Atlanta Underground

History from Below

By (author) Jeffrey Morrison

Hardback - £18.99

Publication date:

01 February 2020

Length of book:

176 pages

Publisher

Globe Pequot

ISBN-13: 9781493043705

Atlanta Underground presents a city history through the lens of its buried and paved-over urban landscape. Atlanta has been built, rebuilt, destroyed and rebuilt so many times that it has created an artificial surface dozens of feet above the original ground plane, leaving room to explore the stories that lie below. Clues and paved-over evidence of the original streetscape are still accessible, but only to those who know where to look. The story begins with the railroads that brought people and business to Atlanta, and the intersections of transportation that Atlanta eventually outgrew. This tour of the city's history include the former sites of Union Station, Underground Atlanta and the Zero Milepost, and the unusual attempts to fill the void they left behind (a wax museum, musical instrument museum, a skating rink).

Contemporary photos of this urban spelunking landscape will illustrate this telling of Atlanta’s history: how it came to be where it is, how it acquired its unique name, and how its colliding street grids were established.

The rapid growth and change of Atlanta’s many lives has led to some downright interesting hidden locations and architectural curiosities, and
AtlantaUnderground will reveal them one by one.

Jeffrey Morrison descends into the buried and nearly-forgotten heart of Atlanta with a meticulously researched and fast-paced historical narrative coupled with stunning, noirish photographs and archival images that illuminate a city in flux. Atlanta has famously demolished some of its most historic buildings as it aggressively strives to be a modern, international city. As this underworld vanishes in the name of progress, Atlanta Underground is a must-read for history buffs, city planners and guardians of history now and in the future.

– Collin Kelley, Editor Atlanta INtown



Through beautiful photography, expert narrative, and well-researched historical references, Morrison investigates the cultural crevices of Atlanta’s unexpected Underground – a perfectly artificial connotation that further muddies the city’s identity. Underground may not really be below the ground plane, but as both a physical and social infrastructure, it’s a defining force under Atlanta.

-Ryan Gravel, Author of Where We Want to Live: Reclaiming Infrastructure for a New Generation of Cities\



Jeffrey Morrison has written and illustrated an important work displaying one of the most unique urban developments – the burying of a downtown and creating Underground Atlanta. The black-and-white images show the starkness of the concrete structures that buried Atlanta’s historic core. The book provides a detailed history of Underground Atlanta, and it is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the origin and development of cities. -Atlanta journalist Maria Saporta, founder and editor of SaportaReport.com