MARTA = Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
  • Principal public transportation operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting of 48 miles of rail track with 38 train stations. It is the eighth-largest rapid transit system in the United States by ridership.
  • MARTA operates almost exclusively in Fulton, Clayton, and DeKalb counties, although they maintain bus service to two destinations in neighboring Cobb County (Six Flags Over Georgia and the Cumberland Transfer Center next to the Cumberland Mall). MARTA also operates Mobility, a separate para-transit service for disabled customers.
  • System Map

SNAPSHOT
  • Daily ridership: 432,900 (weekday; total in 2016)
  • 231,700 (weekday; rail) 
  • 199,000 (weekday; bus) 
  • 2,200 (weekday; paratransit)
  • Annual ridership: 134,701,300 (total)
  • Bus: February 17, 1972
  • Rail: June 30, 1979
  • System length: 48 miles
  • Transit Stations: 38
  • Lines: Red/Gold + Blue/Green
  • Track gauge: 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (standard gauge)
  • Electrification: Third rail 750 V DC
  • Top speed: 70 mph

Heavy Rail
In North America, the American Public Transportation Association defines a heavy rail system as an electric railway with the capacity to handle a heavy volume of traffic. The term is often used to distinguish it from light rail systems, which usually handle a smaller volume of passengers.

In North America, heavy rail can also refer to rapid transit, when referring to systems with heavier passenger loadings than light rail systems, but distinct from commuter rail and intercity rail systems. It is characterized by high-speed, passenger rail cars running in separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded. Such passenger rail cars are almost always electrically driven, with power either drawn from an overhead line or an electrified third rail.

STATION ARCHITECTURE > See WABE podcast (Docomomo Georgia)

MORE MARTA > See slide deck

FIVE POINTS STATION
  • Main hub and transfer point for MARTA system
  • December 22, 1979 (East-West)
  • December 4, 1981 (North-South)
  • Line: Red/Gold + Blue/Green
  • Platforms: 4 side platforms (two per level)
  • Tracks: 4 (2 per level)
  • Structure type: Underground (Red and Gold Lines)
  • At-grade: (Blue and Green Lines)
  • Parking: None
  • Architect: Finch-Heery (now CBRE-Heery)

Bill Finch – Finch graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1936 with a BS Architecture. Finch was also a retired US Marine Lt. Colonel. He saw combat on Iwo Jima and was, at one part in the epic battle, Executive Officer of the battalion in the 28th Regiment which raised the flag on Mount Suribachi. He also saw service in the Korean War. Known as a modernist, in a city, he was also reported to have disliked excessive parking lots and unburied wires. Major projects he had a hand in include Atlanta Stadium (1965), Five Points MARTA station (1979), Coca-Cola headquarters (1980) and BellSouth tower (1982).

George Heery – George T. Heery, FAIA RIBA FCMAA (born June 18, 1927) is an American architect and known for developing the concepts of Construction Program Management, Strategic Facilities Planning and the Bridging Method of project delivery. Atlanta architect George Heery has designed more than 100 stadiums around the world including Sanford Stadium in Athens, GA. He went to GA Tech.

STATION SOCCER – see video

TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
ARTWORK (INTERIOR)
  • Title: Eiseman Façade (Facadism)
  • Type of artwork: Architecture 
  • Architect: Walter I. Downing (1865-1918, Boston)
  • Original build date: 1901
  • Rebuilt in station: 1977

During construction of the Five Points station in 1977, area buildings had to be removed to create the needed space for the transit system. One of those buildings was the Eiseman Clothing building; however, rather than just tear it down, architect Jon Carlsten suggested preserving the Renaissance Revival facade of the building and incorporating it into the new station. Through a painstaking process, the builders were able to do just that.
The portion of the facade visible in the MARTA station originally stood high in the air on the Eiseman Clothing building. Thanks to its new location, though, riders can closely see the details in the sculpted figures and gargoyles. If they have a fine eye, they may see something extra. “Supposedly, the outline of a dog’s head is in the leaf pattern somewhere, a visual joke by the original sculptor,” Dirga said.
 
LOCATION
  • Address: 20 Broad St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
  • Coordinates: 33.753826°N | 84.391571°W (map it)

Time & Distance
  • Airport, 8.5 miles | 17 min via MARTA
  • Midtown, 3 miles | 5 mins
  • Lindbergh, 7 miles | 11 mins
  • Buckhead, 10 miles | 15 mins
  • Doraville, 17 miles | 24 mins
  • North Springs, 16 miles | 26 mins
  • Bankhead, 4 miles | 7 mins
  • HE Holmes, 6 miles | 9 mins
  • Decatur, 6 miles | 15 mins
  • Indian Creek, 15 miles, 25 mins

NEIGHBORHOODS / DISTRICTS
  • Downtown
  • South Downtown
  • Underground Atlanta
  • Fairlie-Poplar

HISTORY – Atlanta

HISTORIC LANDMARKS
ARTWORK / MONUMENTS
ARCHITECTURE

Historical Buildings
Modern Buildings
DEVELOPMENTS