Once Divided, Reunited: Atlanta BeltLine Transforms Historic Railroad Barriers to Modern-Day Connectors

FAIN: BP-259247-18

Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (Atlanta, GA 30303-1913)
Fred Yalouris (Project Director: August 2017 to September 2018)
Lena Carstens (Project Director: September 2018 to present)

Planning for historic site interpretation of Atlanta’s railroad corridor, including exhibitions, public programs, and trail signage.

The Atlanta BeltLine, a network of trails and parks built along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor that once circled downtown, is one of the most transformative urban redevelopment programs in the country. Linking neighborhoods once divided by physical barriers of track, bunkers and trenches, and equally formidable social barriers of class and race, the BeltLine is transforming public life. With art exhibits, festivals, volunteer events, and novel opportunities to walk or cycle through the city’s backyards, the BeltLine has become a new “public square.” Once Divided, Reunited brings Atlanta’s past to that public square, using a unique historic space to revisit histories of people who lived and worked on the railroad corridor. Coordinating efforts of scholars, civic advocates, residents, and educational institutions, the project will produce an on-site exhibition and related public programming, interpretive historical signs, and a public, digital archive of additional resources.