Midtown Atlanta: Seeing Atlanta History in a Neighborhood｜United States

During the twentieth century Midtown grew with the city of Atlanta, transforming from where the wealthiest Atlantans built homes to "the strip" where hippies gathered. In the 1990s the area transformed again to Atlanta’s urban center for dining, entertainment, work and residence.

The story of Midtown is the history of Atlanta. The city's twentieth century growth reflected the way lives were changing as Atlantans responded to wars, new technology and social change. We will consider how Margaret Mitchell shaped the way we remember the history of the South and the ways Civil Rights activism impacted the area. We’ll share stories of the artists, actors, business people and writers who lived and worked here. We'll see a spectacular historic hotel, grand homes and what urban life looked like in the early 20th century.

We will meet at the corner of Peachtree Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue, in the shadow of historic buildings. Our walk will take us up Peachtree Street past 10th Street, with a side trip into the nearby residential neighborhood.

Expect to cover a little more than a mile in less than 2 hours, thinking about the changing work, personal, and social lives of the women and men of Atlanta. Note that this is a walk that ends about a mile from our starting point. But we will be right on Peachtree Street so it is easy to get back to where we started. Your options for return are to walk or to jump on a MARTA train or take an Uber/Lyft. We will finish up within two blocks of the MARTA train line. And we'll make sure you know how to get where you want to go next!