Category: Atlanta

The Beltline: Walking with Beltline Organizers

The first sight of our destination during our walk
The first sight of our destination during our walk

During our first walking tour for the Beltline, we were accompanied by a man named Angel. Angel is a volunteer who works very closely with the Beltline’s planning and construction. At our first stop at Krog Street Market, Angel pulled out maps and diagrams outlining future plans for the Beltline, showing us the current issues presented with the plans. From what I remember, there was an issue with the plans to extend Marta along the Beltline. If the public transit crossed the train yard through the Krog Street Tunnel, it would cause a drastic increase in traffic. Building a new way would be more expensive, which the board for the Beltline does not have the funds for. It was very interesting to see the plans because those would potentially become reality some point in the next few years. This was also my first time at the Krog Street Market. It was a cute little place, and there was one store in particular that Noah, Jen, and I really liked. There was a lot of cute home decor centered around Atlanta, like plates and wall decor. There were a bunch of small shops and restaurants that seemed very interesting, and I particularly liked the flower shop. We stopped here for a while to rest and get some snacks. From here, we left the market and headed to the Beltline.

Once on the Beltline, I was absolutely amazed by the amount and quality of the artwork. I had been on other sections of the walkways and saw some things, but in a lot of instances on this portion, there were artists actually constructing their pieces. As someone who loves sculpture, this was particularly interesting to witness these artists using so many different mediums on such a large scale. Also along the Beltline was this photography movement I had read about while searching for some artists in my UAP. There are hundreds, and maybe even thousands, of photographs printed on mesh and hung up in public for anyone to see. This art movement has installations in most of the major cities in the US. I was almost overwhelmed (in a good way) with all of the art present on this walk. Well that, and the fact that there were so many dogs. I love dogs. I digress. The art was absolutely amazing to see and experience. One of my favorites was under a bridge, where there were grey-colored strings hanging from the bridge with umbrellas dispersed throughout. If you stood under it and looked up, it had the same feeling as if you tilted your head back during a rainstorm and saw all the raindrops rushing down to meet you. Under that same bridge, we met up with Ryan Gravel. He is the author of the book Where We Want to Live that we read in our mapping class. He provided us with a lot of insight in to the conception of this project. Gravel admitted that he never thought this idea of his would come to fruition; it was simply an idea he had some 20-odd years ago. It was very interesting to hear his story of the Beltline and his intentions in building such infrastructure. The Beltline serves a practical purpose in that it provides people with a means for exercise as well as safe, pedestrian walkways for transportation. It also serves the purpose of giving local artists a place to display their work. Atlanta is filled with so many artists, using vastly different media and styles, and this project is a way to display Atlanta’s art scene for all to see. After this section, we walked a little farther and saw the Ponce City Market marquee, meaning we were close to our destination!

What Happens When You Get Lost in Midtown

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In an effort to get to know the city I’m living in, I’ve mad it a habit–probably not a very safe one– of wandering around various neighborhoods of the city. The first time I did this, I was just on Broad Street and wandered around that area, and ultimately spent an hour and a half trying to find my way back to my car. Luckily, this time, I was accompanied by three other friends, and we decided to start in Piedmont Park. Our main reason for choosing Piedmont Park was that the Black Pride festival was going on. It was definitely a fun experience to walk around and just people watch, let alone actually partake in the events. Anyways, fast forward a half hour or so, and we decide to go PokeHunting because Piedmont Park is a gold mine for that. We ended up walking around the entire park, and we find this bridge that is actually for cars. We thought that was kind of weird how there is a road that cuts through the park. As we crossed that road, we stumbled upon a whimsical sculpture (picture on the left). Immediately, I knew we had come across a segment of the Beltline, so my friends being fellow art-lovers wanted to follow the Beltline trail. I thought it was very interesting that in the middle of the city, there was a forest and a creek that looked very similar to the ones back home. Along this trail, we found an interesting sculpture of a face with a bunch of eyes that seemed to be from some kind of Greek Mythology (pictured on the right). We followed the trail until it opened up into a paved road, and we quickly realized we had no idea where we were. The trail spit us out behind some strange building with a lot of cars parked along the side of the road that led to the front of the building. We walked up that road and then one of my friends Zach recognized where we were. Apparently we had ended up about four miles away from the entrance to Piedmont Park. So we ended up walking a total of about 12 miles that day, but we did find some cool artwork and a nice little trail that we will probably walk a lot more often now. It’s really interesting to see the cool things you can find when you just let yourself get lost in certain parts of the city. I’m always surprised and rarely disappointed by these little adventures. It’s just one of the many perks of living in such an amazing city.

Tiny Doors, Big Art Movement

Tiny Doors ATL is an organization dedicated to the notion of free and accessible art. Tiny Doors, like this one found in the Krog Street Tunnel, can be found all over the city of Atlanta. Each tiny door is only six inches tall, inviting a whimsy feel to any old wall, column, or bridge. The founders of this art movement have purposely placed these doors in locations that are significant to the city of Atlanta. Whether it be a landmark such as the Krog Street Tunnel, or a commonly visited place like the Beltline, Tiny Doors are found all over Atlanta's most beloved places. They are so easy to miss, but it's always a pleasant surprise when you stumble upon one of the mini treasures.
  Photo taken by Author

Tiny Doors ATL is an organization dedicated to the notion of free and accessible art. Tiny Doors, like this one found in the Krog Street Tunnel, can be found all over the city of Atlanta. Each tiny door is only six inches tall, inviting a whimsy feel to any old wall, column, or bridge. The founders of this art movement have purposely placed these doors in locations that are significant to the city of Atlanta. Whether it be a landmark such as the Krog Street Tunnel, or a commonly visited place like the Beltline, Tiny Doors are found all over Atlanta’s most beloved places. They are so easy to miss, but it’s always a pleasant surprise when you stumble upon one of the mini treasures.

The Tiny Doors movement is something I personally think is a wonderful addition to the city. Not only is it endorsing artists and spreading some art love around the city, but it also creates something fun to do around town. Tourists and residents alike both love the Tiny Doors, and with new ones popping up all the time, it’s a great, interactive piece of the city that gives it some unique characteristics. Atlanta would not be the same without its little Tiny Doors scattered around, just waiting to be found.