Jimmy Carter Library and Museum
Set on 30 acres of gardens, lakes, and waterfalls, this impressive presidential library houses some 27 million pages of documents, memoranda, and correspondence from Jimmy Carter's White House years. There are also 1 1/2 million photographs and hundreds of hours of audio- and videotapes. The library's hilltop site is a historic one; it was from this spot that Sherman watched the Battle of Atlanta.In the extensive museum, you'll find an exact replica of the Oval Office during Carter's presidency -- an exhibit enhanced by a recording of Carter speaking about his experiences in that office. A large display of "gifts of state" runs the gamut from a Dresden figurine of George and Martha Washington (a gift from Ireland) to a carpet from the Shah of Iran. You'll also see the table setting used when the Carters entertained Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and his wife in the State Dining Room; a video of artists such as the late pianist Vladimir Horowitz performing in the East Room; campaign memorabilia; and a large display devoted to the activities of Rosalynn Carter. Other exhibits focus on Carter's support of human rights (there's a letter from Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov and Carter's reply); his boyhood days (his sixth-grade report card and a photo of the Plains High basketball team are two of the items on display); and his pre-presidential life as a peanut farmer, governor, and state senator.There are informative videos throughout, including an interactive "town meeting" video through which visitors can ask Carter questions on subjects ranging from world affairs to his personal life. Another intriguing participatory video lets you choose your response to a terrorist crisis and learn the probable consequences of your choice.Consider having lunch here. There's an excellent cafeteria, run by one of the city's top catering companies, with patio seating overlooking a Japanese garden and pond. If you're still in a political mood, stop by nearby Manuel's Tavern, a local pub at 602 N. Highland Ave. that's popular with journalists and politicians. President Carter stops in occasionally.

Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum
Though it sounds like something out of Disney World, the Atlanta Cyclorama was created in the 1880s, and the concept -- a huge, 360-degree cylindrical painting viewed from a rotating platform -- dates back a century earlier. Cycloramas were the rage of 18th- and 19th-century Europe, Russia, Japan, and later, the United States, depicting subject matter ranging from the splendors of Pompeii to Napoleonic battles. Enhanced by multimedia effects and faux terrain extending 30 feet from the painting into the foreground, they were the forerunners of newsreels, travelogues, and TV war coverage.The one you'll see here -- a 42-foot-high cylindrical oil painting, 358 feet in circumference (on about 16,000 sq. ft. of canvas) -- depicts the events of the Battle of Atlanta, on July 22 1864, in meticulous detail. It took 11 Eastern European artists, working in the United States in the studio of William Wehner, 22 months to complete the project.For 21st-century tourists, the concept and story of the Cyclorama are as interesting as the action depicted, and the restoration is incredibly impressive. Though painted on fine Belgian linen in the painstaking style of the 19th-century art academies, the work suffered in moves from city to city, and later (when motion-picture epics made cycloramas passé) from neglect. Well-intentioned but incompetent attempts at restoration caused further damage. In the 1970s, a severe storm waterlogged the painting, causing seemingly irreversible damage. But Mayor Maynard Jackson recognized the historic and artistic importance of the Cyclorama; under his auspices, $11 million was raised for its restoration. It took 2 1/2 years for renowned conservator Gustav Berger and his crew to repair the damaged work, a process that included mending more than 700 rips in the canvas. The fascinating story of the Cyclorama's development and restoration is related in a video near the auditorium entrance.Cyclorama's central theme is Gen. John B. Hood's desperate attempt to halt Sherman's inexorable advance into the city. Comprehensively narrated, and complete with music and sound effects, including galloping horses and cannon fire, it vividly depicts the troop movements and battles on the day that the Confederates lost 8,000 men and the Yankees lost 3,722. A figure highlighted far beyond his historic importance is Gen. John A. Logan of the Federal Army of Tennessee (who commissioned the painting at a cost of $42,000 as a campaign move in his bid for the vice presidency). He's shown gloriously galloping into the fray, bravely exposing himself and his men to enemy fire. The work was originally called Logan's Great Battle. A 14-minute film about the Battle of Atlanta precedes the Cyclorama viewing. The total program lasts about 35 minutes.The building housing the Cyclorama also contains a museum of related artifacts, the most important being the steam locomotive Texas from the 1862 Great Locomotive Chase. Other exhibits include displays of Civil War arms and artillery, Civil War-themed paintings, portraits of Confederate and Union leaders, "life in camp" artifacts and photographs, and uniforms. You'll need about an hour and a half to see the museum in full if you visit both floors.Note: No video cameras are allowed inside the Cyclorama auditorium.

Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University
Emory University began its antiquities collection in 1875, and this intriguing museum dates to 1919, when it was founded to display the art and artifacts collected by Emory faculty in Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Sicily, the Sea of Galilee, and the sites of ancient Babylon and Palestine. Today, the museum also maintains collections of ancient art and archaeology from Rome, Central and South America, the Near East, and Mesoamerica; works of the native cultures of North America; art of Asia and Oceania; and some 1,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, a sizable collection of works on paper encompasses illuminated manuscript pages, drawings, and prints from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the 20th century.The museum is housed partly in a 1916 beaux-arts building that is on the National Register of Historic Places; postmodernist architect Michael Graves redesigned the interior in 1985. The remainder of the collections occupy a 35,000-square-foot exhibition space (also designed by Graves). The first-floor galleries feature exhibits from the extensive permanent collection -- objects that were part of the daily life of people from five continents as early as the seventh millennium B.C. They include Bronze and Iron Age clay pots, jugs, loom weights, and oil lamps from Palestine; Egyptian mummies, pottery, cosmetic containers, and headrests; Greek and Cypriot pottery, flasks, and statuary; and Mesopotamian pottery, coins, tools, sculpture, and cuneiform tablets inscribed with ancient writing. Also on this level: the Thibadeau Pre-Columbian collection, comprising over 1,300 objects spanning 2,000 years of creativity -- gold jewelry, pottery, and statues, including many ceramic, volcanic stone, greenstone, and gold sculptures from ancient Costa Rica. Allow at least an hour to see the collections.The upper floor is used for changing exhibits ranging in subject matter from Pueblo Indian pottery to Impressionist art. Throughout the museum, 210 plaster casts of ancient architectural elements -- reliefs, friezes, column capitals, and decorative elements from temples and monuments -- adorn hallway and lobby walls.There are many interesting workshops, lectures, films, and gallery tours here; call to find out what's on during your stay. A nice museum shop tempts with a variety of educational books and gifts, as well as jewelry inspired by the collections. The museum's cafe, on the third floor, serves continental breakfast, lunch, coffee, and tea, and is open during regular museum hours.

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