Atlanta Stories
Most people don’t know Atlanta. The modern high-rises might be the first thing you see, but the path from trail to train to world class city encompasses stories that run deep, reach far and have long lasting consequences. We’re telling those stories. From the early transplants who largely arrived by trains to modern arrivals, Atlanta has been a crossroads that offered opportunity for all kinds of people. In our walks we look to tell the stories of the diverse range of people who found opportunity in this big southern city and its southern traditions.
As historians that love Atlanta, we enjoy spending our time finding out about the people and events that built Atlanta and the impact on us today. History Afoot Atlanta is a walking tour delivered by historians showcasing what exists now, what came before, and how the two come together.
Whitehall Street
In 1835 Charner Humphries would build the Whitehall tavern along a stagecoach route caring for weary travelers. It would grow into a street dedicated to commerce in the new city. The city was called Marthasville, but by 1845 that would change to Atlanta. The street survived the Civil War but just barely. It’s reported that only one small block was left standing. Later, a large portion of Whitehall would be renamed Peachtree extending the existing Peachtree Street.
For more information check out “Atlanta and Its Environs” by Franklin M. Garrett.
Peachtree Street
Celestine Sibley, southern author, columnist and journalist for the Atlanta Journal Constitution had this to say about Peachtree Street:
“Why do we love it? Not for itself alone, surely. There are more beautiful, more exciting, more interesting thoroughfares in the world. We love it because Peachtree Street symbolizes in our minds and in the minds of people all over the world a city called Atlanta, Georgia.”
She explains that the street reflects the city, where the old is in conflict with the “self-willed and vigorous new”. Peachtree Street is still a place to see the old versus the new as the city looks to yesterday as it embraces tomorrow.
Five Points
Five Points is where things come together. Intersecting here are Marietta Street, Edgewood Avenue, Decatur Street and Peachtree. But this confluence has brought together more than streets. There have been parades, protests and one particularly delicious drink. In 1887 Jacob’s Drug Store was serving Coca Cola as a headache tonic. A customer ask for the syrup to be mixed with water, as was typical. The soda fountain operator, Willis E. Venable had soda water close by and put that in instead. The rest is bubbly history.
For more information check out “Atlanta and Its Environs” by Franklin M. Garrett and “A History of the World in 6 Glasses” by Tom Sandage