Closing Time

I'm so excited that I finally closed on the sale of my condo in Atlanta yesterday!  Today, I moved out, put the majority of my worldly possessions in a storage unit and sent the rest (probably too much) to my parents' house.  My Dad was great with helping me out.  It almost felt like I was packing up and going away to college all over again.  I know I'm going to miss my friends and Atlanta very much, but I'm thrilled that this journey is finally about to begin!  I booked my first couple of flights today as well.  I'll be spending a few days in the Los Angeles area, perhaps heading out to Palm Springs for a couple days, and then hopping across the Pacific to Sydney, Australia on October 23.

Exploring the Georgia State Capitol Building

Visiting the Georgia State Capitol is a walk through history, a chance to learn about Georgia's proud and not so proud moments.  Designed by Chicago architects Willoughby J. Edbrooke and Franklin P. Burnham, the classical, domed building was completed in 1889.  While the marble, wood, cast-iron and gold come from Georgia, the building's limestone is actually from Indiana.  Take some time to tour the grounds and admire the architecture of the capitol, the Dahlonega gold-leaf dome and the statute of "Miss Freedom" on top, as well as the statutes of various prominent Georgians on the grounds.

The Georgia State Capitol and Capitol Museum are free of charge to visit.  Self-guided tour brochures are available at the entrance and also online here.  The University of Georgia has also produced a free iPhone app, which includes maps, information and videos about the capitol's history.  While the iPhone app has some great content, it could be more extensive, so be sure to use it in conjunction with the brochures to make the most of your visit.

Wander around the second floor of the Capitol and view the various portraits and sculptures of governors of Georgia as well as the painting of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The videos on the iPhone app do a wonderful job of recounting the three governors controversy, the changes in Georgia during the Civil Rights era, and the role of Jimmy Carter in Georgia politics prior to his becoming a U.S. President.  You can also walk by the governor's office which is behind glass and perhaps catch a glimpse of the governor at work.  Walk over the beautiful glass windows at the bottom of the rotunda and then cast your gaze upward.  The dome was recently restored, but it already appears to be in need of additional restoration work.

If you are visiting the Capitol during a legislative session, you may be able to watch the sessions from one of the balconies above either chamber.  Signs outside the balconies prescribe rules of decorum for watching the sessions.

The top floor of the capitol building houses the Georgia Capitol Museum, which contains several artifacts and displays telling the story of the Georgia since its founding.  Some of the most poignant displays are those explaining the era of segregation and the changes brought forth by the Civil Rights Movement.

The Georgia State Capitol offers a free educational experience for travelers interested in learning more about Georgia's past and the present-day function of state government.    



    

Reflections on the March on Washington at the MLK Site in Atlanta

When you live somewhere, you often take for granted historic landmarks and places of interest right within your vicinity, perhaps because you tell yourself can go there anytime you want.  However, some perfect times to visit these places come only once a year or maybe even once in a lifetime.  Today was the 50th year anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, famous for Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech on the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial.  While the commemoration of the march took place in Washington, DC, I thought it would be fitting to pay a visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site here in Atlanta today.  Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up on Auburn Avenue, a neighborhood close to downtown known as Sweet Auburn.  In the early twentieth century, it was a unique place where Atlanta's black middle class rose to relative prosperity, although short of full equality with whites.  The National Park Service runs the site which spans a portion of Auburn Avenue, including MLK's birthplace and burial location.  I actually have visited the area before several years ago, but I had been wanting to pay a return visit.  I thought today would be the perfect time.

Visiting the MLK is site is free of charge, but perhaps due to lack of federal funding, the complex is showing its age somewhat.  The exhibits are still stirring and interesting.  They adequately display the history of Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement and the background of MLK, but the exhibits appear to be showing a good deal of wear and tear.  The site put up a display to commemorate the March on Washington with a number of photographs and exhibits, but it was somewhat limited.  One of the more moving permanent exhibits is the mule-driven cart that carried the body of MLK after his assassination in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.  The rangers who work at the site are full of information and happy to answer questions about MLK and the time in which he lived.  

The Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK, his father and maternal grandfather had all served as pastors, held a commemorative service this afternoon in the church's Heritage Sanctuary, the original church building, which recently has been restored to how it looked during the 1960s.  The congregation wore white paper hats similar to those worn at the March on Washington, sang "This Little Light of Mine," and listened to a sermonette, in which the pastor emphasized that America still had a long way to go in achieving racial justice, noting especially the Trayvon Martin case and the Supreme Court's recent case invalidating an important portion of the Voting Rights Act.  A bell choir rang bells in order to "Let Freedom Ring" in conjunction with bell ringing that took place all over the country today at 3 PM.  The most incredibly moving part of the service for me was joining hands with people in the pews around me and singing "We Shall Overcome."  It was truly a spiritual experience.  

After the service, I walked by the eternal flame and tomb of MLK and his wife, Coretta Scott King, which sits in a reflecting pool.   Several persons from news stations or otherwise were set up with video cameras along the edges of the reflecting pool.  I walked back to Auburn Avenue, by Historic Fire Station No. 6, which became Atlanta's first racially integrated fire station and down to the King Birth Home.  I had visited both of those on my previous visit and, as I recall, these are some of the most interesting parts of the site.

Visiting the MLK site today left me with mixed emotions.  The March on Washington and MLK's contribution as leader of the Civil Rights Movement wrought long overdue change in America, the dismantling of segregation through the Civil Rights Act, the right to vote through the Voting Rights Act, a better chance for an African-Americans to live the American dream and ultimately a country that would elect an African-American man to the White House-- twice.  MLK's legacy is deeply important and should be celebrated and remembered.  However, as I drove up Boulevard up to Ponce de Leon Avenue, as many tourists probably do, I witnessed the hopeless poverty that is a cruel reality for too many African-Americans in this country.  While here in Atlanta, whites and blacks are more likely to interact here than they might in other cities, our lives are still somewhat separate and not really equal.  America certainly has come a long way since 1963 but it still has a long way to go to achieving the dream MLK envisioned at the Lincoln Memorial fifty years ago.  As the pastor said at Ebenezer Baptist today: "We may need to take off our dreaming slippers and put on our marching shoes."        

The Federal Reserve Museum - Atlanta

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, one of twelve reserve banks located throughout the United States, is housed in a beautiful classical building on Peachtree Street in Midtown which was completed in 2001.  Constructed from Georgia-quarried white Cherokee marble from Tate County and designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the building is one of the most expensive ever built in the city of Atlanta.   The reserve bank processes checks and cash for the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia and sections of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.  Of interest to tourists, the building houses the informative and interesting Atlanta Monetary Museum.  For obvious reasons, the building maintains a high level of security.  You will need to check any bags and cell phones in a locker before touring the museum.  Unfortunately, photography is prohibited inside.  However, this museum of money costs no money at all to visit.  You can visit for a self guided tour between the hours of 9 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday, or organize a tour for groups of 10-30 people by appointment.

Once inside, visitors can view several multimedia displays explaining the history of the Federal Reserve and the development of paper currency in the United States and throughout the world and measures taken to prevent counterfeiting of currency.  The displays illustrate what the Federal Reserve does, how it is organized and how it sets monetary policy for the country.  The museum also explains the process of how banks bring money to the Federal Reserve location in Atlanta and how bills and checks are sorted.  The museum's exhibits are entertaining and well presented.  One of the best parts of the museum is a section where you can also watch (behind glass) actual cartloads of dollar bills being delivered into and out of the building by robots.  While the bank does not give away free samples of legal tender, you can take a bag of shredded money home with you as a souvenir.    

The Gilded Age in the Golden Isles of Georgia

Wild and beautiful Jekyll Island was home to an exclusive hunting club of Gilded Age magnates in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  The island itself remains a relatively unspoiled paradise, offering glimpses into history, encounters with wildlife and tranquil beaches for relaxing.

The island is run by the state-created Jekyll Island Authority and charges a $6 daily fee for visitor vehicles to park on the island.  The island is not very large and most of the major sites can be visited in the span of a day.

Jekyll Island was first inhabited by Guale Indians and later explored and claimed alternatively by the Spanish, French and English.  James Oglethorpe, founder of the Georgia colony, established an outpost on the island and named it after his friend, Sir Joseph Jekyll.   He requested William Horton to establish a plantation on the island to raise provisions for Fort Frederica on nearby St. Simons Island.  The remnants of Horton's house, constructed of tabby, a concrete-like substance made from oyster shells, still stand today.

In 1794, the Du Bignon family, emigres from France during the radical phase of the French Revolution, purchased Jekyll Island.  The Du Bignons ran a cotton plantation and participated in the last (illegal) shipment of slaves from Africa to the United States when the "Wanderer" arrived with over 400 slaves from the Congo River.  The incident caused outrage in the North and a federal investigation, but resulted in no conviction of the guilty parties.  After the Civil War, John Eugene DuBignon purchased the shares of the island from his family members and decided to promote the island as a hunting club to his business contacts in New York City who included J.P. Morgan, William K. Vanderbilt and Joseph Pulitzer.  Ultimately, he sold the island to the Jekyll Island Club Corporation in 1886.         

I decided to visit the Jekyll Island Historic District, which contains several structures dating back to the days of the Jekyll Island Club.  Prominent Gilded Age families such as the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, Morgans and Pulitzers built cottages on the island and enjoyed hunting, polo and other outdoor activities to escape the winter in the North.

The Jekyll Island Museum offers a 90-minute guided tour on a trolley, which includes visits inside two cottages for $16 and an self-guided E-Guide for $8.  I opted for the guided tour, because I wanted to be able to see inside some of the cottages.

 
The grounds of the former Jekyll Island Club are stunningly beautiful and well-manicured.  Live oaks draped in Spanish moss stretch their tangled arms above lush grassy fields.

The "cottages" of the Jekyll Island Club are essentially mansions of considerable size.  The ones we were able to see on the tour were remarkably well preserved.

The tour was highly informative and well worth the cost.  The tour also mentions two famous "firsts" that occurred on the island as well: the first transcontinental telephone call and the establishment of the Federal Reserve system.  Ultimately, the Second World War resulted in the closure of the club and the buildings ended up falling into disrepair until the state of Georgia purchased the island in the 1950s and began a process of preservation and restoration.  By law, 65% percent of the island must remain in a natural state.

After the tour, I decided to experience the beaches of the island, including the stunning and haunting Driftwood Beach, located on the north portion of the island.  There are lots of jagged branches, horseshoe crabs and jellyfish in the sand, so you will want to be careful walking around.  However, walking through the piles of driftwood on a relatively deserted beach is a relaxing and moving experience.

Historic Walks in St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine was the Spanish Empire's bastion against the expansion of British colonial America throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  It became British in 1763, Spanish again after the American Revolution, American after the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819 which made Florida a territory of the United States, Confederate during the Civil War, and American once again when the war was over.  In the late nineteenth century, St. Augustine became a destination for Gilded Age titans of industry such as Henry Morrison Flagler.  This charming city has preserved many of its historic buildings and makes for wonderful walks for lovers of history and architecture.

The city of St. Augustine runs a parking garage close to the visitor information center.  The parking fee is $10 (flat fee per entry).  I would recommend this if you are going to remain in the city all day.  There might be more convenient options for those who are wanting to see some of the city during the day and then go out to the beaches in the afternoon, but parking is a bit of a challenge in the historic district.  

On my visit, rather than spend the money on one of the trolley tours, I decided to purchase a book for $2.95 at the visitor center which offers five different self-guided walking tours with color photos of the various points of interest.  The tours in the book include the following: (1) the Castillo San Marcos, (2) St. George Street, (3) the Plaza area, (4) the Flagler buildings, and (5) the neighborhood south of King Street.

The Castillo de San Marcos is one of the oldest surviving structures in the United States.  It is well preserved and has several informative exhibits in the rooms of the fort.  It is maintained by the National Park Service and requires a $7.00 fee to tour the grounds.  The walk up along the top of the fortress provides some amazing views of St. Augustine's harbor and the surrounding areas.

After touring the Castillo San Marcos, I walked through the old city gate and down St. George Street.  My self-guided tour book pointed out the historic homes along its stretch and descriptions of some of the past residents of the area.  Plaques on the buildings often provided additional information.  The street is lined with one to two story houses, with architectural designs dating from the first Spanish era to the antebellum period.  Some of the homes are reproductions and not original structures.  Most of the buildings now function has tourist shops, giving the area a bit of a kitschy feel.  You will even find some people walking around in colonial garb.

During my tour of St. George Street, I ate a baja style burrito at A1A Burrito Works;"The Taco Shop," which provided a tasty and inexpensive lunch.  Since it was hot outside, I also bought a gourmet popsicle from Hyppo, a peanut butter and banana flavored one called the "Elvis."

The Plaza tour covers several historical buildings in the center of St. Augustine such as the Government House, the Seth Wakeman House and the First National Bank Building.   The Plaza tour also goes through the park, which includes historic markers discussing the The Saint Augustine Movement, demonstrations which took place during the Civil Rights era. The guide itself does not say anything about the demonstrations, possibly because the monuments were added after the guide's publication.

Standard Oil magnate Henry Flagler built three hotels in St. Augustine during the Gilded Age.  The first was the Ponce de Leon Hotel, which is now the campus of Flagler College, the Alcazar Hotel (which now serves as the Lightner Museum) and the Casa Monica Hotel. These buildings were designed by Carrere and Hastings, the New York architectural firm the designed the New York Public Library.

As is usual with summertime in Florida, the grey clouds were threatening an afternoon downpour, so I decided to take the tour of the Flagler College buildings.  The tour is $10 and shows you the magnificent architecture of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, the Tiffany windows, the ornate dining room, the ladies sitting room and the lavishly manicured grounds.  After the tour, I followed my guidebook's walking tour of the surrounding buildings and residences which had been associated with the hotel.

The final walking tour goes through a primarily residential area south of King Street and provides some fine examples of architecture, including colonial, antebellum and Victorian homes.  

Overall, St. Augustine impressed me with its array of historic architecture.  Those interested in colonial America or the Gilded Age should be attracted to its many buildings from those eras of American history.

Traveller's Rest, Nashville, Tennessee

I lived in Nashville for nearly six years, two years in the late 1990s and nearly four in the mid-2000s. As an avid historian of the antebellum South, I have visited several of Middle Tennessee's antebellum homes such as the Hermitage, Belle Meade Plantation, the Belmont Mansion, Rattle & Snap Plantation, Rippavilla, and Carnton Plantation. Somehow, in all of these weekend excursions, I had missed Travellers Rest, probably one of the most important homes in early Tennessee history. Recently, I decided finally to pay a visit.

The house is one of the oldest surviving structures in the state of Tennessee. Built in 1799 by Judge John Overton, an attorney and a native of Virginia of Scotch-Irish extraction who had settled in Middle Tennessee around 1779. Judge Overton has a important place in Tennessee history. He was one of the state's first supreme judges, close friend and advisor to Andrew Jackson and co-founder of the city of Memphis.

The original house was designed in Federal style and contained a room where young men would read law with Judge Overton. It was expanded for the first time in 1808 and again in 1828. The style of the rooms is somewhat spare, although there are several interesting items of furniture. Some items are original to the house while others are original to the time period.

Judge Overton played an instrumental role in assisting Andrew Jackson and Rachel Donelson with navigating the legal issues surrounding their marriage. Rachel had been married to Captain Lewis Robards, a Kentucky land speculator. The marriage had not been happy and they separated in 1790. Believing she had obtained a divorce, she married Andrew Jackson in Natchez, Mississippi. However, after finding out the divorce had not been complete, she remarried Andrew in 1794. While the couple believed the issue had been laid to rest, opponents of Jackson brought up the affair in an attempt to smear him and his wife during the election of 1828, which Jackson lost.

Judge Overton remained a bachelor until he was 54 when he married Mary McConnell White, daughter of General James White of Knoxville. Mary had three children by Judge Overton and five from a previous marriage. Remarkably for the times, all of her children survived to adulthood. Tradition holds that Mary was skilled at herbal medicine. This could have been from her interactions with Native Americans.

Unlike other Civil War battlefields that have been preserved and made into national parks, the Battle of Nashville can only be seen through some scattered historic markers and earthworks. One portion of this battle was fought near Traveller's Rest in the peach orchard. However, one cannot determine where this took place on site. While I thought the tour guide I had at Travellers Rest was very knowledgable, I would have liked to have learned more about what happened on the site during the course of the war and during the battle.

The site of Traveller's Rest also in an important prehistoric site as well. When Judge Overton built the house, he discovered several skulls while digging out his cellar. He initially called the place Golgotha, the site identified in the Bible as the place of Jesus's crucifixion and translated as "the place of the skull." Archeologists believe that the site was a Mississippian village and the house contains some artifacts discovered on the property.

Overall, the tour of the grounds was informative and full of stories about prominent individuals with whom Judge Overton had contact. The guide possessed a detailed knowledge about the several items of furniture and artifacts in the house. Travellers Rest is highly recommended for history lovers.