In a 1935 article in The Atlanta Constitution, a reporter theorized that the "interesting relic", "ancient lockup box" in Inman Park, which had not been in use for more than 35 years at the time of that article, would likely be dismantled due to leaking and damaging stored parcels and coats.
This is one of those rare incidents where preservationists in Atlanta have persevered and saved an artifact from old Atlanta, now at least more than 130 years old! Various reports tell that these lockup boxes were used in Atlanta from 1890 until around 1905.
Police Lockup Box in Inman Park | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
Speaking of 1890, that's about the time that Inman Park was established and it was Atlanta's first suburb. Today it's certainly not considered an "outlying district" but it is an historic neighborhood—listed on the National Register of Historic Places—with an amazing annual festival, an abundance of charm, delicious and delightful dining destinations, and a unique police lockup box!
Police Lockup Box in Inman Park | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
The photo accompanying an article in The Atlanta Constitution, dated June 30, 1935, shows patrolman M. R. Dodd standing next to this lockup box. Dodd said that his father, Asa Dodd, also a policeman, had used this same box 47 years prior.
Police Lockup Box in Inman Park | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
The Atlanta Constitution reported July 16, 1935, that Atlanta banker and collector John K. Lottley purchased the police lockup box for $1. Following the death of Lottley, this box was on display at the Cyclorama, in the basement, when the Cyclorama was in Grant Park.
Police Lockup Box in Inman Park | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
According to Celestine Sibley in a 1974 article in The Atlanta Constitution there was once a marker that accompanied the Lockup Box. The marker, dated 1935, read: "Many a miscreant got his first taste of Atlanta hospitality when he was lodged in this lockup box to await transportation to roomier quarters.
"Nearly 50 years ago before the advent of telephone and motor-driven patrol wagon, the City of Atlanta installed four of these lockup boxes at various points. Arresting officers would confine their prisoners in the depositories while they would await the horse-drawn Black Maria which would make its rounds to collect human cargo as regularly as the postman does to collect mail.
"These boxes also served as lockers in which police would store their helmets, night sticks, raincoats and other belongings. This particular lockup was located at the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Delta Place and although its use was abandoned by the city about 25 years ago, it remained there until acquired for this collection in July 1935."
Police Lockup Box in Inman Park | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
I've found no record of what happened to the other three lockup boxes, but this one was returned to its original spot, where it sits today in Delta Park, in time for the 3rd Annual Inman Park Festival & Tour of Homes held in late April 1974.
Police Lockup Box in Inman Park | Photo by Travis Swann Taylor
A couple of blocks down the street is The Trolley Barn, once the home of the first electric streetcar system in the United States! Do check out the beautiful, vibrant, and historic Inman Park neighborhood. But first, go to Delta Park and step inside this piece of history, perhaps the last of its kind in the whole of Atlanta!
Atlanta has a thing for cannons. The truth in that statement is highly present at the Atlanta Cyclorama, an attraction that tells the story of The Battle of Atlanta during the American Civil War through videos, exhibits, a locomotive and a massive, cylindrical painting and diorama.
You'll want to allow a couple of hours to see everything. Once you've carved out the time, head to Historic Grant Park and when you're done at the Cyclorama, Zoo Atlanta is right next door...the orangutans alone are worth a visit!
ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!
When they coined the phrase "Big things come in small packages," they must have had in mind the Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum. The centerpiece of this attraction is the world's largest oil painting—the Atlanta Cyclorama. Also inside the modest-size building is a steam locomotive, a full-on museum, a theater, and a gift shop.
I had never been to the Cyclorama, other than walking past the building on my way to Zoo Atlanta, which it's immediately adjacent to. That was partly because the building "seemed" modest in size.
So, I wasn't enticed to schedule a whole afternoon for such a small space. "I'm in the mood for a marathon tour," I kept thinking to myself.
As Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) told the shopkeepers on Rodeo Drive, "Big mistake. Big!"
Civil War hats
Focusing on indoor tour options (It's been in the 20s and 30s Fahrenheit this week in Atlanta.), I finally decided to visit the Cyclorama. It's all indoors and the (free) parking is very close to the entrance (I still have to pull my hat and gloves out of storage!).
The Cyclorama building is actually quite impressive…even more so once you're on the grounds. On the entrance level there's a Civil War cannon (facing away from the building…always a good idea) and a modern steel and brass arch supported by four columns, artistically melded into classic sandstone columns.
On the second level, accessible via a broad open-arm staircase, there are four multi-story columns flanked by relief carvings on either side. The building seemed small, but it turns out that it's actually rather stately.
The Atlanta Cyclorama
American Civil War cannon
Photographs are permitted everywhere except in the theater and inside the Cyclorama itself (you can take as many photos as you like in the Museum). I'll offer some highlights, but know that it's a must-see-in-real-life exhibit.
The Cyclorama depicts the events of the Battle of Atlanta…the turning point in the American Civil War. It's the world's largest oil painting and one of only three cyclorama paintings in the United States.
It's painted not on canvas, but on fine linen and weighs nearly 10,000 pounds. It's as tall as a four-story building and if laid out flat (Hopefully nothing like that would ever happen to an irreplaceable piece of history!), it would span approximately the length of a football field.
The painting took only two years for 11 artists to complete (1864-1865). Commissioned by Illinois Senator John A. Logan, who died two days before its completion, the Cyclorama has passed hands numerous times, but eventually returned to Atlanta. It has been on display in Historic Grant Park since 1893 and housed at the Cyclorama since 1927.
Civil War leaders
Immediately in front of the painting is a 360 degree, 30-feet deep diorama that was added in 1936. Crafted of Georgia red clay and other materials, the diorama features models of 128 soldiers (the tallest is three feet, the smallest is 17 inches). Other depictions in the diorama include roads, railroad tracks, and trees destroyed by cannon fire.
Our tour guide told us that Clark Gable visited the Cyclorama in 1939, the year Gone With the Wind premiered here in Atlanta (he played Rhett Butler). It was said that he commented that the exhibit was good but that it would be great if he were part of it. Later, his likeness was added to the diorama…probably not as he'd imagined, Gable is portrayed as a fallen Confederate soldier.
Said quite well in one of the Museum's pamphlets, the Cyclorama experience is quite moving:
"…the deafening blast of cannons, the soldiers' screams and the earth-shaking charges from the infantry fill the room. It's July 22, 1864. In a desperate attempt to thwart the destruction of Atlanta, General John B. Hood has launched an offensive against the better equipped federal army. By the end of that day, the injured, dead and missing would total nearly 12,000."
The Atlanta Cyclorama is the most detailed account of a single day in human history that I have ever seen or experienced, a day that would forever shape the future of Atlanta and the country.
Atlanta Cycloroma Video
The Tour
The tour of the Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum is a hybrid guided and self-guided excursion.
The guided portion of the tour consists of a welcome and viewing of a 14-minute film about the events that led up to the Battle of Atlanta, known as the Atlanta Campaign.
cannon and
etched glass window
The film is very well presented and includes all live footage (reenactments of the various battles of the Campaign). It's narrated by the booming voice of James Earl Jones.
The Atlanta Campaign film ends at the conclusion of the Campaign, the day before the Battle of Atlanta.
The tour continues inside the Atlanta Cyclorama. My group, as are all visitors, was welcomed into the Cyclorama theater being advised that the best seats are on the third row and above.
The theater in which visitors sit, massive itself with 184 seats, rotates 360 degrees. It turns one full revolution during an automated-narration program and once more when visitors are welcomed to the observation deck and the tour guide shares additional insight into the painting's history.
The exit of the tour deposits visitors on the first floor, so remember that there's more to see upstairs (in case you haven't explored that far yet).
The Texas Locomotive
Texas Locomotive
The Texas is a steam locomotive that played an important role in the Great Locomotive Chase during the American Civil War, also known as the Andrews Raid. Also part of the Chase was The General Locomotive, now housed in The Southern Museum in Kennesaw, Georgia.
We learned in the Cyclorama narrated presentation that the Battle of Atlanta and the preceding Campaign was primarily an effort to disable Confederate train operations in Atlanta, the "headquarters" of the Confederate's supply chain.
The bigger-than-life display includes two cars—the engine and its fuel-carrying car—sitting on actual track and railroad ties. The Texas could travel approximately 30 miles per cord (of wood) at a speed of up to 60 miles per hour. The locomotive was moved to the Cyclorama in 1927 and was fully restored to its original condition in 1936.
Texas Locomotive
The only thing that I found perplexing about the Texas display was the tiny train models seemingly haphazardly placed around it on the ground. The Texas seemed to be Gulliver, in a world of trains, and the tiny model trains were Lilliputians standing silent in fright and awe.
By time I wanted to pose a question about the teeny-tiny trains, the ticket office and gift shop had closed and the tour guide was off with the final tour group (obviously there were people who were on duty, but I didn't go on a hunt).
I have to assume they are relative to the display, but the scale threw me off. I think the impact of the gigantic Texas is plenty on its own without the distraction of tiny trains. I'm sure the Lilliputian trains would have an even better story of their own to tell if in a different display…but that's just me.
The Museum
Civil War artifacts
The majority of the Museum's collection is located on the second floor (although there are quite a few historical artifacts on the first floor where the Texas locomotive is located).
The artifacts include battle paintings; guns, rifles, artillery and other weapons, including cannons; and displays about recruiting for the War and camp life, as well as uniforms and hundreds of photographs.
There are also video stations throughout the Museum. The videos share highlights of the American Civil War and one provides insights into the restoration of the Cyclorama painting.
Civil War bronze statuary
Complementing the museum collection are several art pieces, including original oil paintings (other than the Cyclorama itself) and bronze statuary.
There's also a display, period in presentation, of portraits of the leaders of the American Civil War.
All in all, the Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum is an excellent place to learn about the War and the Cyclorama is quite possibly the closest one can come to experiencing what it might have felt like had one been an observer on that particular bloody day in July 1864.
The Return
Have I had enough of American Civil War history or will I return for another 360 degree tour of the Battle of Atlanta? I must admit that I was surprised at the amount of information packed into what seemed, to me, to be a small space. I spent quite a bit of time exploring and there's still more to see.
I would very much enjoy returning with an American Civil War buff…there's a lot to learn about the four-year war and I've always been as much a fan of history as I have been of the future.
Touring the Atlanta Cyclorama
Date toured: Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Location: 800 Cherokee Avenue, SE (directions and map) Cost: $10 Adults; $8 Children and Seniors Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 9:15 – 4:30 p.m.; Closed Mondays Website: http://atlantacyclorama.org/
The Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum is home of the world's largest painting. It depicts the Battle of Atlanta of 1864 fought during the American Civil War.
The entry to they Cyclorama, a column pictured here, is adjacent to Zoo Atlanta located in historic Grant Park.
ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!
The animal kingdom's home in Atlanta is Zoo Atlanta, the longest running cultural attraction in town and an uncontestable favorite of children, locals and visitors. The Zoo opened in April 1939, only a month after the rescue of abandoned animals from a failed circus. Today, the Zoo sustains a world-class status through highly-focused education, conservation and community involvement initiatives.Zoo Atlanta is located in Historic Grant Park and is adjacent to Cyclorama. I'll tell you about those on later posts. The Zoo is very near downtown Atlanta, just off Interstate 20.
Arrival at the Zoo is grand enough, but it doesn't lend to the animal and plant life diversity one will find inside. It does hint that the Zoo probably embraces the practice of open-space habitats for its residents, and indeed it does.
The Zoo is comprised of four main sections, including:
African Plains
The Ford African Rain Forest
Asian Forest
KIDZone
Be sure to get a map of the Zoo at the ticketing counter, and not to worry…there are ample opportunities to recycle throughout the Zoo. You can recycle your Zoo map at the exit of the Zoo, which shares the same location as the entrance.
Giraffes
Visitors enter the Zoo through "Flamingo Plaza." That of course gives away the answer to the mysterious question, "Which came first, the Plaza or the flamingos?" Actually, I don’t know the answer, but I do know that Zoo Atlanta has, over the decades, continually upgraded the animals' habitats (including the flamingo marshland) and created more and more leaning opportunities and fun for visiting humans.
The first area one visits, if traveling to the left, is the African Plains. I asked one of the Zoo staff members, "What's the most popular habitat right now?" She told me that of course the panda habitat remains a favorite destination, but also currently exciting visitors is "Zuri," the giraffe calf born on July 13, 2010. Zuri is Swahili for "gorgeous"—and that she is. On a side note, supposedly still on the records is a Georgia state law that forbids the "tying of a giraffe to a street sign or a lamp post." Fortunately, the "tallest baby in Atlanta" doesn’t have to worry about that one.
Other residents in the African Plains section include zebras, lions, rhinos, warthogs (also with new babies), and another kid favorite, well-known for their amusing roles in the Hollywood blockbuster Madagascar, are meerkats.
Gorillas
Made famous by five-time father Willie B. is the gorilla habitat, part of The Ford African Rain Forest section of the Zoo. Willie B., who arrived at the Zoo in 1961 as an infant and named for former Mayor of Atlanta, William B. Hartsfield, lived indoors for the first thirty years of his life. The outdoor habitat opened in the late 1980s and in 1994, Willie B. sired his first child—Kudzoo. The gorilla habitat also ranks as a fan favorite and boasts numerous vantage points.
Residing in an habitat dubbed "The Living Treehouse" are lemurs and exotic birds. The Treehouse offers a unique vista of the living area, allowing visitors to see animals in their true natural habitat—in trees. You can also see monkeys in The Ford African Rain Forest section.
Children quickly transform into "giggle monsters" when they get to the orangutan habitat. Seemingly always on the move, the Zoo's orangutans climb, roll, jump and otherwise entertain in ways no other animal on the planet can. They certainly kept my attention…for quite a while actually.
Joining the orangutans in the Asian Forest section of the Zoo are otters, bears, tigers, leopards, red pandas, and the must-see Komodo dragon.
Giant Panda
The stars of the Asian Forest section, however, most certainly are the Giant Pandas. Zoo Atlanta is home to three of the approximately 1,600 Giant Pandas alive in the world today and is one of only four zoos in the United States that house the Giant Panda. The other zoos are San Diego Zoo, Memphis Zoo, and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.
Visitors will more than likely see a Giant Panda eating, an activity that consumes most of its waking day, although they do frolic for the benefit of visitors from time to time. Ninety-nine percent of a Giant Panda's diet consists of bamboo and locals have the opportunity to donate bamboo to the Zoo to keep these black and white wonders fed.
Petting Zoo
Probably the most active area of the entire Zoo is the KIDZone. The Children’s Zoo at Zoo Atlanta is a kids' paradise. Activities in this substantial portion of the Zoo include a petting zoo; an "Outback Station" featuring kangaroos and crocodiles; and rides including the Nabisco Endangered Species Carousel and a Rock Climber Wall. You can even rent the Zoo's "Birthday Pavilion" for your little one's special occasion to make for a lifetime memory.
Although Zoo Atlanta seems modest in size, compared to some other zoos I've visited, I'm glad I walked through it twice on this particular day or I’d have missed quite a few habitats and exhibits. For a regular visit, on any of the 363 days of the year that the Zoo is open, plan two or three hours to explore. Be sure to stop by the Panda Gift Shop, the Wildlife Theater and the World of Reptiles.
Will I revisit Zoo Atlanta? The baby animals are so much fun to see, I'm certain I'll succumb to the temptation to pay them a visit. Fortunately, announcements of such births usually make the local news or one can always sign-up to receive Zoo news.
Visiting Zoo Atlanta
Date toured: Sunday, October 3, 2010 Location: 800 Cherokee Avenue, SE (directions and map) Parking: Free MARTA: Bus route #97 (from Five Points Station), also known as the "A to Z Route"—it runs to and from the Aquarium and the Zoo. Cost:
Adults (12+) - $19.99
Child (3-11) - $14.99
Child (2 and under) – Free
Senior, Military and college student - $15.99 Hours:
Monday-Friday – 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (ticket booth closes at 4:30 p.m.)
Saturday-Sunday – 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (ticket booth closes at 5:30 p.m.)
Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Website: http://zooatlanta.org/
