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During your Atlanta vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
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.
Georgia Dome
Atlanta's $214-million, 71,500-seat domed megastadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994, several Olympic events in 1996, and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. In addition, it is the site of the annual Peach Bowl each January, and hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four in 2002. The Dome also hosts tennis matches, tractor pulls, college basketball, track and field events, and Supercross events. The stadium's oval shape provides a good view of the action from every seat. Check the papers or call the number below to find out what's on during your stay. Parking is extremely limited and expensive; take MARTA and walk to the Dome.
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.
Sheraton Atlanta Hotel
Nearby Airports: * Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport - 12 Miles * Dekalb Peachtree Airport - 20 Miles Nearby Cities: * Decatur - 5 Miles * Buckhead - 7 Miles * Chamblee - 9 Miles * Norcross - 11 Miles * Sandy Springs - 12 Miles * Smyrna - 13 Miles * Marietta - 15 Miles * Stone Mountain - 17 Miles * Peachtree City - 20 Miles * Roswell - 21 Miles * Fayetteville - 22 Miles * Covington - 35 Miles ...
Hampton Inn Atlanta-Buckhead
The Hampton Inn Atlanta-Buckhead is located inside the I-285 perimeter off GA-400-- in the heart of Buckhead, just two blocks north of Peachtree St. MARTA train, 1 mi.; Airport, 20 mi.; Downtown, 8 mi.; Oglethorpe University, 5 ...
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