Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Goizueta Gardens: Frank A. Smith Memorial Rhododendron Garden

The Frank A. Smith Memorial Rhododendron Garden offers visitors something special year-round. Its vistas are spectacular, its pathways are inviting, its shade is comforting, and its colors are spread throughout, different ones popping up in different seasons.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Who was Frank A. Smith

Smith started a landscape and nursery business in the 1930s, his original location in Buckhead, at Peachtree Street and Pharr Road, not far from the Atlanta History CenterHe was a prominent Atlanta landscape architect, or "landscape nurseryman" as called in a 1987 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, who was quite fond of rhododendrons and azaleas. 

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This garden was dedicated at 3pm on Sunday, July 26, 1987, which happened to be less than three weeks after I moved to Atlanta. I had not yet discovered this wonderful place, being buried in books on computer science. After I did discover the Center, it quickly became a personal favorite destination, including its many wonderful gardens.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This garden was designed by the Azalea Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. Smith was a past president of the local chapter.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Smith had been involved with planting a Rhododendron garden at the Atlanta History Center as early as the late 70s, early 80s, when the Center was still called the Atlanta Historical Society.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

The garden is filled with shade-loving plants making it perfect for a shaded leisurely stroll.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

The gazebo is a replica of one at a private home. I don't recall the full story, but if you see a gardener here when you visit, they'll likely be happy to share the story. I met Valerie on my most recent visit and we had a lovely discussion about the gardens. 

The gazebo was relocated from the Sims Asian Garden. There's always something new and exciting here at the Atlanta History Center!

We're not sure what the symbol is on top of the gazebo...anyone recognize it? We thought it might be an architect's tool, but haven't been able to confirm that. Anyone know?

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This photo of the gazebo's ceiling is merely an invitation to truly explore the garden while you're here. There are delightful "hidden" surprises throughout. Also in the gazebo is a table that the architect created after visiting the garden one day and seeing a table in it that did not flatter the design of the gazebo.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Visit throughout the year! You'll always find something interesting here or something you've not seen before.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

In my experience, this blue hydrangea is the most common in the South, but I wanted to include it for visitors not from the South because as common as it may be, it's still beautiful.

Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Frank A. Smith Memorial Garden | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This part of the garden features a simulated mountain stream, with a rock bed flanked by boulders from Tennessee.

Today, Smith's original company does business as Frank A. Smith Nursuries and sells primarily an array of groundcovers and perennials.


The Other Gardens: This is the first post in a series sharing the beauty of the nine gardens on the Atlanta History Center's 33-acre campus. You can find them all here.

Thursday, June 25, 2020

New Echota, the Cherokee Nation Capital

Only an hour from downtown Atlanta is "New Echota", the last Cherokee Nation capital east of the Mississippi River. It's the site of some magnificent feats and horrible tragedy

New Echota | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This place is quite special to me personally. My maternal grandmother and great grandmother were born on the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina. Growing up, my Cherokee grandmother was the only grandparent I had and I loved our visits together. She passed away a number of years ago, but I still think of her often.

Visitors to New Echota State Historic Site are welcomed through a gateway of two red brick pillars topped with a horizontal block of rough granite polished on one side that's engraved with "New Echota" in the Cherokee alphabet. 

It was here that the Cherokee, for many years, made a valiant attempt to adapt white culture into their own. They developed a written alphabet, the first of any Native American Indian tribe. They created and printed a dual-language newspaper for years in New Echota. And this is where the Trail of Tears began.

New Echota | Print Shop | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Print Shop | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

New Echota's first Council meeting was held in October 1819. In November 1825, the Cherokee Council passed a resolution naming New Town as the capital of the Cherokee Nation. It was later named New Echota for one of their beloved cities named Chota.

The next February, they divided the new capital into a series of streets and 100 one-acre lots. Main street was to be 60-feet wide with other streets at 50-feet wide. The two-acre Town Square would be flanked by the Council House, Printing Office, and the Supreme Courthouse. Their new capital was taking shape.

The Cherokee Phoenix newspaper, first published in December 1828. The print shop (pictured above) produced 700,000 broadsheets, religious tracts, government documents, and newspapers. The Cherokee Phoenix was published in English and Cherokee. 

Around 1809, Sequoyah, began development of the Cherokee written language. His syllable-based alphabet of 86 characters was completed in 1821 and adopted by the Cherokee Council in 1826. The Cherokee Phoenix was distributed throughout the Cherokee Nation, parts of the United States, and Europe.

New Echota | Print Shop | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Print Shop | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Content of the newspaper ranged widely, but extensive coverage was given to the 1830 Indian Removal Act and two U.S. Supreme Court cases affecting Cherokee rights—the Cherokee took the U.S. government to court! 

On display in the reconstructed print shop is a circa 1870 printing press. When the lands at New Echota were excavated in 1954, more than 1,500 pieces of lead printing type were found. Inside the Visitor Center is an interactive station where you can explore the Cherokee alphabet!

The last edition of the Cherokee Phoenix and Indian's Advocate (name changed in 1829) was published on May 31, 1834. 

New Echota | Worcester House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Worcester House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

The Worcester House is the only surviving original building in New Echota. The others on the site, a mere sampling of the once bustling town, are recreations. 

In 1827, Rev. Samuel A. Worcester moved to New Echota and worked closely with Cherokee leaders help establish the print shop. He also served as the town's minister, schoolmaster, and postmaster. Worcester's family lived on one floor and visitors, missionaries and otherwise, stayed on the other floor—thus the external stairway, giving visitors a private entrance to the house.

New Echota | Dwelling House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Dwelling House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This house is a typical dwelling for a "middle class" Cherokee. The furnishings were sometimes exactly what you would find in a white home and others contained a combination of white and Cherokee furnishings, including hand-made Cherokee items. The 1835 Cherokee census indicated that more than 90 percent of Cherokees lived in dwellings similar to their non-Indian neighbors.

New Echota | Dwelling House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Dwelling House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

The typical Cherokee farmer tilled an average of 11 acres of land. There were common outbuildings, including corncribs and barns, as well as smokehouses and potato houses. In 1835, Cherokee farmers were growing 80,000 peaches, apples, plums, pears, and quince, with the leading fruit crop at 60,000...peaches

The most favored peach was the Indian Blood Peach, referred to as the "Black Plum Peach of Georgia" by Thomas Jefferson.

New Echota | Supreme Courthouse | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Supreme Courthouse | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Some Cherokees believed that removal was inevitable. Led by Mayor Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot, twenty Cherokee signed the Treaty of New Echota on December 29, 1835, at the home of Boudinot. The treaty relinquished all Cherokee land in the east in exchange for $5,000,000 and a tract of land in what today is Oklahoma. Most Cherokee considered the document as fraudulent since the Cherokee Council had not approved it. 

Congress ratified the treaty and President Andrew Jackson signed it into law. In 1838, the U.S. government used the treaty as legal justification to forcibly evict the remaining 15,000 Cherokee remaining in the east.

"We will make and sign this treaty...we can die, but the great Cherokee Nation will be saved." - Elias Boudinot

On June 29, 1838, Elias Boudinot, Jayor Ridge, and John ridge were killed in retaliation of loss of homes and the death of family members as a result of signing the Treaty of New Echota. Elias Boudinot had also been an editor for the Cherokee Phoenix.

New Echota | Supreme Courthouse | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Supreme Courthouse | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Many Cherokee had already moved west, before the President Andrew Jackson encouraged Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act in 1830, there was demand by Georgians for land and THEN gold was discovered on Cherokee land, increasing non-Indian support of relocating the Cherokee people.

In May of 1838, 7,000 federal troops and state militia were ordered to remove Cherokees from their homes, placing them in a series of stockades. 

New Echota | Council House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Council House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Thousands of Cherokees were held in removal camps where many grew sick and many died. The final leg of Indian removal began in October and November 1838 when Cherokees left by wagon, horseback, or on foot on an 800 mile route through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas, arriving in the early months of 1839, but not before thousands (one out four) had died of disease, exposure, and sickness. This atrocity is commonly known as the Trail of Tears. 

New Echota | Council House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Council House | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Throughout the recreation of New Echota, there are sound boxes—as there are in many museums and attractions—but these are not powered by electricity, but by hand crank devices. Follow the directions on how to charge the box and then press the buttons to listen to the various descriptions of what you're seeing. There are also printed placards throughout the former capital.

New Echota | Cherokee Indian Memorial | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
New Echota | Cherokee Indian Memorial | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

There's so much more to learn about New Echota here at the New Echota State Historic Site! What I've shared here is the tip of the iceberg. I do recommend beginning in the Visitor Center to orient yourself for what you're about to see. While this site explores one of the darkest chapters in American history, I believe it important to learn the history, so as to never tolerate it happening again.

Saturday, June 13, 2020

"Silk & Stitch" at the DeKalb History Center

Silk & Stitch, a time-traveling fashion exhibition at the DeKalb History Center invites you to explore—through the lens of fashion embellishments—the expanding role of women and the circumstances that influenced women's fashion from 1860s through the 1960s. The exhibition is slated to be up through sometime in July, but the Center is closed until further notice, due to the current pandemic, for the safety of staff and visitors. If the Center reopens before the exhibition has to close, please go see it. You'll see a lot more than what I've shared here.

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This ivory wedding gown was fabricated in the late 1860s and was modified in the 1880s for another bride.

This exhibition is partly funded through a mannequin "adoption campaign" and the donors who adopted one enjoyed the opportunity to name and dedicate the mannequin! 

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This is a closer look at the ivory wedding gown, made with silk peau de soie, lace, and net. The adopters of this mannequin named it "Lucia Du Vinage Howard" dedicated to "Dear Dear".

The garments and accessories in Silk & Stitch are from the DeKalb History Center's textile collection, and includes some that are on loan from generous outside sources. 

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This brown dress is circa 1872-1880 and made of silk faille, glazed cotton lining, and embellished with alternating velvet and jacquard stripes. Adopted by an anonymous sponsor, the mannequin's name is "Martha".

It looks like a Hollywood period film costume, but it was part of someone's actual wardrobe! The workmanship is magnificent.

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This blue afternoon dress is circa 1880 and made of silk faille, glazed cotton lining, and embellished with embroidery and decorative buttons. 

Imagine perambulating through downtown Decatur in this! You'd certainly catch people's eye, back in 1880 as well as in 2020. Adopted by an anonymous sponsor, this mannequin's name is "Sallie". 

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This green and orange dress is circa 1890s and is made of silk peau de soie, silm damask, and silk velvet. Adopted by an anonymous sponsor, this mannequin wasn't named. What would you name her?

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor  

This is the lower portion of the green and orange dress. The feather stitching on this is stunning, don't you think? Imagine how long it must have taken to do this! 

By the way, I'm having to look up a lot of the fashion design words used in this exhibition. I love a great season of Project Runway, but I don't know the lingo. Learning as I write!

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
   
This black mourning coat, circa 1890s, is made of silk taffeta and horsehair! It's embellished with soutache, horsehair braids, and has a pleated taffeta border. The adopter named this mannequin "Katie Mathilda".

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This yellow tea dress, circa 1890s, is made of silk surah, cotton lining, and a number of embellishments. This mannequin's adopter named her "Marie Rysdon".

Available for private events, the DeKalb History Center would be fantastic for a formal afternoon tea, and of course weddings.

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This black evening coat, circa 1900-1910, is made of net with a silk satin lapel and facing. The mannequin's name is "Moppy" and it's dedicated to Martha Darnell.

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This pink dress, circa 1912-1914, is made of cotton gauze and has a paragraph of embellishments, which you can see just by looking at it. Someone was at this for quite a long time, I imagine! I would venture to say that the lady who owned this dress had impeccable taste! This mannequin's name is "Ada".
 
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This pink shawl, circa 1920s, is made of silk (perhaps rayon) and is embellished with hand-knotted fringe, hand-embroidered satin stitch and seed stitch. 

This exhibition includes accessories—hats and purses—which are not pictured in this post, but are definitely worth the attention of every fashion and history enthusiast. They're stunning!

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

This brown dress is circa 1930s and is made of rayon crepe, I imagine quite beautiful for a dress made in The Great Depression era—it's beautiful even without that consideration. 

It's embellished with hand beaded glass seed beads and faux pearls, prong-set rhinestones, and bound buttonholes. This mannequin's name is "Mary Louise McWilliams Huey".

Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor
Silk & Stitch | DeKalb History Center | Photo: Travis Swann Taylor

Unlike the early 1980s parachute pants made of nylon, this circa 1945 parachute dress is made from an actual parachute, which at that time were made of silk! It's embellished with padded satin stitch and stem stitch. Its sponsor named this mannequin "Annie Lou".

Keep an eye on the DeKalb History Center's website and social media for information about seeing this exhibition. If you're local, sign-up for their emails and be the first to know or even consider a membership!

Friday, June 12, 2020

Late Spring Flowers

I know many of us feel like we missed spring while we were staying at home due to COVID-19,  and now we're glad and excited to see gardens, museums, and other attractions reopening, safely and in stages. 

I'm particularly excited to see the Atlanta Botanical Garden reopen. They did a great job of showing us so many spring blossoms via social media, and yes, I know it's technically still spring, but that season comes and goes so quickly in Atlanta. That said, there are beautiful flowers year-round at the Garden! Here are a few that I photographed just last weekend...

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The Coneflower is one of my favorites. These are in the Rose Garden, which has beautiful roses and so much more!

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Found in the Rose Garden, I don't know what kind of roses these are, but their color is amazing!

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Again, this color is amazing! There are lots of these along the walkway leading the the Skyline Garden.

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The above beauties are located near the Cheshire Cat in the Skyline Garden, part of the Alice's Wonderland Reimagined summer exhibtion.

Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Flowers at the Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

If you want to know when your favorite flowers will be in bloom, check out the Garden's "What's in Bloom" page, which also has information about their awesome "Plant Hotline"! 


Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined

That Atlanta Botanical Garden has reopened - with safety measures, of course. With extended hours, they're now open seven days per week, reserving Mondays for members only. Tickets are timed. If you're not ticketed, admission will be based on available occupancy, to help keep staff and visitors healthy.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Imaginary Worlds is back for an exciting third year in a row, this year's theme being "Alice's Wonderland Reimagined", and it includes Alice herself!

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Just as Alice did In the Lewis Carroll classic, she's falling down the rabbit hole—suspended over Howell Fountain at the northeast edge of the Great Lawn. I think you too will fall for this magnificent exhibition! 

Some of the Imaginary Worlds sculptures from the last two years remain, some have traveled on, and Alice's Wonderland Reimagined brings new ones! 

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Not the first sculpture you'll see, but the first new one for Alice's Wonderland Reimagined is through the Crepe Myrtle Allée, just beyond the Levy Parterre and the Japanese Garden. AND it rotates! You'll get better lighting photographing her from the Great Lawn, but being a rotating vignette, you'll have lots of spectacular angles and vistas from where to capture memories of your visit.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

One of the new pieces is the Red Queen--at 16-foot tall--playing croquet in the Skyline Garden. This hilarious and gigantic diorama depicts the Red Queen using a flamingo for a mallet, a hedgehog for a ball, and a red card centurion for a hoop!

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

With the Garden's extended hours, they're gifting us "Cocktails in the Garden" every evening from 5pm-9pm! Note that last entry is at 8:30pm. And the sculptures are dramatically lit for an unique perspective on something that is already quite unique! 

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The Cheshire Cat has been moved from the Perennial Garden to the Skyline Garden, gazing at the complex and brilliantly wonderful Chess Board from Alice's Wonderland.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The 27-foot tall, picturesque White Rabit is back, too, in the Skyline Garden. 

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

The sculptures are created through the centuries-old art of mosaiculture in which steel forms are covered in fabric, filled with soil and planted with thousands of living plants to form a colorful carpet.

The Garden first introduced guests to the art in 2013 when it presented the United States’ first major exhibition of mosaiculture produced by International Mosaiculture de Montreal®, a nonprofit group that has staged wildly successful displays of its work around the world.

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

This summer exhibition is merely one of the things happening at the Garden...there's so much more! On  their website, you can now tailor your experience by what you like and why you're there! There's lots for families, first dates, a romantic night out, a girls night out, garden enthusiasts, and a it makes a great addition to your staycation plans!

Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Alice's Wonderland Reimagined | Atlanta Botanical Garden | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor

Note that at this time, masks are required for all indoor spaces, including bathrooms, cafe/restaurant, as well as the gift shop, conservatory, and orchid center when they re-open soon. The Gainesville location is scheduled to re-open on June 16.

Go see Alice's Wonderland Reimagined now through November 1 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden!