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Atlanta Beltline Tour Group
Feb 10, 2024
This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...soon to reopen as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.
"The Tourists"...
What a great group! Touring the Eastside Trail via California, Boone NC, Zoo Atlanta...interesting perspectives! I hope I earned the privilege of your time.
Thanks for a great tour!
Pic of the week...
...a Sears (now Ponce City Market) Postcard!!
Opened in 1926/1928 (depending on your research), here's a view of the warehouse from Ponce, looking southeast toward the Ford Factory Square and the beltline (on the farside). This is prior to the western wing addition (closest to us) and the loading dock (where we ended the tour).
Tree of the week...
...is going to be a repost of ALL OF THEM.
One of our intrepid tourists was interested specifically in growing her tree identification knowledge. It can be tough during the winter, since leaves are such an integral part of identification, but here is the list of the trees I pointed out along the trail:
- Fringe trees (Chionanthus retusus)
- Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia)
- Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
- Cathedral live oak (Quercus virginiana)
- Georgia oak (Quercus georgiana)
- American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
- Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima, non-native)
- Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
- Pignut hickory (Carya glabra)
- Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica..not sweet gum...ew)
- Lots of oaks (genus Quercus), including white swamp, southern red, chinquapin
- Carolina and Canada Hemlocks (Tsuga caroliniana and canadensis)
- Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
- Southern red oak (Quercus falcata)
- Scarlett oak (Quercus coccinea...remember Cochineal bugs...a source of red dye)
- - ...and then oak hill with all 33 native oak species
...and follow this link to Trees Atlanta's "Interactive Tree Inventory Map" to see them all!
Pignut Hickory
"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.
Q: Jeff stumped himself when he couldn't recall which organization conceived the Fox Theatre!
A: The Shriners! In 1928, the Fox was originally conceived as a home for Atlanta’s Shriners organization. To create a headquarters befitting the group’s prominent social status, the Shriners looked to the ancient temples of the Far East to inspire a mosque-style structure befitting their stature. Storied architectural gems like the Alhambra in Spain and Egypt’s Temple of Kharnak heavily influenced the building’s elaborate and intensely ornate design. Bursting with soaring domes, minarets and sweeping archways, the exterior of the building gave way to stunning gold leaf details, sumptuous textiles and exquisite trompe l’oeil art (an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create optical illusions) inside. (cont.)
Jan 13, 2024
This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...soon to reopen as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.
"The Tourists"...
What a great group! Braved the cold! England by way of Gainesville, Florida! Mix of longtime Atlanta residents and newbies! I hope I earned the privilege of your time.
Thanks for a great tour!
Pic of the week...
...is a bird I misidentified!
In the bare branches of one fringe trees lining the trail in the "Peace"-themed section of the arboretum, I called out a "Dark Eyed Junco" sighting. OOPS! Upon consulting the interwebs, I confirmed it was actually an Eastern Phoebe. But I won't be too harsh on myself...they are pretty similar in size and color (see below)!
Eastern Phoebe
Thanks, Cornell Labs!!
Tree of the week...
...is going to be ALL OF THEM.
One of our intrepid tourists was interested specifically in growing her tree identification knowledge. It can be tough during the winter, since leaves are such an integral part of identification, but here is the list of the trees I pointed out along the trail:
- Fringe trees (Chionanthus retusus)
- Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia)
- Shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata)
- Cathedral live oak (Quercus virginiana)
- Georgia oak (Quercus georgiana)
- American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
- Sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima, non-native)
- Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
- Pignut hickory (Carya glabra)
- Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica..not sweet gum...ew)
- Lots of oaks (genus Quercus), including white swamp, southern red, chinquapin
- Carolina and Canada Hemlocks (Tsuga caroliniana and canadensis)
- Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
- Southern red oak (Quercus falcata)
- Scarlett oak (Quercus coccinea...remember Cochineal bugs...a source of red dye)
- - ...and then oak hill with all 33 native oak species
...and follow this link to Trees Atlanta's "Interactive Tree Inventory Map" to see them all!
Pignut Hickory
"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.
Q: What are all the themes of the arboretum?
A: Well...Jeff is going to have to do some more research; there appears to be no Beltline Arboretum plans published on the interwebs! On the tour, we mentioned some of the themes that helped guide the tree and shrub selections - Medicine (near Morehouse College of Medicine), Peace (connecting MLK Jr Center and Carter Center), and Olmstead (running north of Freedom Parkway). I'll see if I can find out more! See Trees Atlanta Beltline Arboretum and Piedmont Park.
Dec 9
This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...reopening in January 2024 as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.
"The Tourists"...
A visitor from France and a future Trees Atlanta docent!
Thanks for a great tour!
"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.
Q: There are 33 native species of oak that evolved in different ecosystems in Georgia (as represented here in David Landis' sculpture "33 Oaks"). Their ability to adapt to varied ecosystems makes them different, but what makes them the same? What do these oaks have in common?
A: Jeff's short, smarty-pants answer: They are all in the same genus: Quercus!
Jeff's not-so-short answer: I did a little research on this and uncover a few common characteristics among the species of the genus Quercus: Tannins help make them resistant to fungi and pests. They produce acorns - "...a nut...borne in a cup" - some of which were a food source for Native Americans. The wood of "...all oak species [is] strong, hard, heavy and dense with very close grain..." Oaks are tall, strong, longlived, supportive of many species, and as such are a keystone species: "...a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance." link 1 link 2
Nov 11
This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...reopening in January 2024 as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.
"The Tourists"...
...which totaled zero! That's okay...it was a rainy, yucky day, but I love any excuse to get out on the Eastside Trail!
Thanks for a great tour!
Art on the Beltline...
...featuring displays and performances along the eastside trail.
Wake is a large-scale installation modeled on the structural ribs of the nineteenth-century clipper ship U.S.S. Nightingale that rise up from the ground and frame a 21-foot-tall figurative sculpture.
Oaks and Sassafras showing fall color...and a really tiny home!
October 14, 2023
This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...reopening in January 2024 as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.
"The Tourists"...
Proud parents and a Georgia Tech student! Go Jackets!
Thanks for a great tour!
Art on the Beltline...
...featuring displays and performances along the eastside trail. In October, Little Amal and Monarchs with Krewe of the Grateful Glutton...raising awareness of the Syrian refugee crisis thru community interactive art.
"Little Amal has traveled more than 6,000 miles around the globe over the last two years in search of a new home. Standing 12 feet tall, this puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian child celebrates the stories of refugees, immigrants, and displaced people, along with the communities that welcome them. Her journey has become a festival of art and hope.
"We’re excited to welcome Amal as she makes her way across the United States and show her a corridor where everyone – regardless of their background – feels welcome when she visits the Atlanta BeltLine in October." link
September 9, 2023
This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish (R.I.P...reopening in January 2024 as "Painted Park"!). We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.
"The Tourists"...
So much fun!
Thanks for a great tour!
"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.
Q: When will the Atlanta Beltline Trees Atlanta Arboretum be complete?
A: Jeff's short answer: When the Beltline is!
Jeff's shorter answer: We will always be developing and improving it, so never!
The real answer: Out of the total future length of the 22 mile Beltline project, "Trees Atlanta currently manages 85 acres of linear greenspace along 13 miles of the Atlanta BeltLine corridor, including the Eastside Trail, Eastside Trail Extension, Westside Trail, Southside Trail, Northeast Trail, and Bill Kennedy Way Connector." link
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