Virginia Avenue over the BeltLine, facing south

This was the view facing south from the Virginia Avenue bridge over the Norfolk Southern railroad on November 26, 1995. The old Sears building, aka City Hall East, dominates the horizon.

17 years later, the railroad is long gone and the Atlanta BeltLine construction is underway. As with most of my BeltLine photos, I plan to take a third photo after construction is complete. For a view from the other side of the bridge, click HERE.

This aerial photo from 1949 shows the extent of the industrial infrastructure that once existed along the railroad at Virginia Avenue and Monroe Drive. (Monroe runs north to south on the left side of this photo). The white arrow shows the location and the orientation of the above photos.

Google map of this location:


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The Beltline at Virginia Avenue 1995 / 2012

These two photos were taken from the Virginia Avenue bridge over the Norfolk Southern "Decatur Belt" which is now being redeveloped as the Atlanta BeltLine. The top photo was taken on a gorgeous autumn afternoon, November 26, 1995. The second one was taken on a slightly dreary winter morning in February 2012. The railroad crossing seen here is (or was) at Monroe Drive. Piedmont Park is just beyond that and the skyline of midtown is in the distance. I'll come back to get a third photo once the BeltLine is complete.

I've been told many times that animated gifs annoy people, so at the risk of annoying you, here are the same two photos superimposed and animated.

This is a combination of two photos of "unidentified" locations from the Atlanta History Center that were taken in February 1971 just a few yards from where I took the above photos. (Note to the AHC: for a small fee I'd be happy to identify the locations of your photos!) This is looking down Kanuga St. towards Monroe from Virginia Ave. The railroad ran parallel to Kanuga and is to the left of the road in this shot. As you can see, the midtown skyline consisted of a single skyscraper in 1971.

Google map of this location:



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Airline Street 1997 / 2012

More shots from the southern end of the Decatur Belt rail line. This is the view facing north on Airline St. at the Norfolk Southern railroad crossing. Photo taken November 1997.

Nearly 15 years later the railroad and metal company are gone and Atlanta's now ubiquitous condos have crept into the shot. February 2012.

Facing west from the same spot on Airline Street.
November 1997 / February 2012.

And, still from the same spot, the view facing SW toward Cabbagetown.

Related posts:

Decatur Street and the Decatur Belt

The Beltline at Edgewood



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Decatur Street and the Decatur Belt

Driving east down Decatur Street / DeKalb Avenue near Airline and Krog Streets, November 1997:

The same view in February 2012:

This was the southern end of the old Norfolk Southern Railroad Decatur Belt. In these first two photos the tracks dead end into an embankment on the right. For more than a century, they connected to what is now the CSX mainline at Cabbagetown. This connection was severed in the mid 1980s when the old Hulsey rail yard was replaced with a modern piggyback facility, requiring the realignment and regrading of the CSX mainline. I was (and still am) amazed the old railroad signals are still in place nearly three decades since the last train crossed here.

The view driving west: (I'm a safe driver. No, really.)

Top: November 1997   Bottom: February 2012

Here's a Google Maps view of the former railroad junction which was buried when the CSX tracks were realigned in the 1980s.

The bird's eye view from 1892. Part of the Fulton Bag and Cotton mill in Cabbagetown can be seen at bottom right.

The bird's eye view roughly 120 years later, courtesy of Bing maps:

Goody's on Ponce

Top: December 10, 1995  Bottom: March 1, 2012

OK, the obvious question: "What's up with that mannequin?"

Inspired by the book The Red Couch, in which a red velvet sofa is taken across the USA and photographed in various odd locations, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to take our band's mannequin Sinead on a similar tour of Atlanta landmarks. Somehow I convinced a few friends to help out and we set sail on this beautiful sunny afternoon. Unfortunately, it was about 38 degrees and really windy, and after an hour of frozen numbness, we gave it up. Traumatized by the experience, and feeling kinda silly walking around town with a mannequin on my head, I never completed my own twisted little coffee table book. Too bad, because now it seems like it would've been pretty cool.

Anyway, back to Goody's... The building has been abandoned for years. Who would have thought that film would die such a quick death and that Kodak would be on its deathbed only a decade after digital cameras became commonplace? I expect more condos as soon as the economy improves.

My friend "The Mover", who assisted me on the ill-fated mannequin expedition, also documented this stretch of road in 1995 with a series called The Ponce de Leon Panorama Project. Here is his shot of Goody's.



To see The Mover's massive 30-shot panoramic montage of mid-1990s Ponce, just click the photo below. Be sure to check to peruse his photos on flickr. There are hundreds of great pictures from around Atlanta.

The Beltline at Edgewood pt 2

Here are a few more photos taken from the Edgewood Avenue bridge over what will eventually become the BeltLine trail. These are facing north towards Irwin Avenue. The view facing south can be seen in this earlier post.

This section of the Norfolk Southern "Decatur Belt" had been abandoned only a few months before this first photo was taken in November 1995. Kudzu had just begun to creep over the rails. In the photo at right, taken February 2012, the rails have been pulled up, the homeless camp cleared out, and the trees have doubled (or quadrupled) in size.

This field was the site of several warehouses of the abandoned South East Atlantic Cotton Compress complex. The warehouses were destroyed in a spectacular fire on July 3, 1991, reportedly started by fireworks. I could see the fire from Doraville! The remaining buildings are now part of the Studioplex lofts and much of the site is now a parking lot. The building at far left is not part of the complex and is still abandoned. Top photo: November 1995. Bottom: February 2012.

Despite the dramatic changes all around it, this view is nearly unchanged in 17 years. Left: November 1995. Right: February 2012.

Here's a 1972 aerial view of the massive triangular warehouse complex that burned down in 1991. The Edgewood Avenue bridge is at the bottom of the photo.

In the 1892 Birdseye View of Atlanta, this was the site of a railroad maintenance facility including a roundhouse, turntable, coaling tower and associated buildings. Inman Park is at far right and a trolley line is shown on Edgewood (at bottom).

Google map of this spot:

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Driving in Atlanta 1987 & 1990

I often regret that I didn't stick a video camera on my dashboard and drive around Atlanta back in the 80s and early 90s. Thankfully, a few others did exactly that and have posted the videos on Youtube.

This first one is from Youtube user reillync and was shot in August 1987. It's interesting to see the construction mess during the widening of the downtown connector.

dirtypairxx posted this one from 1990 or 1991. It begins in southwest Atlanta and then heads north on Peachtree. You can see what the Margaret Mitchell House really looked like before the restoration.