Memorial Drive was originally known as East Fair Street. It was one of the first roads in Atlanta and connected the downtown commercial districts to the residential neighborhoods of East Lake and Kirkwood. In 1930, it was expanded all the way to Memorial Hall in Stone Mountain Park. The now 15-mile-long throughfare took on a new symbolic meaning to connect the State Capitol with the Confederate monument at Stone Mountain. It was “another step in the effort of Atlanta and Georgia to honor the memory of the heroes of the confederacy” according to an article in The Atlanta Constitution on February 2, 1930.
In the years since, Memorial Drive has acquired even more history. The street passes through communities of a wide diversity of people. These neighborhoods have seen cycles of development, economic decline, redevelopment and in some recent cases complete gentrification. People from all over the world as well as those from just across town have come to live and work on or near Memorial Drive. The story is complex and of interest not only to developers and realtors, but also urban planners, sociologists, community activists, business owners, residents and even artists.
BIO: Peter Essick is a photographer, editor, author, speaker, instructor, and drone pilot with 30 years of experience working for National Geographic Magazine. He specializes in nature and environmental themes.
Essick is the author of four books of his photographs, The Ansel Adams Wilderness, Our Beautiful, Fragile World, Fernbank Forest and Work in Progress. He has photographed stories for National Geographic on many environmental issues including climate change, high-tech trash, nuclear waste, and freshwater. Essick now focuses his work on a more personal documentation of the environmental and cultural changes in his hometown of Atlanta.
Essick’s photographs are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, the Booth Western Art Museum and many other private collections. He is represented by Spalding Nix Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.
Peter Essick
1856 East Gate Drive
Stone Mountain, GA 30087
770-653-0264
Peter@PeterEssick.com
Instagram:@essickpeter
