OVERVIEW

MARTA is more than a method of transportation, it’s about connecting people, neighborhoods, promoting business, and conservation.  And then of course there’s the art, architecture and history.  In essence, MARTA is integrally important to Atlanta.

As we all know, this summer has been notoriously hot.  It is serendipitous that our art interview focuses on a sculpture called Hot-Lanta Fan, a work by industrial designer and all-around creative Ted Freeman.  Freeman’s work was selected by MARTA as one of seven works of public art exhibited at the highest-traffic stations, his at Five Points Station.  Ted joins Gene to talk art and his love for Atlanta.

Brian Bell with BLDGS Architects is a Harvard graduate, a Georgia Tech professor, and a patron to the arts, but it’s his love for and knowledge about MARTA that brings him into the studio.  Bell, along with business partner David Yocum, bake in a rich, historical perspective to their work, and Brian shares the history of MARTA’s architecture along with some personal sentiments for spots like King Memorial Station, Decatur Station, Arts Center and Five Points Station to name a few.

Certainly it is not surprising to know that city planning has played a big part in MARTA’s making, and Heather Alhadeff, a Senior Transportation Planner with Perkins+Will, has been on the forefront of our city’s efforts for many years starting with her work in Mayor Franklin’s administration on Atlanta’s first, true transportation plan.  Heather also practices what she preaches, taking MARTA daily, and joins Gene to share her insights about the process and effect of planning for transit.

The new Manager of Streetcar Development, and long-time MARTA mainstay, Paul Grether, is the glue that brings the whole show together.  Paul imparts his extensive knowledge about the origin of MARTA and the promise of its future.  Additionally, Grether goes into some of the behind the scenes details about how MARTA came to be, and what its predecessors were like in the early days of Atlanta history.