Lessons Learned on a Tour of Atlanta
A long-time customer of ours is visiting my company this week, and as a “Welcome to Atlanta” gesture Glenn and I (I only in that I am a representative of the company — Glenn was the real host) took him on a tour of the city, followed by dinner at Ted’s Montana Grill.
Our tour began on 85 southbound, passing Atlantic Station (our customer hails from Europe and found the hysteria over our new Ikea to be hilarious), Turner’s complex, various old and new buildings of Georgia Tech, and south through the former Techwood Homes area. We rounded the in-progress aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park, CNN Center, Phillips Arena, and then delved into areas that I was amazed I’d never been before.
We were south of the Georgia Dome, meandering through uncertain neighborhoods of former meat packing plants-turned-loft apartments, threading through the local, state, and federal government buildings of the city and the crossroads of Martin Luther King before cutting through GSU onto Auburn Avenue, one of the most fascinating streets I’ve seen in Atlanta. The sad thing is, I didn’t even realize it was all that interesting until tonight.
I remember driving through there one time before, with Chap, but at noon the neon signs and storefronts just didn’t seem all that interesting. Tonight was a different story, however. People were out on the streets, some walking, some holding up walls and doorways. I wanted to get out of the car with my camera and walk.
We continued on Auburn Avenue, past Ebenezer Baptist Church with its perpendicular neon sign, Martin Luther King Jr.’s tomb, and his birthplace. I studied the old, restored duplexes on the north side of Auburn Avenue; in retrospect they resemble changing sheds on the beach in an unfortunate way.
We stopped for dinner at Ted’s in lower Buckhead. As much as I enjoy the Green and Hot (bison) burger, their strawberry shortcake (pictured) was both enormous and delicious. Completely delicious. It was not, however, “short” by any measure. I didn’t even finish it and still my stomach was more than full. During the meal I mulled over the dichotomy of our eating arrangement: I was topping off a burger and fries with a huge dessert (how could I refuse?) in the company of our customer, who may be European, but also seems to have checked his good eating habits at customs. Hmm. Glenn remarked on the ride back that our company would be ten people on Monday; I figured I’d be three people tonight.
Afterward my thoughts shifted to contemplate life in Atlanta and wonder how I’ve been here for 21 years without seeing 30% of the places we’d seen tonight. It also underscored what a great group Flickr is proving to be a part of. It’s pushing me to better my work, to go places I wouldn’t normally go in search of interesting scenes and moments to record. You pick up little things in each place you visit, even if it’s simply the knowledge that such a place exists.
The downside is that it only serves to make Tucker seem less and less interesting. I suppose a true artist would strive to find inspiration within his immediate surroundings, but that just seems inordinately hard when you live in the suburbs.
July 13th, 2005 at 5:35 pm
Atlanta is an amazing city — I miss it extremely, so. But I have to wonder what it is that suddenly made the areas interesting to you when, before, they had not proven themselves so? Was it because of the tourist? Does Glenn know things you don’t?
I need to get out more, myself, and find out what my home is all about.