Masonry Magazine October 1978 Page. 7
Underground Atlanta also is a popular social function venue for convention and tour groups visiting the city.
Rather than a town of genteel planters and graceful antebellum mansions (those belong to southern and coastal Georgia), Atlanta was born a rough-and-ready railroad junction called Terminus, cleverly enough, after its position as the southeastern terminal point of the Western & Atlantic Railroad.
In 1843, the town was renamed Marthasville, in honor of the daughter of then-Governor John Lumpkin, but by 1845 it was known as Atlanta-most probably from the feminine form of Western & Atlantic. The name became official in 1847, and the city of Atlanta became the state capital in 1867.
Alabama Street the Old Focal Point
Always a key transportation center a fact that led Union General William T. Sherman to besiege and ultimately burn the city of 12,000 people to the ground following the 1864 Civil War Battle of Atlanta-the area had by the 1890s regained its pre-eminence as a bustling rail hub. Alabama Street, adjacent to the main terminal, was focal point and "main drag," with stores, banks, railroad freight agents' offices, restaurants, hotels and bars catering to the crowds that milled through the area. But the busy rail yards posed a hazard to pedestrians and vehicles (mules drawing wagons often "stalled" on the crossings) and, to circumvent it, viaducts began appearing in 1893 and for 40 years thereafter, built to route traffic over the maze of tracks.
Merchants whose doors had opened onto Alabama Street were forced to move their offices one story higher to be at street level. (That raised level today is Alabama Street, which runs parallel to, and above, Underground's Old Alabama Street.) They abandoned their lower floors to storage or, more often, to cobwebs and dust, and the underground thoroughfares to gloomy parking. The turn-of-the-century storefronts, the cobblestone gaslit streets, were forgotten.
Rediscovery of the "city beneath the streets" came in 1968 when the area was restored and reopened as Underground Atlanta, a recreation of the Gay Nineties Gaslight Era.
Here you'll see historic Zero Mile Post, which marks the second site of what in 1837 was selected by engineer Stephen H. Long as the southeastern terminus of the Western & Atlantic Railroad-the official birthplace of the city of Atlanta. (The original stake was driven near today's Atlanta Stadium.)
Underground's Tarnished Image Turned Around
Just across from the main entrance to Underground Atlanta is the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot, a red brick and granite warehouse that is the oldest standing structure in the city. (The building now is vacant, but plans are in the offing to turn it into a railroad museum.)
At its zenith, in the early to mid 1970s. Underground Atlanta boasted more than 70 thriving shops, restaurants and attractions. It was one of the busiest entertainment spots in the city, and a "must" on every out-of-towner's sightseeing list. It still is for many people-more than 1,250,000 in the past year but its reputation became tarnished when it fell on hard times through corporate financial difficulties and the tearing up of a good bit of the area-fully one-third of the complex was lost-by MARTA (Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Authority) to begin construction on the city's rapid rail system. Many establishments were forced to move and many chose not to reopen. Underground became a shadow of its former merrymaking self and was perceived-unwarrantedly as a dangerous area.
But a group of Underground businesspeople, united as the non-profit corporation Old Atlanta, Inc., is determined to hang on and, indeed, prosper. With MARTA construction in the area nearing completion, the road to a complete 'comeback lies open. (There's some compensation in the fact that MARTA's Five Points station will be practically at Underground's door, with a walkway to the tourist spot planned.) Already, new shops and attractions have moved back in.
Security forces have been beefed up and an attractive wrought-iron fence erected to deter undesirables. An admission of 25ę is charged individuals after 2:00 p.m. (children carried by parent or guardian are admitted free.) There is no charge for groups, including those arriving in hotel mini-buses. Gate receipts go toward historic restoration and upkeep of common areas, which are in the process of becoming a City park.
Meanwhile, there is still plenty to appeal to the activity- and historic-minded visitor. After wandering the old streets, examining the decades-old facades (the oldest date from the 1880s), and conjuring up visions of the past when this section was in its heyday, pick one of the Underground establishments that offers entertainment like banjo bands, belly dancing. Greek sirtaki, folk guitar or jazz. "Saloons" and night spots dispense their versions of the potent "Hurricane," along with your own favorite libations. And Underground still is one of the few downtown spots that offers live entertainment on Sunday evenings.
Underground Atlanta is unique, and Underground Atlanta is fun. But find this out for yourself during your visit to Atlanta's "city beneath the streets."