Venturing in and out of Atlanta

CAPITAL CITY: When I was growing up in Jacksonville, Atlanta was our "big city" destination. It was the closest city - at the time - where we could catch a major league baseball game, stay in a high-rise hotel with a revolving restaurant and glass elevators, and shop at branches of high-end department stores like Lord and Taylor and Neiman Marcus (well, we never actually shopped at Neiman's, but it was there). As an adult in my 20s and 30s, I visited Atlanta frequently for both business and fun, and always thought it was a place in which I would be happy living. Then, I moved further away and, for a long period, had no occasion to visit Atlanta.

The wedding last month of a close friend was an occasion to spend a day in Atlanta and my affection for the city has been re-kindled. I also discovered the charms of one small Georgia town.

Like much of the country in 2010, Atlanta is recovering from a deep recession and real estate bust that has many residents worried over whether a number of office and condo tower projects will ever be fully occupied. Even so, Atlanta remains a vibrant and diverse city with a tremendous restaurant scene, a packed cultural and sports calendar, thriving (even now) in-town neighborhoods and a diversity unrivaled in the region. With a metro population of more than 5 million, and suburbs that stretch for miles in all directions, Atlanta is the South's only really big city (Miami is a big city at the center of a completely different orbit). For visitors, Atlanta is a great weekend destination, where you can dine, shop, explore, contemplate history and experience genuine yet sophisticated Southern hospitality.

A COMPLEX MIX: As most people know, Atlanta is one of the epicenters of the history of civil rights in this country, but with its own unique point of view. To be sure, Atlanta and the rest of Georgia have a shameful legacy of racism and violence. During that time, however, Atlanta also was a very pragmatic city whose leaders accepted a certain inevitability about the times that were "a changin" and wanted to be on the right financial side of those changes.

Economic opportunity may not have eliminated all retrenched opposition to ending segregation and discrimination, but a shared, if uncomfortable, reality forced Atlanta to move on and focus on the economic opportunities brought by these changes. The result is that Atlanta surged pass Birmingham, Memphis, New Orleans and other Southern cities that continued to dwell on a past that never really was, and in the process became the undisputed economic and cultural capital of the South.

No tour of the civil rights movement would be complete without visiting several major Atlanta sights. In addition to the Dr. Martin Luther King National Historical Site, there is the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the campuses of the historically black and academically rigorous Morehouse and Spelman colleges and a more recent addition to that list, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.

While Atlanta was at the epicenter of the final days of racial segregation, the city in more recent years has welcomed - though not universally - new waves of people seeking a better life. Georgia's Hispanic population has soared in recent decades, as evidenced by the proliferation of tiendas and Mexican restaurants that line Buford Highway, northeast of the city. Southeast Asians also have added to the mix of Atlanta, particularly in parts of adjacent DeKalb County. Of course, like other regional hubs such as Denver and Minneapolis, Atlanta has always drawn the disaffected, restless, ambitious and outcast from more rural areas. The city long has had a large, vibrant and open GLBT population, despite the less than friendly efforts of Georgia legislators and prosecutors (anyone remember Bowers v. Hardwick).

GETTING AROUND: Although Atlanta is a relatively old city by U.S. standards, it has the look and feel of a new Sunbelt metropolis. Early one Saturday morning, we flew into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which trades places back and forth with Chicago O'Hare as the world's busiest, and made the long trek from the gate to the new rental car center. This involves a long walk, a subway ride and an elevated train transport to the new facility across I-85 from the airport where all rental car companies now have their operations (NOTE: allow for plenty of time to catch your return flight. The return trip from the rental car facility to your gate can be well over an hour, particularly if the security lines stretch forever, as they frequently do). If you choose not to rent a car, Atlanta's metro system (MARTA) can get you to most of the major destinations. You still will need a car to go further afield.

MONSIEUR LAFAYETTE: Before spending time in Atlanta, we first made our way south to attend my friend's wedding in LaGrange, near the Alabama border. LaGrange was founded in 1828 and named after the Marquis de Lafeyette's country estate near Paris, so you are clued in right away that this is not just another small, Southern city with insular views. Following the American Revolution, Lafayette visited the area and the town was named to honor his contributions to the fight for independence. LaGrange is home to LaGrange College, the oldest private college in Georgia with an enrollment of approximately 1100 students. The campus is just north of the charming historic downtown, which is centered on the town square that features a fountain and statue of the Marquis himself. Unlike many small towns throughout the United States, downtown LaGrange actually buzzes with activity, including shops, galleries and restaurants. There are several streets of beautiful historic homes, as well.

LaGrange also is the jumping off point for a number of area attractions. Nearby West Point Lake is a center of boating and fishing. The lake actually is a reservoir formed when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers damned the Chattahoochee River just above the point where the river forms the border between Georgia and Alabama.

Also nearby is Callaway Gardens, an extensive resort of lush gardens and accommodations that has several festivals throughout the year. President Franklin D. Roosevelt spent time in the curative waters of Warm Springs, Georgia in neighboring Meriweather County, and the Little White House State Historic Site chronicles the president's time here and his efforts to help others affected with polio.

BACK IN THE ATL: After our friend's wedding, we headed back into town and bunked at the very well-located and comfortable Hotel Palomar in Midtown, a Kimpton property. While downtown has suffered and struggled, Midtown is a highly desirable neighborhood that also rocks as the base of Georgia Tech and several Fortune 500 companies, the crossroads of Atlanta's GLBT community, the site of the very worthwhile High Museum of Art, and the home to a slew of upscale hotels and restaurants, all of which are anchored by Atlanta's great, green front yard, Piedmont Park. Running through the park on a sunny Sunday morning, catching glimpses of the Atlanta skyline, I could not help but think, "this is a great city." Later in the day, we met some Atlanta friends for brunch at South City Kitchen, a well-established restaurant that serves up sophisticated Southern fare that will make you feel both at home and in the mix. As you drive further out iconic Peachtree Road, you will find the very upscale neighborhood of Buckhead. This is shopping central for Atlanta; Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza face each other from across Peachtree and are stuffed with the likes of Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Tiffany, St. John, Bulgari, etc. There are other points of interest in Buckhead, as well, including the very well done Atlanta History Center and the Georgia Governor's Mansion.



There are many good choices to make in Atlanta. Much like Los Angeles, move beyond freeways and stereotypes and you will find a sophisticated, elegant, friendly destination with great weather much of the year. What's not to love? Very little, as it turns out.