I found this sign quite curious. It is new, but it refers to an idea that existed on the Beltline for a while, the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum. This particular sign speaks of protecting eastern Hemlocks. What is so important about them I am not sure. But they are important enough to make a sign about. You can see my shadow in the picture, I was trying to get out of the way so the sign could be seen.

While eating lunch in the Ponce City Market with the charming Sam for company, I noticed the latches on practically all the windows. I know the market used to be a distribution center, but it surprised me and made me wonder why they would have windows that could open like that, let alone at all. Perhaps it was the style of the time, but I am not sure what the reason behind it would be. In my mind, I would think you would not want the windows to open, in case the items being moved around were affected by weather. However, as Sam pointed out to me, maybe the windows were opened in case workers got hot. I found this small detail quite charming, as it really alluded to what the Ponce City Market was before, at least for me.

I have seen this happen a couple times, and I find it a great example of the greater community the Beltline has helped to foster. This is a stand someone came and set up on the Beltline to promote whatever business they had. I think this is a great way to get people to know about whatever products or services one is offering, as people are not likely to get angry at vendors on the Beltline, I think. I believe this is because the atmosphere of the Beltline is one that is very casual and friendly, not where people are in a rush to get somewhere. If you want to avoid them, you can, there is not a whole lot pressure to talk to these promoters if one does not want to.

Speaking of things rapidly changing, already there is a new sculpture under the bridge on the Eastside Trail. I was there not too long ago, and I saw the previous picture being taken apart. Now I see an entirely new sculpture, and I am amazed. This rapid process urged me to look closer at what goes into the process of creating one of these pieces of art. It is made from what looks like spray painted trash, things you might find in a junkyard. As you can see, some random pieces are still lying around in front of the sculpture, but were pushed to the side by the time I walked back.

This is a picture of the Eastside Trail near the Krog Street Market. This is where the Beltline is going to continue through the Old Fourth Ward area. When I saw it the other day, I was surprised by how much they have already cleared in such a short time. For class we went about a month ago, and the path had been overgrown with grass and was covered in gravel. Now it can be seen that it has all been cleared away and only the dirt is visible. I’m not sure why they did that, maybe they plan to pave this part of the trail as well. I’m not sure when this part of the trail is scheduled for completion, but it seems there is always something happening on the Beltline, construction wise. It’s very exciting and a bit awe inspiring how quickly things can change once someone starts doing something and is committed to the idea.

I thought this was a great portrayal of how the environment has formed in expectation of people’s needs, or perhaps in response to people being on the Beltline. Many people bring their dogs with them when they walk the Beltline, and so it has become necessary for their to be resources available for when dogs do their business. Amenities such as these help keep the Beltline nice for everyone to use.

When I first saw this, I thought about how interesting it was that so many diverse pictures were on the Atlanta Beltline. Even though this was a photography project, I wondered if there was some larger meaning to it. It seems a lot of the pictures are unrelated, seemingly put together randomly with no overarching theme except that of life. I found some of the pictures from other countries to be very insightful about how people from other countries look and act. Some pictures made me wonder how that photo was even taken, and by what means. For example, pictures of people sleeping made me think it odd that someone would give their consent to have a picture like that taken.

This camera is found under another bridge much less decorated than the one where the tiny door is located. Apparently it had a hand attached to it, like someone was coming out of the rock to take a picture of the people walking by. The hand broke off however, so now it is just a tiny blue camera. You can see on the left side of the photo all the ivy that was growing, there were a lot of tall grasses and overgrowth once the camera was passed, making the camera one of the last pieces of art before the trail turned into one more focused on nature than man-made art.

Along the Eastside Trail there are various “Tiny Doors.” When my friend first pointed this door out to me, I thought it was so cute, and it made me curious as to why it was made. I was told later that they are made for a purpose, not just for art. This one is located on the side of a bridge around a lot of other graffiti and other pieces of art, so it can easily be lost among the other things appeal to one visually.

I thought this picture was so important, literally history in the making. In the center, the one with white hair, is Ryan Gravel, the former Georgia Tech student with the original idea of the Beltline as it is now and what it will be. He accompanied us for part of the tour that my teachers gave about the Beltline (my teachers both being on the right). Many interesting things occurred within that week pertaining to the Beltline and it’s future. Ryan Gravel had actually resigned from the committees associated with the Beltline 3 days before he was supposed to meet us, as he thought the Beltline was not putting as much work in to creating affordable housing for people who lived along the Beltline before the it was ever created. On the left is Angel, a volunteer, activist, and engineer who is very invested in the future of the Beltline. That day he was working on getting the plan for light rail along the Beltline cleared so that construction can move forward, and while he was with us, he got the call that solidified the possibility of light rail along the Eastside Trail.