Acworth's miniature Alamo

Metro Atlanta

Acworth's miniature Alamo

Mark Lemon wants everyone to remember the Alamo — not the Hollywood version though or what tourists see in San Antonio today. Lemon decided to build a scale model of the original mission to show how much has been lost and what the Alamo looked like 172 years ago.

Over a period of four months Mark Lemon built this reproduction of the Alamo and surrounding area in his Acworth garage.

The model measures 13 feet by 9.5 feet and tries to show how much has been lost and what the Alamo looked like 172 years ago.

The model served as a guide for Lemon's book, "The Illustrated Alamo 1836: A Photographic Journey."

A recent movie about the siege between Texas rebels and Republic of Mexico forces spurred Lemon into creating a historically correct version of the Alamo. It wasn't the storytelling in the 1960 or 2004 movies that bothered him. It was the geography.

"It's ironic that Hollywood brought so many people to the Alamo story and then mislead them completely about what the place really looked like," Lemon said.

Lemon, a private investigator and Civil War-era artist, has a bachelor's degree in graphic design.

"He has illuminated the Shrine of Texas liberty with remarkable skill," Bill Chemerka, founder of the Alamo Society and editor of the Alamo Journal, said. "His book brings to life America's most famous mission-fortress."

Lemon said his goal was to give visual context to the Alamo story. He made three trips to Texas where he dug through land surveys, plats, deeds and other records.

He discovered the location of the kitchen, the barracks and what materials were used to build them. He found construction methods that were used in the ramps to the gun platforms.

He used high density foam board to construct his three-dimensional model. Materials included scenic modeling clay for mounded earth, balsa wood for planking on gun ramps and twigs and sticks for logs on the palisades.

He shot the model from every angle and asked a photographer in Texas to Photo Shop local scenery to add the look of 1836. The book has more than 176 pages and more than 100 drawings and photos.

"The siege at the Alamo is not just a regional story. It shaped the country we know today," Lemon said. "It is a story of sacrifice against self interest. We have to tell it right."

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Over a period of four months Mark Lemon built this reproduction of the Alamo and surrounding area in his Acworth garage.

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