|
During your Atlanta vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Georgia State Capitol
It wasn't until after the Civil War (1868) that Atlanta became, once and for all, the state capital; its present capitol building, completed July 4, 1889, was hailed as a testament to the city's recovery. Modeled after the nation's Capitol, another neoclassical edifice atop a "crowning hill," its 75-foot dome, covered in gold leaf and topped by a Statue of Freedom, is a major Atlanta landmark. The building is fronted by a massive four-story portico with a pediment supported by six Corinthian columns set on large stone piers. In the rotunda, with its soaring 237-foot ceiling, are busts of famous Georgians, including signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The governor's office is off the main hall. The capitol building's public spaces are currently being restored to their 1889 grandeur.Grand staircases in both wings rise to the third floor, where you'll enter the House of Representatives, and, across the hall, the Senate chambers. The legislature meets for 40 days, beginning the second Monday in January (it can also be called into special sessions); all of its sessions are open to the public. The fourth floor houses legislative galleries and the Georgia Capitol Museum, with exhibits on cotton, peach, and peanut growing; cases of mounted birds, fish, deer, insects, and other species native to Georgia; rocks and minerals; American Indian artifacts; and more. Note, too, the museum displays on the first floor.Tours begin on the main floor, and this level also serves as an information center for city and state attractions. The tours take 60 to 90 minutes; allow at least another 30 minutes to browse around on your own after the tour. Highlights of the grounds are detailed in a brochure available at the tour desk. Note: For security reasons, your bag will be searched when you enter.If you're visiting in December or January, take note of two special treats: A beautifully decorated 40-foot tree adorns the rotunda at Christmas, and on January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, there's a memorial program featuring speeches by local dignitaries, including the governor.
Fox Theatre
Originally conceived as a Shriners' temple in 1916, this lavish, block-long Moorish-Egyptian fantasyland ended up as a movie theater when the Shriners realized that their grandiose plan had far exceeded their budget. In 1927, they sold the temple to movie magnate William Fox, who created a peerless pleasure palace. French architect Oliver J. Vinour designed the building, using design motifs of the Middle East, including replicas of art and furnishings from King Tut's tomb.Atlanta's new theater opened in 1929 as a masterpiece of Eastern splendor, its Moorish facade, onion domes, and minarets in exotic contrast to the surrounding Victorian boardinghouses. A brass-trimmed marble kiosk imported from Italy served as a ticket booth. The 140-foot entrance arcade led to a lushly carpeted lobby with blue-tiled goldfish pools. The auditorium was an Arabian courtyard under a twinkling starlit sky that could, with state-of-the-art technology, be transformed to a sky at sunrise or sunset. A striped Bedouin canopy sheltered the balcony, and sequin- and rhinestone-studded stage curtains depicted mosques and Moorish horsemen.As the show began, a gigantic gilded 3,610-pipe Möller organ rose majestically from its vault, its rich chords accompanied by a full orchestra. A medley of popular songs, cartoons, a follow-the-bouncing-ball sing-along, a stage-show extravaganza by a bevy of Rockette-like chorines called the Fanchon and Marco Sunkist Beauties, and a newsreel preceded every main feature. At night, there were dances in the Egyptian Ballroom, designed to replicate Ramses' temple. Even the men's lounge was exotically appointed with hieroglyphic adornments, winged scarab-motif friezes, bas-reliefs of royal figures, and throne chairs.Unfortunately, the Fox's opening coincided with the Great Depression, and it proved impossible to maintain its opulence. In 1932, the company declared bankruptcy and closed its doors. The theater reopened 3 years later for occasional concerts. By the 1940s, it was a successful concern once more, and in 1947, the Metropolitan Opera began performing here for a week each year -- an offering that lasted 2 decades. An oversize panoramic screen was installed in the 1950s, along with a 26-speaker stereo system. But like monumental movie palaces nationwide, the Fox inevitably declined in the age of television. In 1975, its doors were padlocked once again.An organization of concerned citizens calling themselves Atlanta Landmarks raised $1.8 million and saved the Fox from the wrecking ball in 1978, foiling Southern Bell's plans to purchase and demolish it to make way for a regional headquarters building. Ever since, it's been a thriving entity, featuring Broadway shows, headliners, dance companies, and comedy stars. Best of all, the theater has been restored to its former glory, its fabulous furnishings and fixtures all refurbished or replaced with replicas.You cannot explore the building on your own, so call to find out when you can take a tour, or come to see a performance in the theater.
Rhodes Memorial Hall
Rhodes Hall is one of a few remaining pre-World War I Peachtree Street mansions -- a significant reminder that Peachtree was once a fashionable residential street. The house was designed shortly after the turn of the century by Willis Franklin Denny (at the time Atlanta's leading residential architect) as a home for affluent Atlanta businessman Amos Giles Rhodes and his family.Its medieval baronial-cum-high-Victorian-Romanesque style was inspired by Rhineland castles. The Stone Mountain granite exterior is replete with arched Romanesque windows, battlements and buttresses, parapets, towers, and turrets. A large Syrian-arched veranda wraps the east and north facades. And the interior is grandiose, with maple- and mahogany-bordered oak parquet floors, mosaics surrounding the fireplaces, and a gracefully winding hand-carved Honduran mahogany staircase with nine stained-glass stairwell panels depicting "The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy." The house and stables originally occupied 150 acres of land and included servants' quarters, a carriage house, and other outbuildings. When it was built, this site was in suburbia, an afternoon's drive from downtown.Upon Rhodes's death in 1929, his residence was deeded to the state of Georgia in keeping with his desire to preserve his home. The house was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Today, it is the headquarters for the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and is in an ongoing process of restoration. To date, the original dining-room suite and some other furnishings are in place, and all the mahogany woodwork and decorated ceilings on the first floor have been restored. The original landscaping -- with white and red cedars, dogwoods, banana trees, and a circular flowerbed -- has been re-created in the front yard. You can only see the house by tour. On weekdays, 45-minute Historical Tours explain the history of Rhodes Hall while guiding visitors through the first floor of the house. The special Behind the Scenes tours, on Sunday at noon, are comprehensive three-hour experiences that explore the whole house.
Crowne Plaza Hotel ATLANTA-PERIMETER NW
Take a Video Tour of our hotel. Crowne Plaza Atlanta Hotel Perimeter Northwest, in Atlanta, GA and a Sandy Springs hotel features hi-speed internet access in all rooms, indoor/outdoor pool, The Chattahoochee Grille Restaurant, and Starbucks Coffee kiosk. This Atlanta area hotel features a 12,000 square foot meeting facility with 17 conference rooms. This Atlanta, GA hotel is ideal for your next event be it a meeting, conference, Atlanta wedding location or Atlanta family reunion location. ...
The Westin Atlanta Airport
Nearby Airports: * Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport - 1 Mile Nearby Cities: * College Park - 1 Mile * East Point - 3 Miles * Hapeville - 3 Miles * Atlanta - 8 Miles * Fayetteville - 10 Miles * Riverdale - 10 Miles * Douglasville - 12 Miles * Buckhead - 15 Miles * Jonesboro - 15 Miles * Lenox - 15 Miles * Decatur - 17 Miles * Vinings - 17 Miles * Peachtree City - 18 Miles * Stockbridge - 18 ...
|
|