On our last day in Atlanta in June we walked a few blocks to the Marta station and rode the train downtown to walk around in the morning. I always forget about the long high escalader ride up at the Peachtree Station. It’s not so bad going up but a little creepy going down. Years ago this station was probably much busier with people heading downtown to work but this Friday morning there was hardly anyone around.

We headed a few blocks away to Centennial Park, formally know as Olympic Park (the summer Olympics were here in 1996).

We had not been down here since 2012 and it mostly looks the same except for the ferris wheel.

We walked through the CNN center and it was deserted. It was around 9:30 and there should have been more people here for a Friday. There’s a small food court and a hotel attached as well. I’m sure CNN doesn’t do their tours anymore.

 

Above is a church that was built in 1911. It became the House of Blues concert hall for the 1996 Olympics and at some point it changed names to the Tabernacle.

The Hard Rock Cafe opened right before the Olympics and is still open.

Some of the artwork on the way back to our condo.

Heading back to Tampa the next morning.

Being down at the park reminded me of when the Olympics were in Atlanta. My sister and I went down to the Olympic village several nights and above are some of the pictures I had taken. There were free concerts on the main stage and Olympic athletes would come out and talk including Mary Lou Retton (pictured above) who won the gold in gymnastics in 1984. It was the place to be and was packed every night until the bombing happened close to the end of the Olympics. We were there that night in that spot but had left a half hour earlier. You can read about it here. There was no social media or cell phones back then and I didn’t learn about it until turning on the news the next morning while getting ready for work.