When in ATLANTA earlier this month my nephew and his wife took us to the ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER in Buckhead. Who knew this TREASURE existed?!
When we first drove up, it looked like a very small MUSEUM, but inside it was actually bigger than expected. It sits on 33 acres with beautiful gardens and other historical buildings.
Most museums are too large for me - I actually get a headache in no time from mentally trying to absorb it all. But this one is certainly manageable and very thoughtfully laid out.
We were fortunate enough to see their special EXHIBIT that opened last year - a 132-YEAR-OLD PAINTING that stands 45 FEET TALL and is longer than a FOOTBALL FIELD! They displayed it "in the round" to create "entertainment" in the 1880's, and called it a CYCLORAMA. It's one of only 2 CYCLORAMAS in the United States. The other one is in GETTYSBURG, PA.
When you enter the huge foyer of the HISTORY CENTER, you see details of how this CYCLORAMA PAINTING was meticulously restored to the tune of $8 MILLION.
Here is a miniature reproduction of the painting, depicting the 1864 BATTLE OF ATLANTA.
Because a CYCLORAMA PAINTING is displayed "in the round", it was truly the introduction of the IMAX in the 1880's.
This one debuted in 1886 in Minneapolis. It was painted by 17 GERMAN ARTISTS and took 5 MONTHS to complete.
A 12 minute film, overlayed on the painting, is available for viewing on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to 60 visitors at a time. It is terrific!
Near the bottom of the painting artists have added figurines and landscape to make this CYCLORAMA a 3-D EXPERIENCE. So carefully crafted, it's challenging to find where the painting ends and the 3-D addition begins.
In 1939, CLARK GABLE played RHETT BUTLER in the GONE WITH THE WIND movie. It's said that when he saw this CYCLORAMA PAINTING, he asked for a reproduction of himself to be added. You can see him in the forefront of the photo below.
In the center-right of this portion of the painting is the ONLY BLACK SOLDIER in the painting.
Since the MUSEUM is focused on the HISTORY of ATLANTA, there are multiple rooms throughout the building, each with a different focus.
Housing one of the largest collections in the United States of CIVIL WAR ARTIFACTS, they are artfully displayed and explained.
The TREASURES throughout the museum were collected largely by one family who was PASSIONATE about their local HISTORY. In 1989, in anticipation of the building's 1993 opening, MRS. BEVERLY DUBOSE, JR. donated the family's collection to the HISTORY CENTER.
One section of the MUSEUM that I particularly enjoyed focuses on the FOLK ARTS, such as HANDMADE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.......
POTTERY-MAKING......
FURNITURE MAKING.......
MARGARET MITCHELL wrote only ONE NOVEL - GONE WITH THE WIND - a story set in the SOUTH during the CIVIL WAR.
It won the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD for MOST DISTINGUISHED NOVEL of 1936 and the PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION in 1937.
KU KLUX KLAN artifact. Certainly not a pleasant part of our Nation's History or Present Day, but it's still part of our history....... I give the HISTORY CENTER credit for their BOLD decision to put this on display.
The next time I visit ATLANTA, I'd like to drive through the INMAN PARK area, which was originally part of the battlefield in the BATTLE OF ATLANTA in 1864.
In the 1880's, as part of Atlanta's FIRST PLANNED SUBURB, the neighborhood featured multiple VICTORIAN STYLE MANSIONS. This suburb was originally conceived of and promoted as a segregated community.
In the 1950's and 1960's it became economically depressed, however, over the past few decades there has been a RENEWAL of this section of ATLANTA.
And a THROW-BACK to the AMERICAN DINER and ATLANTA's famed COCA-COLA, which originally sold for 5 CENTS a glass......
COCA-COLA was created in 1886 by an ATLANTA PHARMACIST - JOHN S. PEMBERTON!
Perhaps you'll now be INSPIRED to visit the ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER the next time you visit the city. I highly recommend it!!
JOAN
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