Neighborhood History

Walking Mileage: 3.04
September Miles Walked: 39.84
Temperature upon departure: 80
Humidity: 50%

We almost broke 40 miles and we still have almost two weeks of walking this month to go! As we walk I am in awe of the beautiful trees in my neighborhood and think often of how much history they have seen. My neighborhood was originally one of the first suburbs of Atlanta, pre-Civil War. The history of the streets, the trees, and how the parks held their own amaze me as we wander through. I decided to take along the camera last night and document some of my favorite sights along our main loop.

At the start we cut through Gilliam Park which is right past the Clay Family Cemetery on Clifton Street. It is a very small patch of park, only 2.6 acres, but is quiet and has great trees.

I love this little stretch along Rogers Street next to the Marta line that parallels Dekalb Ave. With the view of the mid-town buildings and the Marta running next to us, I often say out loud to the boys, 'Wow we live in a real city!'

This is my FAVORITE tree in the neighborhood. This picture doesn't do it justice, it is HUGE! It's branches are so strong and long, they cover a very large area. It is so statuesque and looks like it has held it's own for many, many years. I like to think about the people in years past that perhaps stopped to rest under and sleep under this giant during the war years.

Along Rogers Street is a 28 acre fenced in site that is known as the Old Pullman Yard. It is an unusual collection of barn-shaped brick railroad warehouses that are about a century-old. It has sat mostly vacant and surrounded by weeds for nearly two decades under state ownership.The earliest of the buildings dates to 1904, built as a manufacturing plant by Pratt Engineering, an early electric motors company. They turned the site into a munitions factory during World War I. The Chicago-based Pullman commercial rail company bought the property in 1922, turning it into a repair station for its rail cars.

Following Pullman's bankruptcy in 1969, the land passed through a series of owners until the state bought it for $1.6 million as a maintenance-and-storage facility for the New Georgia Railroad, a short-lived tourist train between downtown Atlanta and Stone Mountain.

In Atlanta developers have been revitalizing and preserving historic buildings by turning them into really cool, hip, artsy loft communities. Each night as we walk along this site, I can see the buildings modified with new windows, doors, small decks and planting areas for tenants, a dog park area, the parking spaces and a community center for gathering and socializing with neighbors. The sky always seems to be a beautiful perfect blue over this site.

The boys walk different when we turn onto this last stretch, they get a little slower, the leash is suddenly slack, they seem to really take in all the smells and the easy, quiet of the street. Predictably, the same dogs bark at the same moment each time, you can hear the slightest of breeze in the overgrown trees. I think the boys sense my change too as we walk this street, I let my mind wander and wonder about what was, and what could be here. It is a few moments where I really daydream and can see what could be here on this site. By the end of this stretch my mind wanders back to my own life and what was and what could be. This gives me that focus to get things accomplished and make the most of my life, along with a smile that another few miles are under our belt. Tomorrow we will break 40 miles for the month!