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.

The King Center
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s commitment to nonviolent social change lives on at this memorial, museum, and educational center. A nongovernmental member of the United Nations, the center works with government agencies and the private sector to reduce violence within individual communities and among nations.The tour of the center, which is self-guided, begins in Freedom Hall, where memorabilia of King and the civil rights movement are displayed. Here, you can see King's Bible and clerical robe, a hand-written sermon, a photographic essay about his life and work, and, on a grim note, the suit he was wearing when a deranged woman stabbed him in New York City. Also on display is the key to his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was assassinated. In an alcove off the main exhibit area is a video about King's life and works. Additional exhibits include a room honoring Rosa Parks (whose refusal to give up her seat on a city bus led to the Montgomery bus boycott), and another honoring Gandhi.The center's library and archives house the world's largest collection of books and other materials documenting the civil rights movement, including Dr. King's personal papers and a rare 87-volume edition of The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, a gift from the government of India. The library is open by appointment only for scholarly research.In addition to serving as a museum and hub of social justice activity, the center is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final resting place, a living memorial to this inspiring leader that is visited by tens of thousands each year. Dr. King's white marble crypt rests outside in the Freedom Plaza, surrounded by a beautiful five-tiered Reflecting Pool, a symbol of the life-giving nature of water. The tomb is inscribed with his words: "Free at Last. Free at Last. Thank God Almighty I'm Free at Last." An eternal flame burns in a small circular pavilion directly in front of the crypt. The Freedom Walkway, a vaulted colonnade paralleling the pool, will eventually be painted with murals depicting the civil rights struggle. Located at the end of Freedom Walkway is the Chapel of All Faiths, symbolizing the ecumenical nature of Dr. King's work and the universality of the basic tenets of the world's great religions.A store on the premises offers King memorabilia and a wide selection of books and cassettes. Ranger talks focusing on the community and the civil rights movement take place frequently on Freedom Plaza.

Château Élan Winery & Resort
Surrounded by verdant countryside, Château Élan is a hilltop winery that replicates a 16th-century French estate. Though its first wines were produced in 1985, the winery has already garnered more than 200 awards.Guided tours are given daily between 11am and 4pm (call ahead for exact times). On view are the crushing and pressing machines, oak barrels used to age and flavor the wines, the cask room, and the bottling area. The tours conclude with a wine tasting. Grapes ripen in July/August, so if you're here during harvesting in August and September, you'll actually see the winemaking procedure. More than 300 tons of grapes are harvested and processed each year. The interior of the château, a stage-set version of a Paris street, has a quarry-stone floor, wrought-iron fences, and street lamps. The building houses an art gallery offering monthly exhibits by regional and national artists, displays of antique European winemaking equipment, and a wine market.There are also three on-premises restaurants, so plan to eat lunch or dinner here. Café Élan, open daily from 11am to 10pm, features sandwiches, salads, and light entrees. It's a charming setting, with seating under a green awning. Paddy's Irish Pub, open Saturday at noon, Sunday at 12:30pm, and the rest of the week at 2pm (closing hours vary), serves traditional Irish fare and spirits. The fancier Le Clos, with pale pink walls, lace-curtained French doors, and tables covered with crisp white linen, is open for dinner only Wednesday through Saturday evenings, with seatings from 6:30 to 9:30pm. A seven- or eight-course prix-fixe meal beginning at $78 or $88 features haute-cuisine entrees; appropriate Château Élan wines are served with each course. Reservations are imperative. Men are required to wear a coat and tie.You might also consider an overnight or longer stay at the 277-room Inn at Château Élan, a luxurious resort where facilities include three golf courses (two 18-hole and one par-3, 9-hole) and seven tennis courts (offering pro shops and instruction), an equestrian center, a full-service European-style health spa and salon ("days of pampering" are an option), an outdoor Olympic-size pool, an indoor heated pool, and a fitness center. Room rates begin at $180 double; call the numbers below for details and to inquire about golf, tennis, spa, and other packages. There are also four restaurants at the adjoining Château Élan resort. If the lovely grounds beckon, you can order a gourmet picnic basket from the kitchen at the hotel.

Sheraton Buckhead Hotel Atlanta
Nearby Airports: * Dekalb-Peachtree Airport - 5 Miles * Hartsfield International Airport - 20 Miles Nearby Cities: * Buckhead - 2 Miles * Dunwoody - 5 Miles * Atlanta - 6 Miles * Decatur - 7 Miles * Smyrna - 7 Miles * Sandy Springs - 8 Miles * Tucker - 8 Miles * East Point - 10 Miles * College Park - 12 Miles * Snellville - 12 Miles * Roswell - 13 Miles * Marietta - 15 Miles * Riverdale - 15 ...

Marriott Atlanta Northwest
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Hotel Indigo HOTEL INDIGO-ATLANTA MIDTOWN
Hotel Indigo Atlanta. The InterContinental Hotels Group introduces Hotel Indigo, an intriguing hotel that delivers high peace and renewal to people who are tired of mundane `cookie-cutter® hotels. Hotel Indigo Atlanta is conveniently located across from the historic Fox Theater and BellSouth HQ. Other nearby attractions include; The Convention Center, GWCC, Coca-Cola, CNN, Underground Atlanta, High Museum, Atlanta Ballet, Alliance Theater, Ga. Aquarium and Phillips Arena/ Georgia Dome. ...