Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Beginning of MARTA


For all my MARTA lovin' friends out there who, despite its shortcomings, still hold a very dear place in their hearts for our substandard and struggling transit system, here are some photos courtesy of the Atlanta History Center to remind you of when MARTA had hopes and dreams of really being something. The photographers, Martin Stupich and Duane Cronk, captured MARTA in its construction stage. Stupich had received a grant from the NEA and Cronk was a consultant on the project.
However, if you are upset with MARTA, move along and cast your blame directly on the State of Georgia and the inept people who supposedly govern it. Perhaps once the gridlock reaches Waycross they'll realize that it's in their best interest to provide some funding to MARTA. Until then, hang tight.

1 comment:

Terry said...

Great to see that picture. I worked downtown and then in that very building. My MARTA resentment: MARTA construction kept downtown ripped up for years. And when it was done, all the folks who formerly transferred from bus to bus and hung out in the process were now underground, never to be seen again on downtown streets. MARTA became the quickest way to a dead downtown. Probably would have died anyway.

The midtown station allowed Southern Bell/Bellsouth to be heroic: building over a MARTA station and saving the FOX while moving many thousands of workers out of downtown forever.