What if Atlanta Hadn't Been Burned Down? (Boston, Franklin: homes, neighborhoods)

[Listennow32]

How would our skyline and the character of our neighborhoods differ? More of a traditional southern city perhaps?

[Bizurko]

Perhaps we would be more of a traditional southern city. I think it would also have a more extensive network of commuter and freight rail lines and much more dense judging by the old photos and maps. I've also wondered this a lot.

[ATLTJL]

What if Germany won World War II? What if 9/11 never happened? What if Benjamin Franklin never discovered electricity?

There's no way to really know.

[Bizurko]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

What if Germany won World War II? What if 9/11 never happened? What if Benjamin Franklin never discovered electricity?

There's no way to really know.

Good Job playing along lol.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Bizurko

Perhaps we would be more of a traditional southern city. I think it would also have a more extensive network of commuter and freight rail lines and much more dense judging by the old photos and maps. I've also wondered this a lot.

Atlanta only had 9,554 residents according to the 1860 census. That isn't very large even by the standards of those days.

[DTL3000]

Sherman would probably be a fairly common name for native-born Atlanta boys.

[Bizurko]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Atlanta only had 9,554 residents according to the 1860 census. That isn't very large even by the standards of those days.

I didn't say it was large, just dense.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Bizurko

I didn't say it was large, just dense.

My point is that the city really hadn't developed much at that pojnt. I'm not sure the burning of Atlanta made much difference in how Atlanta developed. 95% of it didn't exist at that point.

[carrot]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

My point is that the city really hadn't developed much at that pojnt. I'm not sure the burning of Atlanta made much difference in how Atlanta developed. 95% of it didn't exist at that point.

I agree, the city was pretty dinky when it burned, but strategically important. The city actually became more dense after the war through the early 1900’s then we started blowing out architecture for parking lots.

I think a more intriguing question would be: What would Atlanta be like if most of our pre 1900 architecture still remained? What if the old Victorian homes that lined Peachtree were still here? I’ve seen an old picture of beautiful mansions lining peachtree st where the Weston and Peachtree Center now stand! What if they were all there? What if the skyscrapers were further north near midtown and buckhead (at the time that area was mostly farmland...) so there would be the historic center of Atlanta and the contemporary center. If that were the case Atlanta might be more like a Charleston as a tourist trap...horse and buggy tours, ghost tours...fun stuff like that. I'm sure we have these, but the ambiance is not quite the same riding past a parking deck.

How do cities like London or Boston or Paris maintain their beautiful architecture but places like Atlanta don’t? I find it disappointing and weird Atlanta couldn't….

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by Listennow32

How would our skyline and the character of our neighborhoods differ? More of a traditional southern city perhaps?

but it was burned and there is no way to know how things would have turned out if it hadn't burned, if Einstein had never been born, if Indians had never had their land stolen and so many murdered just for fun and greed, if the concentration camps had never happened, if your parents would have never met.....yadayadayada, the list is endless.