Marietta, Georgia, USA

Defining Main Street: The Movie Theater. First there was the opera house, then there was the movie theater, and then there was streaming. Home town cinemas have survived only when they have found a dedicated preservationist movement or a niche market to serve. [2013]

Chickamauga, Georgia, USA

Unlike Europe, which had suffered centuries of deforestation, America had plentiful and easily exploited timber resources. On the frontier, therefore, single-pen log cabins became the "starter homes" of the day. This one has survived because it is on the Chickamauga battlefield and played a prominent role in Civil War military history. [2013]

Brunswick, Georgia, USA

Welcome to Geography Awareness Week: It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! The Governor's Office in Georgia apparently thinks a map will convince you to voluntarily buckle your seat belt. But, just in case the state map (in cautionary yellow) doesn't inspire enough compliance, a nasty threat has been added: "Click It or Ticket." [2010]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here's one sales promoter trying to interest you in two meals at Big Daddy's. The setting: the sidewalks of old Downtown Atlanta. [2020]

Brunswick, Georgia, USA

Fifteen states, including Maine, Maryland, and Georgia, have a town named Brunswick. What landscape elements tell you that this is the one in Georgia, not the one in Maine or Maryland, or even Brunswick County, Virginia? In which one of these four Brunswicks did the famous Brunswick stew originate? [2009]

Gardi, Georgia, USA

An abandoned apiary: Only the sign remains to remind attentive travelers that it was once part of the county's economic base. It may sit idle now, but it's not an eyesore. It's an invitation to think about Gardi's past and what the town was like when this was the post office. A decade ago, Gardi was removed from the state highway map, and then put back! [2007]

Jonesboro, Georgia, USA

See the map? It's an outline of Clayton County. See the gateway to history? It says Historic Jonesboro, which is the county seat. How has your community branded its street signs? With a map? Its name? A historic silhouette? If you wanted to use a map, what would be your choice: state, county, municipality? [2015]

Douglasville, Georgia, USA

What is the strangest thing about this mailbox canine? (a) He seems to be celebrating St. Patrick's Day a little early. (b) He looks pitifully peaked even though Mr. McFeely feeds him daily. (c) He keeps telling people he wants to be addressed as a malebox. [2018]
 

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

After the anchor triumvirate (led by Delaware) ratified the Constitution in 1787, Georgia kicked off the new year with ratification on January 2, 1788. It never occurred to you, though, that a new name might be in order. Your birth name honored a colonial king (one of those Georges!). Fortunately, there was also George Washington to give you cover. [2020]

Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Mills: Powered by running water, grist mills sustained generations of settlers on the Georgia piedmont. As a reminder, an old wooden mill was relocated to Atlanta's Stone Mountain Park in 1965. Water wheels, windmills and tidal mills (wish I could find one to photograph) all teach us the virtues of sustainability. [2020]

Rome, Georgia, USA

♫ These Are a Few of My Favorite Things ♫ ~ Public Sculpture: Who founded the 'eternal city'? Romulus 'n Remus, abandoned twins suckled by a she-wolf! Now you know where the name Rome came from. Wonder how it came to Georgia? Like all good public art, the sculpture here invites you into a web of connections and, perhaps, controversies. [2013]

Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA

Is it an authentic covered bridge? Yes. The World Guide to Covered Bridges logs it in as 10-44-01. But, the Stone Mountain Bridge is not geographically authentic. Originally located in Athens, it was moved to Stone Mountain Park in 1965. The bridge has African-American roots: The designer and builder was Washington W. King. [2020]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Like its box-car cousin, this may be a bridge and it may be covered, but it does not qualify as a covered bridge if you apply the standards of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Yet, this kind of covered bridge has become a part of every large city in the world even though most are not as high as those in Peachtree Center. [2020]

Sparks, Georgia, USA

Roadside Sermons for Easter Week: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26. An Old Testament verse never seemed so apt than on this particular Easter Monday. [2012]

Tifton, Georgia, USA

Roadside Sermons for Holy Week: "Pray Without Ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17) It's a tall order, but don't get so uptight about it. What you may not realize is that we can all pray while we are doing other things. Just keeping the well-being of others in our thoughts is a form of praying. If we didn't believe that, we would all be in monasteries. [2012]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Downtown Atlanta's skyline emerged in the 1970s with the development of Peachtree Plaza. It included the round Westin tower. The 1990s brought much new development, but by that time Midtown's skyline was also rising. And, the 21st century has seen the vertical emergence of Buckhead and now Sandy Springs, all along Peachtree Street as it extends north. [2020]

Pooler, Georgia, USA

Maps on the Landscape: Here's one on a restaurant (actually two). "Taste My Culture" says the sign. That's the attitude we should have about every culture! So, what culture is it that you could taste inside these walls? The culture that gives us mofongo. [2018]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Sometimes murals are better than an art gallery. Better in the sense that a visible outside wall democratizes the interpretational experience, all the while challenging us to figure things out. The fire extinguisher is Chinese red and the flag emblem is that of 'Red China.' What did Escrif mean when he put 'Emergency Only' at the bottom? [2013]

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

The Southern Ground Hornbill is yet another species that is vulnerable to extinction. Its native habitat is the African savannah, and you know what has happened to the African population. It has exploded to over a billion people. As the human population increases, other populations decrease. Humans destroy habitat and prey on the defenseless. [2014]

Savannah, Georgia, USA

Oglethorpe Street: It's fitting that Savannah has one. James Oglethorpe founded the city in 1733 and laid it out with such foresight that his plan endures today. How ironic is it that Oglethorpe staunchly opposed the importation of enslaved Africans while Georgia would later become one of the states that went to war to defend the "peculiar institution"? [2018]