Things to Do & See in Georgia A-Z Pt. 2

Last week I began sharing the first four of 26 A-Z sights that visitors can enjoy when they travel to the peach state, for the first or twenty sixth time! The idea of putting together this list came to me when I recalled a project I did in 8th grade about my hometown. It was only spurred on by the fact that I'm running out of travel topics for "travel Tuesday" and the realization that where I live is as good a place as any to review for travel related excitement. Yay!

As I mentioned in part 1, I tried to keep my list limited to the Atlanta area and choose places that I have actually been before. Unfortunately, I haven't been to all of the tourist "traps" in Atlanta (or even those in Georgia) and, when thinking about locations in A-Z, I can only account for places I'm aware of and that fall into the A-Z latter category as needed.

Here are the next three letters in the alphabet:

E. Ebenezer Baptist Church

If you've ever been to any state in the southern US you are sure to remember seeing a large number of churches in your travels – more specifically baptist churches. They are all over the place usually one on every street corner situated between a mixture of Waffle Houses and Chick-Fil-As. The Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, however, holds special meaning to the city and to US history as it is where Martin Luther King Jr. and his father both preached. It is a pivotal location to the childhood behind the man whose legacy was left as an American civil rights leader.

While I've never been to the church, Wikipedia informs that the location is one of many memorials in the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic district in Atlanta. The district includes not only the church, but also the MLK gravesite and birthplace, the Fire Station No. 6, , the "I Have A Dream" International World Peace Rose Garden, and an International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.

I don't want to go into detail here on my blog, but, for those who don't know, Martin Luther King Jr. was a huge activist in the African-American Civil Rights Movement encouraging nonviolent civil disobedience. He fought segregation across the south and is most well-known for his "I Have a Dream" speech delivered during the 1963 March on Washington. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, began the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, and spoke out against the Vietnam War in 1967. King was murdered in Memphis in 1968, but posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal along with being recognized, henceforth, in a day celebrating equality on Martin Luther King Jr. Day held on January 15th every year.

Obviously the church is just one of the many memorials we have to recognize a man who accomplished so much. It's a fantastic way to look back on his life and the changes that occurred in civil rights during his lifetime and beyond.

F. Fox Theatre

One of my absolute favorite locations in Atlanta is the Fox Theatre, a former "movie palace" and performing arts center that was originally planned as a Yaarab Shrine Temple prior to 1929. Funded by William Fox, the theatre opened a mere 2 months after the 1929 stock market crash which eventually led to an early bankruptcy. This wasn't the end of the turmoil the Fox would face in later years as a big telephone company in the 1970s offered to buy the property for demolition purposes hoping to rebuild on the centrally located property. Public outcry was enough to keep the theatre standing and it was listed as a national historic landmark in May of 1976.

Due to restoration efforts, the Fox now looks much as it did in 20s including additions that had to be scrapped due to financial constraints as well as changes that brought the building up to current safety codes. While the theatre now only hosts movie releases during the summer (and typically showing older movies at that), it is most well-known as a venue for weddings, banquets, and fundraisers as well as the top location in Atlanta to see performances including theatre, music, and dance. The gorgeous decor and high prices make attending this theatre a well-cherished event. It is possible to visit during the weekends however and just take a tour of the intricate facilities. If there is one place in Atlanta I recommend visiting above all others, this would be it. :)

G. Margaret Mitchell House – author of Gone With the Wind

If there is one author Atlantans are most familiar with it is Margaret Mitchell, the lady who put Southern beauty, large plantation houses, and a reminder of the devastation caused by the Civil War on the map via her love triangle and bildungsroman in the pulitzer prize winning novel Gone With the Wind.

The story opens up when 7 southern states, including Georgia, have seceded from the "union" and formed the separate Confederate States of America wherein slavery was accepted as legal. Scarlett O'Hara, the 16 year old daughter of a wealthy plantation owner has her eyes on Ashley Wilkes, a man soon to be engaged to, of all people, his cousin, Melanie Hamilton. Meanwhile, Rhett Butler attempts a pursuit of the hot-headed Scarlett knowing her feelings towards him aren't the most pleasant. However as time passes and as the war changes the people and landscape, the main characters are forced off of their expensive estates and into the city looking for work and money. Eventually Scarlett finds herself in the arms of Rhett Butler, one of the richest men in town and one of the most deviant as well. Their marriage is a difficult one though as they face the death or their one and only child.

Overall, Gone With the Wind is a complicated, dark drama that was eventually released to film in the 1930s with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable taking on the lead roles. It provides a lot of insight into the Civil War years, the south's view on slavery at that time, as well as providing insight into the devastation caused by the war (as in burned property, lost money, etc…).

The Margaret Mitchell House is merely a museum of facts surrounding the writing of the novel and the life of this Georgia-born author. It also includes artifacts and memorabilia related to the making of the O'Selznick feature film.

Tickets cost $13 for adults. The museum also offers numerous events throughout the year to members of the museum and non-members alike.

I hope you are enjoying my look into Atlanta and the sights found within as well as learning a lot in the process. Be sure to share with me your ideas for places that I should include in my A-Z look at Georgia/Atlanta. If you've been here, where would you go? What would you recommend? I'd love to hear!