A person can even go as far to say, the designer of the website was selling the school to prospective students and parents.

The colors used reflect the school’s colors. How they are used in the website are complementary to the text. For example, body text is black but links are red. The links are red to indicate that if clicked on, it will take you to another website page. The background is different shades of gray that complement the text on the pages. Menus are black with white text. This is to differentiate the gray background pages filled with information versus the menus that help navigate a person throughout the website. Titles and subtitles are bigger than other text. This style makes it easier for the viewer easier to read and understand that mass amount of information presented.

Opening Page

Opening Page

The very first page has a left side menu and menu bar at the top. There is a huge logo of Clark Atlanta University; it acts as a “home” button on each page. The rest of the space is accompanied with a moving slide show with pictures that present events or different actions that visitors might want to know more about. For example, one picture is about a current event Clark Atlanta is engaging in with The Coca Cola Company while another picture is of a graduating class with the words “Apply Now: Become Part of One of History’s Greatest Traditions” slapped right over it. There are three words that act as subtitles presented under the slideshow: “Learn, Lead, and Innovate” Underneath those titles are a few words and separate links that demonstrate how those words are instilled in Clark Atlanta University. If a person was to continue to scroll downwards, they will see a menu for university news, campus media, and links for social media.

Student promotion

Student promotion

Anyone who is searching the site can find what they need. For example, there is a specific page for parents. It has a testimony from another parent, telling the viewer the smart decision they made by allowing their child to attend their school. The page also include quick links that lead to things like a quick facts page, academics page, admissions page, and financial aid page. There are also pages for current students, alumni, visitors, and faculty & staff. At the very top in the menu bar there are links to those pages as well as links to email the university, a link for student email accounts, a link for searching the website all together, and a link for student accounts.

Parent Promotion

Parent Promotion

If a student was thinking about attending this school, the website would definitely help in making that decision because it would not be hard to find out important information like how to apply, financial aid services, and the different majors offered by the university. Overall, the website is not hard to navigate through and easy to understand. There are always links everywhere that a person could use. If they get stuck in one place, they can always click on the top right logo of the university and it will send them right back to the very beginning.

 

Unknown Phenomena of Atlanta: APEX Museum

Mar4
APEX Arc

The APEX Arc

Located on Auburn Avenue, the APEX museum was founded in 1978 by Mr. Dan Moore Sr. This museum was created to display culture and contributions of the African American community in the United States and especially in Georgia. The museum features artifacts, paper tour guides, group presentations, video presentations, and children’s shows. The APEX museum is special because it tells the African American experience (past and present) through the eyes of African Americans in a historically African American neighborhood.

There are two visible doors for entry. The front door is on the side of the building with a highly emphasized red colored walkway. It is indicated as the front door because when entering a visitor will be greeted at the front desk by a tour guide. The exit door is in front of the building that faces Auburn Avenue. The indication that this door is the rear door is because of the gift shop area that is normally at the end of a museum tour. This style can be confusing for a new visitor because of the placement of doors. Consequently, the museum isn’t that big. Visitors can only walk through three rooms; a main room with a gift shop, the Trolley theater room, and the arts/achievement hall room. All of the rooms are connected by a hallway.

 

The exhibits are about African kings and queens, the middle passage, slavery in the United States, and African American businesses and inventions. The exhibits are small but very informative. An ideal tour of this museum would be when entering from the front door, a tour guide will escort you through the main room to the Trolley theater room, passing a few exhibits along the way. In the Trolley theater room is an elevated seating area, the Trolley, with the style of pews. Visitors will sit down and watch two original videos about the history of Auburn Avenue and the African journey to the United States. After that, visitors will be given a paper tour guide that is mainly constructed for the main room around the rows of chairs. Afterwards, visitors can back track by walking to the arts/achievement room that is across from the theater room. Like the theater room, the arts room has two doors so that visitors can walk through the room and walk back up through the hallway to the gift shop at the front of the main room. Additionally, while walking through the hallway, visitors can look at the exhibit of African American inventions.

As of 2016, this museum is 38 years old. It is remarkable that it is still in its same place. The museum displays excellent exhibits and programs however the museum can often be referred to as a historical landmark than a public museum. This could be so because of the lack of space that limits the capacity of information presented. Plans of expansion are prominent but due to financial issues, that dream has been pushed further back.

Location of the APEX Museum

Location of the APEX Museum

Ultimately, what makes the APEX museum so significant is not the information it displays but rather the symbolic aspect of itself. People go to this museum to see it’s content but also to experience the museum itself. After all, it was respectfully considered the world’s largest African American Museum.

APEX Logo

Sources –

  • apexmuseum. The APEX Museum, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
  • Murray, Brendan. “Bank forecloses on property owned by APEX Museum” Atlanta Business Chronicle,  2 Dec. 1996. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

APEX Museum Pictures

Mar4

Original pictures taken by Kimberly Oglesby on March 4, 2016

Images taken at the Jackson Street Bridge

Feb8

Unknown Phenomena of Atlanta: The Jackson Street Bridge

Feb2

Atlanta Skyline

The “picturesque” view from the Jackson Street Bridge is something that most people don’t recognize on the internet or on television. It is the unknown phenomena; the view that has seen so many faces but the faces hasn’t seen it. The bridge is considered the best place for anyone to get an eye-full of Atlanta without spending a penny. In relation to places, the bridge is between the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site and Atlanta’s Medical Center. The bridge is right above Interstate 75, looking right ahead to the inner connection of highways in Atlanta or the Freedom Parkway.

Location of the Bridge

Location of the Bridge

The history behind this 50+ year old bridge is that it was fought for by the people. The implications of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 lead to mass deconstruction of urban housing. In Georgia, the Department of Transportation planned to have Interstate 75 run right through some historically African American neighborhoods like Old Fourth Ward and Sweet Auburn. Many people were pushed out of their homes but those that stayed fought for justice in court. The ending compromise resulted in the construction of this very bridge. They didn’t realize that they were going to create an amazing hotspot for future residents and tourists to enjoy.

It’s an easy place to access once you realize where it is. Riding a bike there works too because a bike lane is provided which is quite convenient. There are houses and apartments on each side of the highway. The opposite side of the bridge has houses and parts of the Martin Luther King Historic site. Most people who stop here are photographers, local residents, and tourists coming to take selfies with the Atlanta Skyline. Many people have been seen walking their dogs across the bridge to get to the park provided by the MLK historic site.

The first time you may visit this place might seem intimidating and mesmerizing however the bridge level and rail is pretty low. It’s not a good idea to stand close or lean over the bridge while looking at the view because you could tip over! The feeling of cars rushing under you makes you want to look over the bridge but don’t. When taking pictures, be mindful of where you stand! The sounds you might hear depends on the time of day. Interstate 75 is quite busy throughout the day so you will hear tons of car horns and traffic. The colors seen during the day are green and blue. The blue comes from the sky; hugging the buildings, while the green come from the grass surrounding the highway.

In contrast, during the evening, the sounds are very serene and discreet. You will hear quite a few cars driving by but nothing too loud. The colors become black. There are only a few lit places on the highway and bridge because of streetlights. The lights in the different buildings faraway look like millions of stars in the sky. Because of the view and vibe at night, it is considered to be a romantic places. Couples tend to display their love on this bridge and often leave something behind.

Sources used to assist –

Corson, Pete. “Golden Hour at the Jackson Street Bridge.” MyAJC.com. Atlanta Journal Constitution, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.

Dominey, Todd. “Atlanta’s Jackson Street Bridge.” Todd Dominey. Todd Dominey, 9 June 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

Jackson Street Bridge, Jackson Street Bridge. Personal photograph by author. 2016.