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This walking tour was inspired byand incorporates much of the digital exhibit The Elevated City by GSU Associate Dean of the Library, Bryan Sinclair, which examines Atlanta’s long history of constructing viaducts, platforms, bridges, and elevated streets as a way of quite literally rising above its challenges. Our tour builds on this analysis by bringing these layered spaces into physical experience, guiding participants through the built environments that reflect this defining feature of Atlanta’s urban development.

Unlike most major cities which develop along rivers or coastlines, Atlanta grew around railroads. While the rail lines were central to the city’s economic growth, they also created physical divisions within the urban landscape. In response, Atlanta began building upward—constructing viaducts and elevated streets across downtown to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic from the rail corridors below. This strategy reshaped the city and led to the creation of significant landmarks such as Underground Atlanta and the Gulch, both of which reveal how layers of infrastructure can obscure, transform, or redefine urban space over time.

Our tour also explores Georgia State University’s system of raised plazas and the network of skybridges downtown that highlight the broader cultural pattern of the city attempting to escape real or perceived disorder by building above it instead of directly addressing underlying issues. By examining these elevated spaces, participants will not only learn about key Atlanta past and present landmarks, but also consider what the city’s layered landscape reveals about its social, economic, and cultural history.

Tour Team

Bryan Sinclair, GSU Library, Associate Dean
Brennan Collins, GSU Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry
Ian Kermicle, GSU Undergraduate Research Assistant

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Just east of where the Central Avenue Viaduct forms one of the borders of Underground Atlanta is the Georgia Freight Depot, whose main level still stands today as Atlanta’s oldest existing building. Completed in1869, only a few years after the Civil War, the depot was essential in growing the city as a distribution hub.

Atlanta's symbol is the Phoenix—the city that rose from the ashes of the Civil War, but also a city that rises by building layer upon layer above what came before.

Throughout this tour, we've seen how transportation infrastructure has done far more than move people and goods. It has literally created multiple ground levels where the city exists in layers. The railroad tracks that made Atlanta possible also divided it, and the city's response was to engineer elaborate passages above them.

From the 1876 Forsyth Street Viaduct to the State Capitol skywalk currently being built, Atlanta has consistently chosen vertical solutions to navigate urban complexity. As the city continues to transform spaces like Underground Atlanta and the Gulch, these elevated structures remind us that transportation infrastructure shapes cities in profound and lasting ways, creating not just pathways for movement, but entire landscapes that define how we experience urban space.

","direction_intro","direction_notes","icon_color","#D32F2F","lat",33.7518176344533,"lng",-84.3889236464882,[132,133],"","orphaned","parking_lat","parking_lng","Just east of where the Central Avenue Viaduct forms one of the borders of Underground Atlanta is the Georgia Freight Depot, whose main level still stands today as Atlanta’s oldest existing building. Completed in1869, only a few years after the Civil War, the depot was essential in growing the city as a distribution hub. Atlanta's symbol is the Phoenix—the city that rose from the ashes of the Civil War, but also a city that rises by building layer upon layer above what came before. Throughout this tour, we've seen how transportation infrastructure has done far more than move people and goods. It has literally created multiple ground levels where the city exists in layers. The railroad tracks that made Atlanta possible also divided it, and the city's response was to engineer elaborate passages above them. From the 1876 Forsyth Street Viaduct to the State Capitol skywalk currently being built, Atlanta has consistently chosen vertical solutions to navigate urban complexity. As the city continues to transform spaces like Underground Atlanta and the Gulch, these elevated structures remind us that transportation infrastructure shapes cities in profound and lasting ways, creating not just pathways for movement, but entire landscapes that define how we experience urban space.","freight-depot",[131,119],{"_74":127,"_128":-5,"_129":130},"Freight Depot","stop","video_embed","video_poster",[],"East Alabama Street Looking East.tif","caption","url","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F8hd3ybm4cnl8fmrgmk9tckef1za6?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775446386032",{"_99":165,"_96":166,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":127,"_142":167,"_33":168,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":127,"_154":-5},{"_99":134,"_96":23,"_128":135,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":141,"_142":143,"_33":144,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":153,"_154":-5},305,"Oldest Building in Downtown Atlanta. \t\nAJCP201-15a, Atlanta Journal Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.; , Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.","desktop_width",750,"embed","embed_id","filename","Screenshot 2026-08-10 at 8.32.14 PM.png","files",{"_155":156,"_157":158,"_159":160,"_161":162,"_163":164},320,"lqip_width",50,"mobile_width",300,"original_image","provider","tablet_width",400,"Freight Depot 1978.png","video","original","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fhat5ry4qysqw7rs06hus22aebjd0","mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fhat5ry4qysqw7rs06hus22aebjd0?variant=mobile","tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fhat5ry4qysqw7rs06hus22aebjd0?variant=tablet","desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fhat5ry4qysqw7rs06hus22aebjd0?variant=desktop","lqip","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fhat5ry4qysqw7rs06hus22aebjd0?variant=lqip",304,0,{"_155":169,"_157":170,"_159":171,"_161":130,"_163":172},319,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F8hd3ybm4cnl8fmrgmk9tckef1za6","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F8hd3ybm4cnl8fmrgmk9tckef1za6?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F8hd3ybm4cnl8fmrgmk9tckef1za6?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F8hd3ybm4cnl8fmrgmk9tckef1za6?variant=lqip",131,"underground-atlanta","Underground Atlanta",{"_33":100,"_65":119,"_74":122},9,{"_33":249,"_65":250,"_74":251},"38 Peachtree St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

Underground Atlanta is perhaps the easiest way to visualize the effects of the downtown viaducts. The twin viaducts project of 1927-1929 we mentioned earlier in the tour elevated the streets around the original Union Station in the heart of downtown. The plan was for storefronts and businesses to move their main entrances to the platform streets above, leaving the story below as a service entrance for deliveries with ample height for delivery trucks.

Beneath the new elevated streets, blocks of old Atlanta would be abandoned and mostly forgotten for four decades — that is, until the 1960s, when a group of Atlanta visionaries led by Architect Paul Muldawer, GSU art professor Joseph Perrin, and associates at the Civic Design Commission had an idea. What others saw as grimy and unappealing, they saw as having tourist potential: an “Underground” beneath the streets reimagined it as a nostalgic attraction reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans and Gaslight Square in St. Louis. The downtown attraction that we know as Underground Atlanta would first open to the public in 1969.

The (first) real heyday of Underground Atlanta, with its gas street lamps, numerous live entertainment venues, restaurants, bars, and shops was relatively short-lived, lasting from 1969 until around 1975.

In 1974, the new Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) announced its right of way plans to take out almost a third of Underground’s original footprint to make room for its new rail lines. This would force some 15 popular Underground night spots to relocate or close.

Underground Atlanta has had many lives since it first opened in 1969. As of 2024, Atlanta-based Lalani Ventures and partners are currently transforming what was (once again) a largely abandoned site into popular mixed-use arts and live music destination. The ultimate plan is to create a multi-level complex with housing, office space, retail, restaurant, and art studio space, complete with a new hotel and community space including green pedestrian plazas.

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The Martin Luther King, Junior Federal Building was built by the Works Progress administration in 1933 and was originally a United States Post Office. The building was connected by tunnels to Terminal Station as rail transportation played a major role in mail delivery.

Across the street, is a series of murals created from the GSU student artwork that made up the mural where we began the tour.

",33.752411009607926,-84.3938602521801,[268,269],"The Martin Luther King, Junior Federal Building was built by the Works Progress administration in 1933 and was originally a United States Post Office. The building was connected by tunnels to Terminal Station as rail transportation played a major role in mail delivery. Across the street, is a series of murals created from the GSU student artwork that made up the mural where we began the tour.",[267,250],{"_74":264,"_128":265,"_129":266},[],"Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building 1933.png","Atlanta Central Post Office, now the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building. AJCN147-133c, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fk2fh5tkvlbbpq1n1n7qoh17k23rx?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775445977033",{"_99":279,"_96":166,"_128":265,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":280,"_142":281,"_33":282,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":264,"_154":-5},{"_99":270,"_96":23,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":271,"_142":272,"_33":273,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":271,"_154":-5},297,"South Downtown Mural.jpeg",{"_155":274,"_157":275,"_159":276,"_161":277,"_163":278},312,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fua2orq1pfyoh0wlgzcbfpz3fpgh8","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fua2orq1pfyoh0wlgzcbfpz3fpgh8?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fua2orq1pfyoh0wlgzcbfpz3fpgh8?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fua2orq1pfyoh0wlgzcbfpz3fpgh8?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fua2orq1pfyoh0wlgzcbfpz3fpgh8?variant=lqip",296,"Screenshot 2026-08-10 at 6.33.45 PM.png",{"_155":283,"_157":284,"_159":285,"_161":266,"_163":286},311,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fk2fh5tkvlbbpq1n1n7qoh17k23rx","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fk2fh5tkvlbbpq1n1n7qoh17k23rx?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fk2fh5tkvlbbpq1n1n7qoh17k23rx?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fk2fh5tkvlbbpq1n1n7qoh17k23rx?variant=lqip",129,"terminal-station-and-hotel-row","Terminal Station and Hotel Row",{"_33":249,"_65":250,"_74":251},7,{"_33":337,"_65":338,"_74":339},"239 Mitchell St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

Where the 26-story Richard B. Russel Federal Building now stands, was the grand Terminal Station. Opened in 1905 and the larger Atlanta train station, passengers could have traveled to cities all over the United States, boarding trains to New York, Miami, Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit, New Orleans, or Cincinnati. Terminal Station was demolished in 1972.

Passengers arriving in Atlanta at Terminal Station could have stayed across the street on Hotel Row. Built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries along Mitchell Street, Hotel Row is a part of South Downtown, a rare area in Atlanta that still has a high concentration of historic buildings. The building of the Spring Street Viaduct led to the decline of Hotel Row as it allowed for easier car access from Terminal Station to hotels in other parts of the city.

",33.7524476031975,-84.39546555427552,[306,307,308],"Where the 26-story Richard B. Russel Federal Building now stands, was the grand Terminal Station. Opened in 1905 and the larger Atlanta train station, passengers could have traveled to cities all over the United States, boarding trains to New York, Miami, Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit, New Orleans, or Cincinnati. Terminal Station was demolished in 1972.Passengers arriving in Atlanta at Terminal Station could have stayed across the street on Hotel Row. Built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries along Mitchell Street, Hotel Row is a part of South Downtown, a rare area in Atlanta that still has a high concentration of historic buildings. The building of the Spring Street Viaduct led to the decline of Hotel Row as it allowed for easier car access from Terminal Station to hotels in other parts of the city.",[305,288],{"_74":302,"_128":303,"_129":304},[],"Terminal Station 1908.png","Unknown (1908). Terminal Station. Retrieved from http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/athpc/id/237","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fe8530xoi2d87qlju5n344hzg5vsu?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775445850694",{"_99":329,"_96":23,"_128":303,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":330,"_142":331,"_33":332,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":302,"_154":-5},{"_99":318,"_96":232,"_128":319,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":320,"_142":321,"_33":322,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":323,"_154":-5},{"_99":309,"_96":83,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":310,"_142":311,"_33":312,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":310,"_154":-5},292,"Terminal Station 1960.jpg",{"_155":313,"_157":314,"_159":315,"_161":316,"_163":317},307,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fg63oup5425q2qewim0oi4dy3bp7i","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fg63oup5425q2qewim0oi4dy3bp7i?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fg63oup5425q2qewim0oi4dy3bp7i?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fg63oup5425q2qewim0oi4dy3bp7i?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fg63oup5425q2qewim0oi4dy3bp7i?variant=lqip",294,"AJCP582-38i, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.","Screenshot 2026-08-10 at 5.52.15 PM.png",{"_155":324,"_157":325,"_159":326,"_161":327,"_163":328},309,"Terminal Station 1940s.png","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzrwh3xburk2clg485u0k5k6qb85r","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzrwh3xburk2clg485u0k5k6qb85r?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzrwh3xburk2clg485u0k5k6qb85r?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzrwh3xburk2clg485u0k5k6qb85r?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzrwh3xburk2clg485u0k5k6qb85r?variant=lqip",295,"Screenshot 2026-08-10 at 6.04.12 PM.png",{"_155":333,"_157":334,"_159":335,"_161":304,"_163":336},310,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fe8530xoi2d87qlju5n344hzg5vsu","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fe8530xoi2d87qlju5n344hzg5vsu?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fe8530xoi2d87qlju5n344hzg5vsu?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fe8530xoi2d87qlju5n344hzg5vsu?variant=lqip",128,"spring-street-viaduct","Spring Street Viaduct",{"_33":287,"_65":288,"_74":289},6,{"_33":392,"_65":393,"_74":394},"20 Ted Turner Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

The impressive Spring Street Viaduct (now Ted Turner Drive) was built in 1923, which connected Spring Street to the south with Madison Avenue to the north, creating the longest expanse covering the railroad tracks to date.

The viaduct overlooks the Gulch, which is one of the few places where onlookers can still see the railroad tracks that cut through downtown Atlanta. For decades, the area was used for parking and known for tailgating before games. The latest plan for the Gulch is for a 50-acre “urban revitalization project” called Centennial Yards, an ambitious $5 billion project anticipated to transform the long-abandoned area into an entertainment, hotel, and residential district. The project will effectively put a lid on pre-viaduct Atlanta.

The Union Station we passed earlier was closed in 1930 and a new Union Station was built above the tracks on the other side of the viaduct we are standing on diagonally from the Centennial Yard development. The station was demolished in 1971.

The Gulch area has been discussed as a possible site for a new Atlanta Amtrak station. The current station is several miles north of downtown on Peachtree Street.

",33.75424356504367,-84.39424246696473,[356,357,358,359],"The impressive Spring Street Viaduct (now Ted Turner Drive) was built in 1923, which connected Spring Street to the south with Madison Avenue to the north, creating the longest expanse covering the railroad tracks to date. The viaduct overlooks the Gulch, which is one of the few places where onlookers can still see the railroad tracks that cut through downtown Atlanta. For decades, the area was used for parking and known for tailgating before games. The latest plan for the Gulch is for a 50-acre “urban revitalization project” called Centennial Yards, an ambitious $5 billion project anticipated to transform the long-abandoned area into an entertainment, hotel, and residential district. The project will effectively put a lid on pre-viaduct Atlanta. The Union Station we passed earlier was closed in 1930 and a new Union Station was built above the tracks on the other side of the viaduct we are standing on diagonally from the Centennial Yard development. The station was demolished in 1971.The Gulch area has been discussed as a possible site for a new Atlanta Amtrak station. The current station is several miles north of downtown on Peachtree Street. ",[355,338],{"_74":352,"_128":353,"_129":354},[],"Spring Street Viaduct Construction.jpg","Spring Street Viaduct construction, early 1920s. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives, AJCP338-036d.\nGSU Library Special Collections & Archives. ","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzzb7gljiqc1sezlcrjwuqffklcpp?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775445591582",{"_99":386,"_96":23,"_128":353,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":352,"_142":387,"_33":165,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":352,"_154":-5},{"_99":376,"_96":232,"_128":377,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":378,"_142":379,"_33":380,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":378,"_154":-5},{"_99":368,"_96":83,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":369,"_142":370,"_33":134,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":369,"_154":-5},{"_99":322,"_96":210,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":360,"_142":361,"_33":362,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":360,"_154":-5},"_AJCP582-38j.tif",{"_155":363,"_157":364,"_159":365,"_161":366,"_163":367},324,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh1ytncgu8snb5vfodw3hsz1rdmpe","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh1ytncgu8snb5vfodw3hsz1rdmpe?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh1ytncgu8snb5vfodw3hsz1rdmpe?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh1ytncgu8snb5vfodw3hsz1rdmpe?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh1ytncgu8snb5vfodw3hsz1rdmpe?variant=lqip",290,"Union Station Construction 1930.tif",{"_155":371,"_157":372,"_159":373,"_161":374,"_163":375},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fp1hobt0ozxvhkepaxofdrl5tvfui","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fp1hobt0ozxvhkepaxofdrl5tvfui?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fp1hobt0ozxvhkepaxofdrl5tvfui?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fp1hobt0ozxvhkepaxofdrl5tvfui?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fp1hobt0ozxvhkepaxofdrl5tvfui?variant=lqip",291,"Spring Street Viaduct, “the longest expanse covering the railroad tracks to date,” completed in 1923. Postmarked 1925.","Spring Street Viaduct Postcard.jpg",{"_155":381,"_157":382,"_159":383,"_161":384,"_163":385},306,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F52r9hmxrq4lwg29beuc33scqv6we","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F52r9hmxrq4lwg29beuc33scqv6we?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F52r9hmxrq4lwg29beuc33scqv6we?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F52r9hmxrq4lwg29beuc33scqv6we?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F52r9hmxrq4lwg29beuc33scqv6we?variant=lqip",289,{"_155":388,"_157":389,"_159":390,"_161":354,"_163":391},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzzb7gljiqc1sezlcrjwuqffklcpp","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzzb7gljiqc1sezlcrjwuqffklcpp?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzzb7gljiqc1sezlcrjwuqffklcpp?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fzzb7gljiqc1sezlcrjwuqffklcpp?variant=lqip",127,"forsyth-and-broad-viaducts","Forsyth and Broad Viaducts",{"_33":337,"_65":338,"_74":339},{"_33":417,"_65":418,"_74":419},"Five Points, 30 Alabama St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

The Forsyth Street viaduct was completed in 1876, and the Broad Street Viaduct, one block away, in 1895. These viaducts were the first in Atlanta and helped alleviate the congestion that the railroad tracks caused. These viaducts resembled bridges for several decades because there was no platform between them. Looking away from the MARTA station, you can get a sense of how far above ground we are.

The brick art moderne structure across the street is the Atlanta Constitution building. Constructed in 1947, the building is being redeveloped as affordable housing.

",33.75443933177634,-84.39211011079789,[410],"The Forsyth Street viaduct was completed in 1876, and the Broad Street Viaduct, one block away, in 1895. These viaducts were the first in Atlanta and helped alleviate the congestion that the railroad tracks caused. These viaducts resembled bridges for several decades because there was no platform between them. Looking away from the MARTA station, you can get a sense of how far above ground we are. The brick art moderne structure across the street is the Atlanta Constitution building. Constructed in 1947, the building is being redeveloped as affordable housing.",[409,393],{"_74":406,"_128":407,"_129":408},[],"Broad Street Viaduct.jpg","Viaducts in downtown Atlanta, c. 1939. Looking east, foreground to back, are Broad St., Whitehall-Peachtree St., Pryor St., Central Ave., and Washington St. Credit: Unknown.","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F1d31c5wc6dr3ezzg580yz6zp0ebd?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775445348520",{"_99":411,"_96":166,"_128":407,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":406,"_142":412,"_33":231,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":406,"_154":-5},286,{"_155":413,"_157":414,"_159":415,"_161":408,"_163":416},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F1d31c5wc6dr3ezzg580yz6zp0ebd","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F1d31c5wc6dr3ezzg580yz6zp0ebd?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F1d31c5wc6dr3ezzg580yz6zp0ebd?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F1d31c5wc6dr3ezzg580yz6zp0ebd?variant=lqip",126,"peachtree-whitehall-viaduct","Peachtree-Whitehall Viaduct",{"_33":392,"_65":393,"_74":394},{"_33":501,"_65":502,"_74":503},"Peachtree St at Five Points Station, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

While earlier viaducts were built in Atlanta to alleviate the problems caused by train traffic cutting through the heart of the business district, the most significant project would come at the dawn of the 20th century: one that would transform downtown by connecting the north and south sides and address what was perhaps the most dangerous intersection for wagons and pedestrians crossing at the heart of the city.

Construction began on the Peachtree-Whitehall Viaduct in 1900. Upon completion in October of the following year, this important connector was an immediate success for everyone: business owners, pedestrians, streetcars, and eventually automobiles, which could now pass safely across Whitehall Street to the south and Peachtree Street to the north. Atlanta now had its main street — its “Great White Way.” Postcards from the time depict men in boater hats and women in white dresses parading up and down the sloping street, removed from the smoke pollution and dirty engines below.

On our walk from the last stop, we passed a building with green siding on its top floors. The Kimball House, another luxury hotel strategically near Union Station, filled the entire block. The first hotel building was built in 1870 and burned down in 1883. In only 2 years, it would reopen. In 1959, the Victorian brick structure was torn down and the block now serves as a parking deck.

Looking toward Decatur Street, you can see a giant Coca-Cola sign. Across Peachtree Street was Jacob’s Pharmacy, where the soda was first served.

",33.753611972290514,-84.39026206878663,[434,435,436,437,438,439,440],"While earlier viaducts were built in Atlanta to alleviate the problems caused by train traffic cutting through the heart of the business district, the most significant project would come at the dawn of the 20th century: one that would transform downtown by connecting the north and south sides and address what was perhaps the most dangerous intersection for wagons and pedestrians crossing at the heart of the city. Construction began on the Peachtree-Whitehall Viaduct in 1900. Upon completion in October of the following year, this important connector was an immediate success for everyone: business owners, pedestrians, streetcars, and eventually automobiles, which could now pass safely across Whitehall Street to the south and Peachtree Street to the north. Atlanta now had its main street — its “Great White Way.” Postcards from the time depict men in boater hats and women in white dresses parading up and down the sloping street, removed from the smoke pollution and dirty engines below. On our walk from the last stop, we passed a building with green siding on its top floors. The Kimball House, another luxury hotel strategically near Union Station, filled the entire block. The first hotel building was built in 1870 and burned down in 1883. In only 2 years, it would reopen. In 1959, the Victorian brick structure was torn down and the block now serves as a parking deck. Looking toward Decatur Street, you can see a giant Coca-Cola sign. Across Peachtree Street was Jacob’s Pharmacy, where the soda was first served.",[433,418],{"_74":431,"_128":-5,"_129":432},[],"Peachtree Street 1882.tif","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7pp013u6f8efikqm11aih5agx6ba?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775445224645",{"_99":495,"_96":23,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":431,"_142":496,"_33":279,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":431,"_154":-5},{"_99":486,"_96":232,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":487,"_142":488,"_33":489,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":487,"_154":-5},{"_99":478,"_96":83,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":479,"_142":480,"_33":209,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":479,"_154":-5},{"_99":469,"_96":210,"_128":470,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":471,"_142":472,"_33":270,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":471,"_154":-5},{"_99":460,"_96":198,"_128":461,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":462,"_142":463,"_33":197,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":462,"_154":-5},{"_99":451,"_96":341,"_128":452,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":453,"_142":454,"_33":148,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":453,"_154":-5},{"_99":441,"_96":291,"_128":442,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":443,"_142":444,"_33":445,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":443,"_154":-5},287,"View looking west down Wall Street at the Kimball House Hotel (right) and, in the background, Union Station. Kuhns (Atlanta, Ga.) (1938). Kimball House Hotel. Retrieved from http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/athpc/id/1030","Wall Street and Kimball House.png",{"_155":446,"_157":447,"_159":448,"_161":449,"_163":450},302,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fln6sty9wjlunx7ah5cfj8dfsbmz3","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fln6sty9wjlunx7ah5cfj8dfsbmz3?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fln6sty9wjlunx7ah5cfj8dfsbmz3?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fln6sty9wjlunx7ah5cfj8dfsbmz3?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fln6sty9wjlunx7ah5cfj8dfsbmz3?variant=lqip",285,"Peachtree-Whitehall Viaduct, looking north, 1914. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives, AJCP338-035a.\nGSU Library Special Collections & Archives.","Peachtree Viaduct 1914.png",{"_155":455,"_157":456,"_159":457,"_161":458,"_163":459},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fc89b44c09jbk4dlrn1zjknufecms","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fc89b44c09jbk4dlrn1zjknufecms?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fc89b44c09jbk4dlrn1zjknufecms?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fc89b44c09jbk4dlrn1zjknufecms?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fc89b44c09jbk4dlrn1zjknufecms?variant=lqip",284,"Peachtree-Whitehall Viaduct, c. 1910. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives, AJCP338-035f. GSU Library Special Collections & Archives.\n","Peachtree viaduct c1910.png",{"_155":464,"_157":465,"_159":466,"_161":467,"_163":468},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F6pvdincubhx7u8n3j0krdk1r0xal","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F6pvdincubhx7u8n3j0krdk1r0xal?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F6pvdincubhx7u8n3j0krdk1r0xal?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F6pvdincubhx7u8n3j0krdk1r0xal?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F6pvdincubhx7u8n3j0krdk1r0xal?variant=lqip",282,"Postcard: The Peachtree Street Viaduct with pedestrian path and stairs leading below. Postmarked 1908, it reads: Connecting Peachtree with Whitehall Street is a viaduct 200 feet long by 60 feet wide, built of iron, and paved with asphalt. These two streets, thus connected, form a continuous asphalt boulevard three and one-half miles long. The viaduct crosses Decatur Street, about 40 feet above the street, and the various railroads entering Atlanta pass under it.","Peachtree Viaduct Postcard.jpg",{"_155":473,"_157":474,"_159":475,"_161":476,"_163":477},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fay8z91a7j8elqgy8u9xkzs5iss6c","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fay8z91a7j8elqgy8u9xkzs5iss6c?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fay8z91a7j8elqgy8u9xkzs5iss6c?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fay8z91a7j8elqgy8u9xkzs5iss6c?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fay8z91a7j8elqgy8u9xkzs5iss6c?variant=lqip",283,"Whitehall 1900.tif",{"_155":481,"_157":482,"_159":483,"_161":484,"_163":485},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F0tf60fsks60gc9ejaz50x3vkhmyd","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F0tf60fsks60gc9ejaz50x3vkhmyd?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F0tf60fsks60gc9ejaz50x3vkhmyd?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F0tf60fsks60gc9ejaz50x3vkhmyd?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F0tf60fsks60gc9ejaz50x3vkhmyd?variant=lqip",308,"_AJCP582-14g.tif",{"_155":490,"_157":491,"_159":492,"_161":493,"_163":494},323,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fmz7k79zco0z7eo3syvwn4flkmzpg","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fmz7k79zco0z7eo3syvwn4flkmzpg?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fmz7k79zco0z7eo3syvwn4flkmzpg?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fmz7k79zco0z7eo3syvwn4flkmzpg?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fmz7k79zco0z7eo3syvwn4flkmzpg?variant=lqip",281,{"_155":497,"_157":498,"_159":499,"_161":432,"_163":500},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7pp013u6f8efikqm11aih5agx6ba","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7pp013u6f8efikqm11aih5agx6ba?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7pp013u6f8efikqm11aih5agx6ba?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7pp013u6f8efikqm11aih5agx6ba?variant=lqip",125,"twin-viaducts","Twin Viaducts",{"_33":417,"_65":418,"_74":419},{"_33":577,"_65":578,"_74":579},"15 Central Ave SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

Standing on the corner of Wall Street and Shirley C. Franklin Boulevard (formerly Central Avenue) you can see the viaducts at work. What might feel like the street going up a hill is actually the viaduct climbing from the ground level at Decatur Street. Look over the railing to the right and you can see how parking lots occupy multiple “ground” levels.

The “twin viaducts” project of 1927-1929 would attempt to alleviate congestion for the entire commercial district around what was Union Station from 1871-1930 (now the surface parking lot across the street and to the right). The project would elevate the street levels of Pryor Street and Central Avenue running north to south (the viaducts), as well as raise Wall and Alabama Streets (the “laterals”) providing a seamless grid of concrete platforms for streetcars, automobiles, and pedestrians traveling east and west between Central and Pryor and connecting the area with the Whitehall-Peachtree Street Viaduct, which we will discuss at our next stop. This project quite literally entombed the original ground-level streets and storefronts below. What remained underneath would become what we now know as Underground Atlanta, which we will explore later in the tour.

The Atlanta Zero Mile Post, now displayed at the Atlanta History Center, was located just below us. The stone post marked the terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad as well as the settlement that grew up around it that became Atlanta.

Immediately to our left, across Shirley Franklin Boulevard stood the Markham House, a luxury hotel that served passengers who would get off at Union Station. Built in 1875, it operated for 20 years and six months before a fire from a gas stove on Decatur St. would burn it down. Six of the brothels mentioned in our last stop would burn down as well.

",33.75266503522364,-84.38838116971493,[520,521,522,523,524,525],"Standing on the corner of Wall Street and Shirley C. Franklin Boulevard (formerly Central Avenue) you can see the viaducts at work. What might feel like the street going up a hill is actually the viaduct climbing from the ground level at Decatur Street. Look over the railing to the right and you can see how parking lots occupy multiple “ground” levels. The “twin viaducts” project of 1927-1929 would attempt to alleviate congestion for the entire commercial district around what was Union Station from 1871-1930 (now the surface parking lot across the street and to the right). The project would elevate the street levels of Pryor Street and Central Avenue running north to south (the viaducts), as well as raise Wall and Alabama Streets (the “laterals”) providing a seamless grid of concrete platforms for streetcars, automobiles, and pedestrians traveling east and west between Central and Pryor and connecting the area with the Whitehall-Peachtree Street Viaduct, which we will discuss at our next stop. This project quite literally entombed the original ground-level streets and storefronts below. What remained underneath would become what we now know as Underground Atlanta, which we will explore later in the tour. The Atlanta Zero Mile Post, now displayed at the Atlanta History Center, was located just below us. The stone post marked the terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad as well as the settlement that grew up around it that became Atlanta. Immediately to our left, across Shirley Franklin Boulevard stood the Markham House, a luxury hotel that served passengers who would get off at Union Station. Built in 1875, it operated for 20 years and six months before a fire from a gas stove on Decatur St. would burn it down. Six of the brothels mentioned in our last stop would burn down as well.",[518,519,502],{"_74":515,"_128":516,"_129":517},[],"UnionStation_1920s.jpg","Old Union Station or carshed, between Pryor St. and Central Ave. Erected in 1871, torn down in 1930. Citation: AJCP321-020b, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ffs00zf69r6fhdf161aqympkt5b6i?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775445110418","wall-street-viaduct",{"_99":571,"_96":23,"_128":516,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":515,"_142":572,"_33":441,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":515,"_154":-5},{"_99":561,"_96":232,"_128":562,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":563,"_142":564,"_33":565,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":563,"_154":-5},{"_99":552,"_96":83,"_128":553,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":554,"_142":555,"_33":329,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":554,"_154":-5},{"_99":543,"_96":210,"_128":544,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":545,"_142":546,"_33":318,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":545,"_154":-5},{"_99":534,"_96":198,"_128":535,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":536,"_142":537,"_33":386,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":536,"_154":-5},{"_99":312,"_96":198,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":526,"_142":527,"_33":528,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":526,"_154":-5},"_AJCP551-42a.tif",{"_155":529,"_157":530,"_159":531,"_161":532,"_163":533},322,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ftw079f33ljftee4uo0rzd76nl1x0","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ftw079f33ljftee4uo0rzd76nl1x0?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ftw079f33ljftee4uo0rzd76nl1x0?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ftw079f33ljftee4uo0rzd76nl1x0?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ftw079f33ljftee4uo0rzd76nl1x0?variant=lqip",275,"Atlanta Zero Mile Post in 1958, now displayed at the Atlanta History Center. Citation: AJCP142-020l, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archive. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.","ZeroMilePost_1958.jpg",{"_155":538,"_157":539,"_159":540,"_161":541,"_163":542},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fqh4mxfkp9v0mtdawwky4iu64q5fa","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fqh4mxfkp9v0mtdawwky4iu64q5fa?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fqh4mxfkp9v0mtdawwky4iu64q5fa?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fqh4mxfkp9v0mtdawwky4iu64q5fa?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fqh4mxfkp9v0mtdawwky4iu64q5fa?variant=lqip",279,"The Pryor Street Viaduct and Wall Street lateral shortly after completion, c. 1929, accommodating trains, streetcars, automobiles, and pedestrians. Union Station in the middle would be razed a year later and replaced by a new Union Station on a raised platform between the Forsyth and Spring Street Viaducts. Atlanta History Center Photograph Collection, VIS 170.3759.001 ","Twin Viaducts.jpg",{"_155":547,"_157":548,"_159":549,"_161":550,"_163":551},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fkmexxckj72sjzk2wdhnlcy9df4p5","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fkmexxckj72sjzk2wdhnlcy9df4p5?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fkmexxckj72sjzk2wdhnlcy9df4p5?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fkmexxckj72sjzk2wdhnlcy9df4p5?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fkmexxckj72sjzk2wdhnlcy9df4p5?variant=lqip",280,"First traffic moves over the newly opened Central Avenue Viaduct. Atlanta Journal, Sunday, March 17, 1929. A streetcar turns from Alabama Street to the left. The entrance to what would be Underground Atlanta is directly below.","First Traffic.jpg",{"_155":556,"_157":557,"_159":558,"_161":559,"_163":560},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fnbjldubnwf18v36cdvi4o7zt4og0","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fnbjldubnwf18v36cdvi4o7zt4og0?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fnbjldubnwf18v36cdvi4o7zt4og0?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fnbjldubnwf18v36cdvi4o7zt4og0?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fnbjldubnwf18v36cdvi4o7zt4og0?variant=lqip",274,"Union Station in 1880. The first Kimball House Hotel is the building to the far left. Citation: AJCP321-020e, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Photographic Archives. Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library.","UnionStation_1880.jpg",{"_155":566,"_157":567,"_159":568,"_161":569,"_163":570},288,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F84khuwt033zhgzqmpusxvam0046f","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F84khuwt033zhgzqmpusxvam0046f?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F84khuwt033zhgzqmpusxvam0046f?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F84khuwt033zhgzqmpusxvam0046f?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F84khuwt033zhgzqmpusxvam0046f?variant=lqip",273,{"_155":573,"_157":574,"_159":575,"_161":517,"_163":576},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ffs00zf69r6fhdf161aqympkt5b6i","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ffs00zf69r6fhdf161aqympkt5b6i?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ffs00zf69r6fhdf161aqympkt5b6i?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Ffs00zf69r6fhdf161aqympkt5b6i?variant=lqip",124,"decatur-street","Decatur Street",{"_33":501,"_65":502,"_74":503},{"_33":632,"_65":633,"_74":634},"100 Decatur St. SE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

Now at the heart of GSU's campus, this area was home to much of Atlanta’s prostitution from around 1870 until 1910—a history well documented by sociologist-librarian Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh in her digital scholarship project Historic Harlots of Old Atlanta. Collins Street dead-ended into several rail lines, and on this single block were clustered a dozen brothels. The surrounding blocks along Decatur Street formed a predominantly African American entertainment district, vibrant with pool halls, music clubs, and saloons, a cultural hub that would eventually fall victim to urban renewal.

In 1927, the “Empress of the Blues” Bessie Smith, who performed frequently in Atlanta, would record “Preachin’ the Blues” for Columbia Records. On it, the singer evokes past scenes from beneath the Washington Street Viaduct, where it would not have been uncommon to see “one ol’ sister by the name of Sister Green” drinking corn and shimmying like you’ve never seen!

Later in the 1960s, a new university for downtown Atlanta, Georgia State College (now University), developed plans to build a “Plaza Campus” with elevated pedestrian platforms above the noise and inconvenience of city traffic. The university's growth became part of the broader urban renewal process that systematically dismantled what remained of the entertainment district, erasing both its notorious past and its cultural vitality.

From this corner, you can see 5 pedestrian bridges crossing Decatur Street, most leading to raised plazas. While student safety provided the official rationale, this infrastructure pattern reveals more when you consider the broader context. Several blocks north at Portman's Peachtree Center, hotels, and AmericasMart, an extensive network of skywalks, sometimes called \"hamster tunnels,\" connect buildings so that suburban workers and conventioneers can park underground and move between offices, hotels, restaurants, and shops without ever touching Atlanta's sidewalks. Two blocks south from where we stand, a new skywalk is being constructed from the historic State Capitol to a new government building, raising the question: do our state representatives want nothing to do with Atlanta's street-level public life?

",33.75245372727356,-84.38664846269131,[595,596,597,598],"Now at the heart of GSU's campus, this area was home to much of Atlanta’s prostitution from around 1870 until 1910—a history well documented by sociologist-librarian Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh in her digital scholarship project Historic Harlots of Old Atlanta. Collins Street dead-ended into several rail lines, and on this single block were clustered a dozen brothels. The surrounding blocks along Decatur Street formed a predominantly African American entertainment district, vibrant with pool halls, music clubs, and saloons, a cultural hub that would eventually fall victim to urban renewal. In 1927, the “Empress of the Blues” Bessie Smith, who performed frequently in Atlanta, would record “Preachin’ the Blues” for Columbia Records. On it, the singer evokes past scenes from beneath the Washington Street Viaduct, where it would not have been uncommon to see “one ol’ sister by the name of Sister Green” drinking corn and shimmying like you’ve never seen!Later in the 1960s, a new university for downtown Atlanta, Georgia State College (now University), developed plans to build a “Plaza Campus” with elevated pedestrian platforms above the noise and inconvenience of city traffic. The university's growth became part of the broader urban renewal process that systematically dismantled what remained of the entertainment district, erasing both its notorious past and its cultural vitality. From this corner, you can see 5 pedestrian bridges crossing Decatur Street, most leading to raised plazas. While student safety provided the official rationale, this infrastructure pattern reveals more when you consider the broader context. Several blocks north at Portman's Peachtree Center, hotels, and AmericasMart, an extensive network of skywalks, sometimes called \"hamster tunnels,\" connect buildings so that suburban workers and conventioneers can park underground and move between offices, hotels, restaurants, and shops without ever touching Atlanta's sidewalks. Two blocks south from where we stand, a new skywalk is being constructed from the historic State Capitol to a new government building, raising the question: do our state representatives want nothing to do with Atlanta's street-level public life?",[594,578],{"_74":591,"_128":592,"_129":593},[],"Historic Harlots of Old Atlanta.png","Image from \"Bird's Eye View of Atlanta\" [Augustus Koch, illustrator. © 1892 by Saunders & Kline [loc.gov/item/75693189]","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F57dd1ev3od6wvnhxngcopl99l759?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775444916261",{"_99":621,"_96":23,"_128":592,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":591,"_142":627,"_33":486,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":591,"_154":-5},{"_99":617,"_96":232,"_128":618,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":619,"_142":620,"_33":621,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":619,"_154":-5},{"_99":380,"_96":83,"_128":-5,"_136":-5,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":609,"_142":610,"_33":611,"_145":-5,"_147":-5,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":-5,"_74":609,"_154":-5},{"_99":599,"_96":210,"_128":600,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":601,"_142":602,"_33":309,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":603,"_154":-5},277,"Rendering from the Georgia State College Comprehensive Campus Master Plan prepared by Robert and Company Associates, Atlanta, GA, 1966. See pp. 99-104 for more. Source: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Digital Collection, GSU Library Special Collections & Archives.","GSU Campus Plann 1966.jpg",{"_155":604,"_157":605,"_159":606,"_161":607,"_163":608},"GSU Campus Plan 1966.jpg","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F166dy0o4uiq55s9eaunokajzbk7d","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F166dy0o4uiq55s9eaunokajzbk7d?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F166dy0o4uiq55s9eaunokajzbk7d?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F166dy0o4uiq55s9eaunokajzbk7d?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F166dy0o4uiq55s9eaunokajzbk7d?variant=lqip","_AJCP338-038g.tif",{"_155":612,"_157":613,"_159":614,"_161":615,"_163":616},321,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fphi3sja7zhdr5wj19f3kt08o632y","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fphi3sja7zhdr5wj19f3kt08o632y?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fphi3sja7zhdr5wj19f3kt08o632y?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fphi3sja7zhdr5wj19f3kt08o632y?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fphi3sja7zhdr5wj19f3kt08o632y?variant=lqip",278,"Consider how many \"Female Boarding Houses\" were documented on Collins Street in 1892. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Sanborn Map Company, 1892. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01378_004/.","Female Boarding Houses.png",{"_155":622,"_157":623,"_159":624,"_161":625,"_163":626},293,"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh66s2bm0cxunmwkytzxubttnix5p","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh66s2bm0cxunmwkytzxubttnix5p?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh66s2bm0cxunmwkytzxubttnix5p?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh66s2bm0cxunmwkytzxubttnix5p?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fh66s2bm0cxunmwkytzxubttnix5p?variant=lqip",{"_155":628,"_157":629,"_159":630,"_161":593,"_163":631},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F57dd1ev3od6wvnhxngcopl99l759","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F57dd1ev3od6wvnhxngcopl99l759?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F57dd1ev3od6wvnhxngcopl99l759?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F57dd1ev3od6wvnhxngcopl99l759?variant=lqip",123,"washington-street-viaduct","Washington Street Viaduct",{"_33":577,"_65":578,"_74":579},"165 Courtland St SE, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA","

Our first stop takes us beneath the Washington Street Viaduct, constructed in 1907. While built as a bridge over several rail lines, the viaduct also put a roof over a large portion of what was then Atlanta’s red-light district, known for its bootleg whiskey, gambling, and numerous houses of prostitution along Collins Street where it intersected Decatur Street below. Until the 1890s, Collins Street had extended all the way to Ponce de Leon Avenue, but by the turn of the century, most of it had been renamed Courtland—except for these blocks around Decatur Street, which retained the Collins name, likely to symbolically and geographically restrict the district's infamy. The viaduct, then, served a dual purpose: a practical solution to a transportation challenge and a symbolic gesture that literally elevated respectable commerce above the city's underworld.

While the viaduct successfully bridged rail lines a few blocks south, it created an awkward legacy that persists more than a century later. As the infrastructure aged, it became both an eyesore and a hazard, with deteriorating concrete threatening GSU students passing beneath. The 2018 reconstruction addressed the safety concerns—no more falling debris—but did little to solve the aesthetic problem or integrate the imposing structure into campus life. The student mural you see here, along with the emerging greenway on the other side of what’s left of Collins Street, represent GSU's ongoing efforts to reclaim this difficult space.

",33.75299934226012,-84.38607446996213,[649],"Our first stop takes us beneath the Washington Street Viaduct, constructed in 1907. While built as a bridge over several rail lines, the viaduct also put a roof over a large portion of what was then Atlanta’s red-light district, known for its bootleg whiskey, gambling, and numerous houses of prostitution along Collins Street where it intersected Decatur Street below. Until the 1890s, Collins Street had extended all the way to Ponce de Leon Avenue, but by the turn of the century, most of it had been renamed Courtland—except for these blocks around Decatur Street, which retained the Collins name, likely to symbolically and geographically restrict the district's infamy. The viaduct, then, served a dual purpose: a practical solution to a transportation challenge and a symbolic gesture that literally elevated respectable commerce above the city's underworld. While the viaduct successfully bridged rail lines a few blocks south, it created an awkward legacy that persists more than a century later. As the infrastructure aged, it became both an eyesore and a hazard, with deteriorating concrete threatening GSU students passing beneath. The 2018 reconstruction addressed the safety concerns—no more falling debris—but did little to solve the aesthetic problem or integrate the imposing structure into campus life. The student mural you see here, along with the emerging greenway on the other side of what’s left of Collins Street, represent GSU's ongoing efforts to reclaim this difficult space.",[648,633],{"_74":645,"_128":646,"_129":647},[],"WashingtonStreetViaduct1911.jpg","Postcard: Washington Street (now Courtland Street) Viaduct, completed in 1907, “passing through new L. & N. R.R. terminals.” Postmarked 1911.","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fbrbedk658umpv3s67avlh5imucrg?variant=desktop","new-stop-1775444707796",{"_99":650,"_96":166,"_128":646,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":645,"_142":651,"_33":376,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":645,"_154":-5},276,{"_155":652,"_157":653,"_159":654,"_161":647,"_163":655},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fbrbedk658umpv3s67avlh5imucrg","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fbrbedk658umpv3s67avlh5imucrg?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fbrbedk658umpv3s67avlh5imucrg?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2Fbrbedk658umpv3s67avlh5imucrg?variant=lqip","new-tour-1775443548709","elevated-city","DowntownAtlantaViaducts_1939.jpg","Viaducts in downtown Atlanta, c. 1939. Looking east, foreground to back, are Broad St., Whitehall-Peachtree St., Pryor St., Central Ave., and Washington St.","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7z2pudeudbjfzkxuuifqzpqx5dez?variant=desktop",{"_99":671,"_33":23,"_74":672},{"_99":669,"_33":232,"_74":670},{"_99":667,"_33":83,"_74":668},{"_99":665,"_33":210,"_74":666},24,"WALKING",23,"TRANSIT",22,"DRIVING",21,"BICYCLING",{"_99":674,"_96":23,"_128":659,"_136":137,"_138":-5,"_139":-5,"_140":658,"_142":675,"_33":368,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_149":-5,"_150":-5,"_151":152,"_74":658,"_154":-5},15,{"_155":676,"_157":677,"_159":678,"_161":660,"_163":679},"https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7z2pudeudbjfzkxuuifqzpqx5dez","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7z2pudeudbjfzkxuuifqzpqx5dez?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7z2pudeudbjfzkxuuifqzpqx5dez?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/gsu-walking-tours/v4/public/media/gsu-walking-tours%2F7z2pudeudbjfzkxuuifqzpqx5dez?variant=lqip","south",33.751489922287924,"north",33.75476704394172,"east",-84.38490058442295,"west",-84.39663943981469,"centerLat",33.75312848311482,"centerLng",-84.39077001211882,"external_url","footer_logo","name","GSU Walking Tours","logo_url","notes","subdir","tourSet",{"_33":707,"_79":708,"_709":710,"_711":712},"request",{"_703":704,"_705":706},"protocol","http","host","gsu-walking-tours.opentour.site","4","tour_sets","attributes",{"_694":695,"_698":10,"_717":718,"_719":720,"_696":-5,"_721":722},"relationships",{"_713":714},"admins",{"_715":716},"data",[],"published_tours",[776,777,778,779,780,781,782,783],"mapable_tours",[731,732,733,734,735,736,737,738],"logo",{"_694":721,"_723":724},"record",{"_33":210,"_694":695,"_725":726,"_727":726,"_698":10,"_728":-5,"_692":-5,"_697":-5,"_693":-5,"_729":-5,"_730":-5,"_29":-5},"created_at","2019-03-02T15:41:46.071Z","updated_at","tour_id","base_sixty_four","logo_title",{"_74":771,"_65":772,"_739":773},{"_74":766,"_65":767,"_739":768},{"_74":761,"_65":762,"_739":763},{"_74":756,"_65":757,"_739":758},{"_74":751,"_65":752,"_739":753},{"_74":746,"_65":747,"_739":748},{"_74":741,"_65":742,"_739":743},{"_74":40,"_65":16,"_739":740},"center",{"_109":689,"_111":691},"Once Upon a Time in Atlanta","once-upon-a-time-in-atlanta",{"_109":744,"_111":745},33.75542718,-84.379647635,"Atlanta Water Walk","atlanta-water-walk",{"_109":749,"_111":750},33.75574340381317,-84.39090502,"Atlanta Kneel-ins 1959-1970s","atlanta-kneel-ins-1959-1970s",{"_109":754,"_111":755},33.77655455,-84.40125645,"Veiled Visions, 1906 Race Riot","veiled-visions-1906-race-riot",{"_109":759,"_111":760},33.75523965,-84.3881135,"Downtown Folk Tour","downtown-folk-tour",{"_109":764,"_111":765},33.754905699999995,-84.38661625,"Atlanta Sit-Ins 1961-1964","atlanta-sit-ins-1961-1964",{"_109":769,"_111":770},33.753626,-84.38819815,"Atlanta Geology Walking Tour","atlanta-geology-walking-tour",{"_109":774,"_111":775},33.75265741,-84.38791554,{"_74":771,"_65":772,"_784":792},{"_74":766,"_65":767,"_784":791},{"_74":761,"_65":762,"_784":790},{"_74":756,"_65":757,"_784":789},{"_74":751,"_65":752,"_784":788},{"_74":746,"_65":747,"_784":787},{"_74":741,"_65":742,"_784":786},{"_74":40,"_65":16,"_784":785},"location",{"_109":689,"_111":691},{"_109":744,"_111":745},{"_109":749,"_111":750},{"_109":754,"_111":755},{"_109":759,"_111":760},{"_109":764,"_111":765},{"_109":769,"_111":770},{"_109":774,"_111":775}]