The AHA’s 121st Annual Meeting, January 4 – 7, offers a multitude of activities and events within the confines of the Atlanta hotels. But make sure you don’t get stuck inside the whole time, Atlanta has a rich history to share, and the AHA’s Local Arrangements Committee has organized a number of interesting and informative tours to a variety of locations. The October issue of Perspectives covered all of these events in detail, but below are just a few examples:

Tour 1: 1906 Race Riot
Description: The Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot will sponsor a walking tour of downtown riot-related sites. Research for the centennial of the riot has unearthed details about the event that are missing from published accounts. The tour will treat the context, developments, and legacy of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot.
(Limit:50 people. Fee: $5 per person.)

Tour 4: Bell Aircraft Plant, Building 1
Description: Site of the future Aviation Museum (in planning stage) located on the grounds of the Lockheed-Martin plant. Building 1 was home of the WWII era “Bell Bomber” assembly plant, the largest of its kind in the Deep South. In 1942 the War Department awarded a contract to the Bell Aircraft Company to build B-29 bombers in Marietta at a plant that the Corps of Engineers would soon construct. Bell transformed the local economy, helping to bring the area out of the Great Depression.

Tour 7: Behind the Scenes at the New “World of Coke” Museum at Centennial Park
Description: Coca-Cola, an Atlanta-based company, is the world’s best known corporate brand. Naturally, its history is intertwined with the story of international marketing and Atlanta’s rise in the twentieth century. With a ground-breaking in 2006, the new World of Coca-Cola Museum is scheduled to be opened to the public in mid-2007. Tour participants will receive a “behind the scenes” look at the building, and hear about interpretive and exhibit plans for the new museum. (Limit: 35 people. Fee: $5 per person.)

More Tours…

This post first appeared on AHA Today.