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Local Arrangements: Historians and Atlanta
For the 121st Annual Meeting, members of the Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) will provide Association members with detailed information to make their Atlanta visit thoroughly enjoyable. Chair Jamil Zainaldin, Georgia Humanities Council; co-chairs Michelle Brittain, Georgia State University; Tim Crimmins, Georgia State University; and Ren Davis, Emory Crawford Long Hospital; and LAC members have prepared articles on the city and the region for the fall issues of Perspectives, including guides to museums, points of interests, and restaurants in the area. Look for a pull-out annual meeting guide in the December issue of Perspectives and bring it with you, as it will contain valuable information.
What Atlanta Has to Offer
Atlanta encompasses more than 130 square miles; the metro area includes all of DeKalb and Fulton counties, and extends into 18 surrounding counties. The population of the greater metro area makes it the ninth largest metro area in the United States. Over half of Georgia’s residents live and/or work in the greater Atlanta metro area. The region has a number of higher education institutions, including Agnes Scott College, Clark Atlanta University, DeKalb College, Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Mercer College, Morehouse College, Spelman College, the University of Georgia, and West Georgia College. It is the world headquarters for the American Cancer Society, the Arthritis Foundation, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Habitat for Humanity, Home Depot, United Parcel Service, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, among others. Atlanta is an international city, with 43 consulates and more than 1,500 international facilities representing 45 nations.
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Introduction to the City
Attendees who want to do some advance planning for their stay can explore various aspects of the city and the region at a number of web sites, including its hotels, points of interest, and cultural institutions. For a general tourist introduction to the city, visit the web site of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, clicking on “Visitors.” You can learn about special events that coincide with the AHA annual meeting as well as create your own itinerary with “My Atlanta.” The site also features information on arts and culture, dining, what to see and do, shopping, neighborhoods, maps, transportation, Atlanta videos, and multicultural information. The convention bureau’s gay and lesbian travel guide includes gay and lesbian special events, community organizations, gay neighborhoods, and more.
The convention bureau operates a Visitor Center in Underground Atlanta, at 65 Upper Alabama. Hours are Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia provides an authoritative source of information about people, places, events, institutions, and many other topics relating to Georgia. The site has articles and images on nearly every aspect of the state as well as convenient links to other web sites related to the history, culture, and life of the state. NGE is a project of the Georgia Humanities Council in partnership with the University of Georgia Press, the Office of the Governor, and others.
Atlanta’s daily newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides current information on city museums, galleries, exhibits, concerts, and other events.
Atlanta Magazine has detailed sections on attractions, shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and other events.
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Tours of the City
If you prefer visiting the city’s attractions on your own, consider CityPass. Save 50 percent on admission fees and avoid ticket lines for the city’s top six attractions: Georgia Aquarium, High Museum of Art, Inside CNN Atlanta Studio Tour, World of Coca-Cola, choice between Fernbank Museum of Natural History and Atlanta Botanic Gardens, and choice between Zoo Atlanta and Atlanta History Center. The packaged price is $59 for adults and $45 for youths aged 4–11; tax is additional. You have nine days to visit each attraction (once) beginning the day you first use your CityPass. You can purchase CityPass online or at any of the Atlanta attractions. Once you have your CityPass, simply present your booklet on your way into each attraction. The agent will remove that attraction’s ticket—they are void if removed by anyone else.
Several companies offer guided tours of the city. Atlanta Tours offers popular bus tours of well known sights in Atlanta. The “Atlanta in a Day” tour highlights the home of Margaret Mitchell, the Jimmy Carter Museum and Library, the avenues of the Martin Luther King Jr., Georgia Tech, the 1996 Olympic Village, Coca-Cola’s Worldwide Headquarters, CNN Center, and the Atlanta Cyclorama. Gray Line of Atlanta (click on “Gray Line Tours”) offers a variety of sightseeing tours in Atlanta. “Atlanta Past and Present” focuses on some of the city’s most well known historic and cultural attractions: home of Margaret Mitchell, Georgia Tech, the Olympic Village, Coca-Cola’s Worldwide Headquarters, and the Georgia World Congress Center. The “All Around Atlanta” tour visits the Jimmy Carter Museum and Library, Woodruff Arts Center, and several Atlanta historic homes. Visitors can also opt for a combination tour, spending an entire day visiting various sites throughout the city, and lunching at Atlanta’s famous Underground.
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Shuttles to Atlanta Museums
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum
441 Freedom Parkway; 404-865-7100
Operates: Saturday, January 6, 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Buses will leave from the Hilton’s Harris Street entrance approximately every 20 minutes and return from the Carter Center approximately every 20 minutes. Advance tickets are not required. Museum admission will be half price on presentation of an AHA badge on Saturday and throughout the AHA meeting.
Atlanta History Center
130 West Paces Ferry Road, NW; 404-814-4000
Operates: Saturday, January 6, 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Buses will leave from the Hilton’s Harris Street entrance every hour on the half-hour from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Buses will depart from the Atlanta History Center every hour on the hour, with a final bus departing at 5:00 p.m. Advance tickets are not required. Admission to the museum will be free on presentation of an AHA badge.
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Events Organized by the LAC
Historical events are place-based. Conferences offer historians the opportunity to explore the places of history with fellow historians, who can offer them an interpretive context for reading the landscape around them. The 2007 Local Arrangements Committee has organized the following tours and events to introduce AHA members to the historical landscape of the Atlanta area.
Sessions and Performances
The LAC has planned the following sessions and performances.
- Learning from Atlanta—Using the Site of the AHA Annual Meeting to Explore History and Memory, on Thursday, January 4, from 3:00–5:00 p.m., in the Hilton’s Crystal Ballroom G. Chair: Dana F. White, Emory University
- The Life Cycle of Presidential Libraries: From Processing to Declassification to Education, on Saturday, January 6, from 2:30–4:00 p.m., at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum’s Cecil B. Day Chapel in the Ivan Allen III Pavilion. Joint session with the National History Center. Chair: Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration
- “Raising a President: The Story of Rachel Clark and Jimmy Carter,” two performances on Saturday, January 6, at 2:00–3:30 p.m. and 4:30–6:00 p.m., in the Auditorium of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. A one-woman play by author and actress Joanna Maddox
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