Q: Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded on Atlanta’s Airline Street in 1886. Why would a street have been named Airline Street before airplanes had even been invented?
—Caroline Knight, Atlanta
A: We flew this question over to the Atlanta History Center for an explanation. Jackson McQuigg, vice president of properties and an expert on railways, tells us the street's name came from the fact that it ran adjacent to the shops of the Atlanta and Charlotte Air-Line Railway. And yes, the obvious next question is: Why was a railroad called an Air-Line? Air-Line was used for many railway names. The term described a railroad route that was as straight as a line they can build from one city to another, says Ruddy Ellis, a member of the Atlanta chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. That could make routes also shorter than competitors' routes that stopped in many towns along the way. He adds that as Atlanta became a more important city, it was natural to build a route along a straight line from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C.
Q: The Atlanta Dogwood Festival is this weekend. How did it begin?
A: Atlantans enjoy spending the spring celebrating the outdoors, as seen by the numerous garden and home tours. So the festival, which began in 1936, wanted to do the same thing – to spotlight the blooming of the dogwood trees planted around the city by garden clubs and residents. You can credit Walter Rich of Rich's department store, for starting the event 75 years ago, which ran until World War II. The festival was revived (much like my azaleas are needing right now) in 1964. Parades, fashion shows, live music, hot air balloon races and art shows were added over the years as the festival blossomed, changing venues and adding days as it attracted hundreds of thousands of people. The festival, which pays homage to one of Georgia's most widely planted trees, returned to Piedmont Park in 2009. The festival also is celebrating the 75th anniversary of another iconic part of Americana, or Atlanta-cana if you will, this year – Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind."
Q: On which Georgia river was the movie “Deliverance” shot?
A: Cue the banjo music. The 1972 Academy-Award nominated thriller, based on James Dickey's best-selling novel, was filmed on the Chattooga River in northeast Georgia. Actors Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight and Ned Beatty portrayed Atlanta businessmen on what turns into a terrifying canoe trip after they encounter a few not-so-pleasant locals. Most of the thrills these days are from whitewater rafting and other pursuits on the river, whose beauty earned it a Wild and Scenic River designation (the forests adjacent to the Chattooga are filled with – surprise – even more dogwoods) in 1974.
What do you want to know?
If you’re new in town or just have questions about this special place we call home, ask us! E-mail Lori Johnston at q&a@ajc.com.
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