Atlanta History Center facts for kids
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| Established | 1926 |
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| Location | 130 West Paces Ferry Road |
| Type | History |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums |
| Owner | Atlanta Historical Society |
| Nearest parking | On site (no charge) |
The Atlanta History Center is a fun place to learn about history! It's a history museum and research spot in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia. It started way back in 1926.
Today, the center has nine main exhibits and often features special ones too. Its campus covers 33 acres. You can explore old gardens and historic houses there. These include the famous Swan House and the Smith Farm. The History Center also has a Midtown campus. This is where you'll find the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum.
If you love history, the Kenan Research Center is for you. It's the research part of the History Center. You can visit by making an appointment. It holds a huge collection of old papers and items. The Atlanta History Center also has one of the biggest collections of Civil War artifacts in the whole United States!
Contents
Discover Exciting Exhibitions
The Atlanta History Center has many cool exhibits. Some are always there, some are temporary, and some even travel to other places.
Permanent Exhibitions: Always Something New to See
- Atlanta '96: Shaping an Olympic and Paralympic City
This exhibit opened in 2020. It shows how the Olympic Games changed Atlanta. You'll see how the games affected different people. It looks at the lasting impact, even decades later.
- Cyclorama: The Big Picture
Opened in 2019, this exhibit features a huge painting. It's called The Battle of Atlanta. This painting is 132 years old and 49 feet tall! It's part of a cool multimedia experience. You can learn about the Civil War. It also shows how movies change our views of history.
- Locomotion: Railroads and the Making of Atlanta
This exhibit is all about trains! Its main star is a restored locomotive named "Texas". This train was built in 1856. It played a role in the "Great Locomotive Chase" during the Civil War. Another key item is the Zero Mile Post. This marker from the 1850s shows where Atlanta first began. The exhibit explains how railroads helped Atlanta grow. It became a major transportation and business center.
- Turning Point: The American Civil War
This exhibit has over 1,400 Civil War items. You can see cannons, uniforms, and swords. These items help you understand what life was like during the war.
- Gatheround: Stories of Atlanta
This is an interactive exhibit. It explores the people and places that make Atlanta special. You can learn about different themes. These include politics, culture, and community. It shares stories from many different people. You can see artifacts, media, and even record your own stories!
- Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South
This exhibit shows Southern folk art. It includes clothing, food, singing, and storytelling. You'll see both old and new traditions.
- Native Lands: Indians and Georgia
Learn about Georgia's first people here. It starts with the Mississippian peoples. Then it continues with the Creeks and Cherokees. These groups had complex societies long ago. They had art, music, farming, and trade. The exhibit shares their history. It also shows their ongoing connection to Georgia today.
- Fair Play: The Bobby Jones Story
This exhibit is about Bobby Jones. He was a famous golfer from Georgia. It tells his life story. It also shows how golf grew in the U.S. Bobby Jones won golf's four major tournaments in one year. He was the only golfer to do this!
- Mandarin Shutze: A Chinese Export Life
This exhibit tells the story of Philip Trammell Shutze. He was a famous architect in Atlanta. He was also known for his art collections. The Swan House, which he designed, is also at the History Center.
Temporary Exhibitions: Limited Time to Explore!
- Explore Black Atlanta
This exhibit highlights African Americans in Atlanta's history. It uses items from the History Center's collections. You can also find an online version.
- Seeking Eden: A Collection of Georgia's Historic Gardens
This exhibit is in the McElreath Hall gallery. It shows twelve historic gardens from a book. It also includes items from the Cherokee Garden Library.
Explore Historic Buildings
Main Campus Buildings
- Smith Farm
This old farmhouse was built by the Robert Smith family. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once a small farm with 200 acres. The house was moved to the History Center in 1969. Today, you can see the farmhouse, a cabin, a kitchen, and a blacksmith shop. There are also old gardens. The farm has special heritage animals like goats and sheep.
- The Victorian and Lee Playhouses
These are miniature houses! The Lee playhouse was given to the History Center in 1998. The Victorian Playhouse was donated in 1980. It's located near the Boxwood Garden.
- Swan House
This house is also on the National Register of Historic Places. Philip Trammell Shutze designed it in the 1920s. It's named for the swan designs above its back entrance. The house is surrounded by the Boxwood Garden. The front yard has two fountains and a terraced lawn. It's one of the most photographed places in Atlanta!
- Wood Family Cabin
This log cabin is in Swan Woods. It shows what life was like for settlers and Native Americans in the 1820s and 1830s. Some of its logs came from the home of Elias and Jane Wood. They were early settlers in Georgia. The cabin was given to the History Center in 2014.
Goizueta Gardens: Beautiful Outdoor Spaces
- Olguita's Garden
This garden is named after Olga “Olguita” C. de Goizueta. It's a beautiful garden with flowers and sweet smells. It's inspired by famous gardens in Europe. It has a water feature and limestone columns.
- Mary Howard Gilbert Memorial Quarry Garden
This garden was once a granite quarry! It's now a garden behind the main building. It has medicinal plants and waterfalls. It also has Georgia's largest collection of native plants. The quarry was rediscovered in 1972. It's 25 feet deep and 3 acres big. Today, it's a safe place for native plants and wildlife.
- Smith Family Farm Gardens
These gardens are at Smith Farm. They have old types of plants and flowers. You'll see historic crops in the fields. There's also a kitchen garden. Heritage-breed sheep, goats, and chickens are also here.
- Swan House Gardens
These gardens are part of the Swan House estate. Shutze designed them from 1926 to 1928. They are formal gardens that show off the beautiful Swan House.
- Frank A. Smith Memorial Rhododendron Garden
This garden has plants that love shade. You'll see giant elephant ears and peacock moss. There's a small pond and a dry streambed. It's full of rhododendrons and small flowering trees.
- Sims Asian Garden
This garden is home to the Asian Plant Collection. Benjamin H. Sims and his wife collected many unique Asian plants. You can see Satsuki azaleas, hydrangeas, and Japanese maples here. Many of the Japanese maples came from the Sims family's own garden.
- Swan Woods and Wood Family Cabin
This area has many acres of forest around the cabin. You can still see traces of old cotton fields. You might even spot some wildlife! There's a Fern Circle with many types of ferns. The Garden for Peace is also here. It's part of a worldwide network of gardens that promote peace.
- Veterans Park
Midtown Campus: Margaret Mitchell House
The Atlanta History Center also has a Midtown campus. It's at 10th and Peachtree Streets. This campus includes the Margaret Mitchell House. This house is where Margaret Mitchell lived. She wrote her famous novel, Gone With The Wind, here from 1925 to 1932. Both the house and Commercial Row are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History of the Atlanta History Center
The Atlanta History Center started in 1926. Back then, it was called the Atlanta Historical Society (AHS). At first, it was a group for talking about history. But soon, they started publishing a history magazine. This magazine was later called Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South.
Walter McElreath, an Atlanta lawyer, was the first leader. The center's McElreath Hall is named after him. Other early leaders included Ruth Blair and Franklin Garrett. In the beginning, the group rented space in different buildings in Atlanta.
In 1946, the group bought a large house. It was the Willis B. Jones home. This house allowed them to store and show their growing collection of items and photos.
Later, they needed a new home again. In 1966, they used money from Walter McElreath's estate. They bought the 23-acre Swan House property. This became the main campus of the History Center.
In 1986, the group received a big collection of Civil War items. It was called the DuBose Collection. In 1989, the Atlanta Historical Society built the current museum. It was made to hold this collection.
In 1990, the Atlanta Historical Society changed its name. It became the Atlanta History Center. The new museum opened in 1993. It had five exhibits. An expansion in 1996 added two more exhibits. The Kenan Research Center library also grew. More gardens were added.
In 2014, the city of Atlanta decided to move the Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama painting. They also moved its items to the Atlanta History Center. This included the old "Texas" locomotive. The museum built a new area to house the huge painting and the train.
After careful restoration, the Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama opened on February 22, 2019.
