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During your Atlanta vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Alexander Memorial Coliseum
This 10,000-seat stadium -- renovated for the Olympics -- is home to Georgia Tech's Yellow Jackets college basketball team. Parking is limited around the stadium; it's easiest to take MARTA.
The Herndon Home
Alonzo Herndon was born in 1858, during the last decade of slavery. After emancipation, he worked as a field hand and sharecropper, supplementing his meager income by selling peanuts, homemade molasses, and axle grease. He arrived in Atlanta in the early 1880s, taking on work as a barber and eventually owning several barbershops of his own. Herndon used the earnings from these shops to acquire Atlanta real estate, and by 1900, less than 40 years out of slavery and with only a year of formal education, he was the richest black man in Atlanta. In 1905, Herndon purchased a church burial association, which, with other small companies, became the nucleus of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, today the nation's second-largest black-owned insurance company.In 1910, Herndon built this elegant 15-room house in the Beaux Arts-neoclassical style, complete with a stately colonnaded entrance. Herndon and his wife, Adrienne McNeil, a drama teacher at Atlanta University, were the primary architects of the house, and construction was accomplished almost completely by African-American artisans. Because their son Norris occupied the home until 1977, much of the original furniture remains, and there are family photographs throughout. Adrienne died about a week after the house was completed.The house tour begins in a receiving room with a 10-minute introductory video called The Herndon Legacy. The tour then takes you through the reception hall; the music room, with rococo gilt-trimmed walls and Louis XV-style furnishings; the living room, with a frieze on its walls depicting the accomplishments of Herndon's life; the dining room, furnished in late Renaissance style with family china and Venetian glass displayed in a mahogany cabinet; the butler's pantry; and the sunny breakfast room. Upstairs, you'll see the bedroom used by Herndon's second wife Jessie, with its Jacobean suite and Louis XV-style furnishings; Herndon's Empire-furnished bedroom, where a book from a Republican National Convention is displayed on a table, letting you know his political bent; the collection room (Norris collected ancient Greek and Roman vases and funerary objects); Norris's bedroom; a sitting room; and a guest bedroom.
Fernbank Science Center
Owned and funded by the DeKalb County School System, this museum/planetarium/observatory, located adjacent to the 65-acre Fernbank Forest, is an educational partner of the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Plan to visit the entire complex on the same day. There's a 1 1/2-mile forest trail here, with trees, shrubs, ferns, wildflowers, mosses, and other plants marked for identification. An extensive rose garden is located next door to the museum.The indoor facility houses exhibits such as a video display on geological phenomena (volcanoes, earthquakes, mountain formation, and so on); a gem collection; an exhibit tracing the development of life in Georgia from 500 million years ago to a million years ago; a complete weather station; fossilized trees; the original Apollo 6 space capsule and space suit (on loan from the Smithsonian); computer games; a replica of the Okefenokee Swamp, complete with sound effects; and models of dinosaurs that roamed Atlanta in prehistoric times. There are planetarium shows, and, at the Observatory, which contains the largest telescope in the world dedicated to public education, an astronomer gives talks and helps visitors to spot celestial objects.
The Georgian Terrace Hotel
Since 1911, The Georgian Terrace Hotel has been a landmark in midtown Atlanta. Today, this "Grand Dame" of Atlanta hotels combines luxury accommodations with leading edge conference technology. Fully restored to its original opulence in 2001, the hotel features 319 elegant suites, upscale leisure amenities, exceptional restaurants, and more than 16,000 square feet of meeting space. With its rich history and central location at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue, ...
Hilton Garden Inn' Atlanta Perimeter Center
We're conveniently located in the heart of Atlanta's prestigious business, shopping and cultural district. We're easily accessible from Georgia 400 and I-285. Nearby attractions include Buckhead (5 miles) and downtown Atlanta (10 miles)--offering a variety of dining and shopping options. Perimeter Mall and MARTA, Atlanta's public transportation system, are only one mile from the hotel. We are adjacent to Hewlett Packard regional ...
Grand Hyatt Atlanta
Grand Hyatt Atlanta 3300 Peachtree Road Atlanta, GA 30305 In the heart of Buckhead, Atlanta's most prestigious and fashionable area, with convenient access to the city's finest shopping, dining and entertainment areas; 15 minutes to downtown with easy access to MARTA rapid transit; walking distance to Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square shopping areas; 18 miles to Hartsfield International ...
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