March 13, 2021

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"...
...shouting out to this week's tourists, including a new Atlanta transplant from NY! 

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
...we spoke at length about how the Atlanta city limits expanded in the 1800's concentrically, starting with the Zero Mile Marker near underground Atlanta. We noted that prior to 1904, North Ave was located "north" of the city limits. Standing on the Beltline Eastside Trail at North Ave (red "X" marks the spot) and looking north - and if it were 1904 - land to the left/west was newly annexed to include Midtown and soon-to-be Piedmont Park and to the right/east was still just plain ole Fulton Co. (until it's annexation in 1909).

Thanks for the map, reddit!

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

I'm totally copping out and calling "oak" my "single" favorite this week. We spent time collecting a few of last fall's leaves that still encircled the bases of trees on the tour and noting differences between red and white oaks (red have pointed lobes, white oak lobes are smooth), but also similarities, especially between Chinkapin and White Swamp Oaks. Here's a great resource for identifying different features of North American oak species <link>.

Querus Bicolor

White Swamp Oak

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: There is a huge old beech tree in Spring Vale Park; is it a "champion"?

A: Trees Atlanta maintains a list of the largest of each species of tree found within the city limits; the "champions". There are several beautiful, old specimen trees in Spring Vale Park - which makes sense; its steep, challenging, watershed terrain was left as a park by the original developers of the Inman Park. However, none are listed by trees Atlanta. Time to head over there with a tape measure? If there is a beech greater than 10ft in circumference, it could be a candidate!

200 year old Lullwater Conservation Garden beech

Nearly a champ at 12.4 ft cir!

(Thanks Druid Hills Civic Association!)

Feb 13, 2021 - Welcome back...with safety measures!

This Week's Tour...
...met at 9:00AM Saturday on the Beltline Eastside Trail near Parish. We walked for 1 1/2 hours, covering 1 mile of the Beltline, ending at Ponce City Market.

"The Tourists"...
...shouting out to this week's 2 hardy Tech students that braved the misty morning to join me for the first tour since we were COVID-cancelled back in 2020. 

Thanks for a great tour!

Map of the week...
...replaced by "pics of the week"! On the tour, we discussed the evolution of the "Du Pree Manufacturing Company Excelsior Factory" or Excelsior Mill; from wood shavings producer (1907...see the 1911 Sanborn Fire Map below), to pizza and movie house (1977), to its penultimate rebirth as The Masquerade nightclub and concert venue (1989). While being developed by its current owners, part of the historical protected facade collapsed in 2019 (seen here in before and after pics). 

Thanks for the map, Wikipedia!

Tree of the week...
...singling out one of the hundreds of specimens from the dozens of collections along the arboretum.

There is no more prominent tree in Georgia's hardwood forests than the beech, rendered showy in winter thru retention of coppery dead foliage (marcescence), sheltering its nascent buds until spring .

Fagus grandifolia

American Beech

"Stump" of the week...
...featuring a question raised during the tour that Jeff couldn't answer.

Q: What is the timeline of Atlanta's founding to being razed in the Civil War?

A: While there are many significant dates during the growth of Atlanta, the most relevant to the tour are:

1836 - Georgia State Legislature voted to create the Western and Atlantic Railroad

1837 - Route was surveyed from Tennessee state line south to roughly the location of today's "Underground Atlanta"

1839 - Terminus is settled

1843 - Marthasville is founded

1845 - Marthasville is renamed Atlanta (and incorporated in 1847)

1864 - Atlanta is burned

1868 - Atlanta becomes the Georgia State capital

Prior to Atlanta, the state capital was located in towns with river-based transportation. Atlanta marked a change to newer, land-based transportation, the locomotive! 1776 - Savannah. 1782 - Augusta (Savannah River). 1798 - Lousiville (Ogeechee River). 1807 - Milledgeville (Oconee).

Route of the Western and Atlantic RR

(Thanks Wiki!)