Thursday, January 26, 2017

Gone With The Wind

In our search for "all things Atlanta", lunch at The Varsity seemed like a must.



The world's largest drive-in opened in 1928 and now can handle 600 cars and seat 800 inside, which is good because on Georgia Tech home game days they have 30,000 visitors! 




Apparently they are pretty busy even on a normal day...


Two miles of hot dogs, a ton of onions, 2500 pounds of potatoes, 5000 fried pies and 300 gallons of chili are made from scratch daily.


Our Atlanta History Center admission also included the Margaret Mitchell House and since we'd paid for it, we went...




This is where she lived in the 1920s while writing Gone With the Wind. She affectionately called their little apartment "the Dump." 








I didn't think it was a dump, It was adorable!

The book was published in 1936, she won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and it was made into an Academy Award winning movie in 1939.



the caption reads that more people came out to cheer Clark Gable than fought in the Battle of Atlanta

Margaret Mitchell said that she was shocked when she learned that the South had lost the Civil War. When she heard people talk of it growing up, she always assumed they had won. 

I liked the building next door that I took a picture of it, too...


Then it was a rush to the airport and our flight home...

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Swan House

The last house we visited was the palatial Swan House, a southern-style mansion built in 1928 with numerous rooms and surrounded by manicured gardens and fountains. There were also costumed interpreters to answer questions and relate the history of the Inman's family home.



Walking in the door, guests are greeted by a grand winding staircase...


At the base of the stairs was a little nook just for the phone...


The sitting room, library and dining room all entered off the foyer...




The details were amazing! From detailed molding work to paint colors to hand-painted wallpapers...








My favorite rooms were the kitchen and larder! Everything was perfect from the dishes to the appliances. I would love to go back in time for a kitchen like this!





The refrigerator was absolutely spectacular and even had the original owner's manual!





Upstairs were the bedrooms...



And full bathrooms...


The master suite had a rather opulent closet/dressing room/master bath...




The back staircase led all the way up to the servant's quarter's with the best view in the house!



After exiting, we stumbled upon this delightful little playhouse at the back of the house...



I can see why it is such a popular (and expensive) venue for weddings...

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Smith Family Farm

A short walk from the museum is the Smith Family Farm...



The house was built in the 1840s, survived the Civil War and was moved to the site in the 1970s. It is used to teach visitors about what life was like on a small family plantation.



The farm includes all of the outbuildings that would be necessary to maintain a plantation...








You can also explore inside most of the buildings and see how furnishings and conveniences have changed over time...







There are also several friendly costumed interpreters to answer questions and tell stories about life in the 1850s...



 Walk just a bit further and take a peek at the Wood Family Cabin.



This is an example of what pioneer houses were like when the Atlanta area was just being settled. The cabin originally stood near the Chattahoochee River and approximately two miles from the site of the Creek Indian settlement of Standing Peachtree...