What Transit In Atlanta Should Look Like

This map was produced by Citizens for Progressive Transit in 2006 and illustrates what transit in Atlanta should look like. Click HERE for the hi-res version.

Ironically, the routes extending to the edges of the map in all directions, listed here as Commuter Rail, were operated multiple times daily by the major railroads 50+ years ago. I live near Conyers on the east side of Atlanta and the restored ninteenth century rail depot is still adorned with a sign showing mileage to Atlanta and Augusta. Once upon a time you could have boarded a train here and arrived at Atlanta's Union or Terminal stations in 45 minutes. From there you could have connected to trains bound for anywhere in the country. It all sounds whimsically futuristic, doesn't it?

Conyers depot: from here to anywhere in the U.S. Hard to imagine.

TSPLOST rejected

East of the ATL: Then and Now

I noticed my photo comparisons of the site of the old Lithonia, GA railroad depot have been making the rounds on several blogs and thought I'd point readers to the entire set of photographs. Entitled Now and Then: East of Atlanta, the set features recreations of vintage photos taken in Decatur, Stone Mountain, Lithonia and Conyers, GA. Some of the original shots are nearly a century old! If you enjoy this blog and are a fan of the Atlanta Time Machine, you'll probably dig these too.

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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Out There Atlanta

I'm the guest on this week's episode of Out There Atlanta, a weekly podcast covering food, arts, events, and people around town. I joined host Lilly Lampe at the Krispy Kreme on Ponce and, fueled by caffiene and sugar, rambled a mile a minute about my photography project, growing up in Atlanta, the virtues of Super8 film and the story of Sinead the Mannequin. Lilly even plays a song I wrote at age 15. All of this and more can be yours by clicking HERE

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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Mapping Atlanta: The 2010 U.S. Census

THIS is absolutely fascinating! Gold represents population loss between 2000 and 2010 while blue represents population gains over the same period. Click the illustration to see the NY Times interactive map. Zoom in on any particular neighborhood to see the census details.

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:

Decatur Belt Map

I'll be posting more now & then photos from along the former Norfolk Southern Decatur Belt rail line in the coming weeks and thought it would be handy to have a map as a reference for readers. This stretch of former railroad is considered the prime segment in the ambitious Atlanta BeltLine project and major changes are already underway. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming decades, which means I'll probably be returning and taking these now & then photos until I'm too old and senile to get around.

This map comes from the Georgia DOT via Fresh Loaf. Larger version HERE.