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| Atlanta from the Air, 1949 https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3656 |
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| Author: | John Craft [ Sat Aug 03, 2002 11:34 am ] |
| Post subject: | Atlanta from the Air, 1949 |
I got this email yesterday, and of course the interest to rail enthusiasts was obvious. ----------- Val, I am writing to inform you of an informative and fun document which is just being made available on-line. In the winter of 1949, an aerial survey of Atlanta was flown for the planning dept. The only original document that I have ever found is at Georgia State University. With the help of the Abrams Aerial Survey Co. and Tim Polk, releases have been obtained so that the original photo sheets of the survey could be digitally scanned and made available on-line. GSU arranged for the grant to have the photos scanned. For planners, history buffs, or folks who just want to see what their neighborhood looked like in 1949, the site is a real treat. Some of the images are darker than the original photos but the scale of the photos is 1" to 200' so the detail is terriffic. For avid history buffs who are familiar with the 1928/30 topographic survey of the City of Atlanta, the scales are the same. Also, the boundaries of 1949-Atlanta were smaller than the boundaries of today, so not all of today's neighborhoods were surveyed. Still, it is fun to see Atlanta before the Interstate highway system came through; when many of the creeks had not yet been put into pipes; and when ornamental gardens can be easily spotted by the obviously man-made shapes that are created by the trails or planted areas that are visible from the air. Would you please send this website to any groups of planners, NPU folk, APAB folk, etc. and let them spread the word. ------------ A few starting points: grid 44 shows Terminal Station and Union Station downtown. grid 42 shows the Southern's North Avenue coach yards, including the passenger locomotive roundhouse. The roundhouse survived as a warehouse, and was recently refurbished into prestige office space. grid 58 shows "Brookwood Station" on the Southern, now the Amtrak station. grid 57 shows the area now known as Armour Yard, where a MARTA yard is also being constructed. Grid 84 shows Hulsey Yard to the east, and Southern's Decatur Street yard to the west. South Shops (Pegram Shops) can be seen in grid 47. In grid 68 you can see where the Atlanta & West Point's double-track freight main to Hulsey Yard tunnels under Southern's main line to Macon in the middle of a busy intersection. Between grid 57 and grid 84 you can follow the route of the Atlanta & Charlotte Air Line, the original route of what would become the Southern Railway into downtown, built in 1869. When Inman Yard was built, the line was downgraded to an industrial line, and remained in operation until very recently. The Sears Roebuck warehouse, a landmark on Ponce de Leon avenue, can be seen at the bottom of grid 81, across from the Atlanta Crackers stadium (now gone). (You can also see the roof of SteamCentral World Headquarters in grid 81, a bit more than two blocks east of the stadium, if you know where to look.) Lots of interesting stuff - enjoy. JAC Atlanta from the Air - 1949 |
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