"City Beneath the Streets"

– Click/Watch video by Mehran Moin

After Atlanta’s destruction during the Civil War, the city began to rebuild its railway industry. By the early 20th century, Atlanta’s Union Station Depot was serving 100 trains daily near the impressive three-story head house, which contained a whiskey distillery, saloons, hotels, law offices and more.

Architect Haralson Bleckley proposed construction of concrete bridges to cross the busy rail tracks along with a plaza at the bridge level to connect the viaducts. As previous merchants moved upstairs from the lower levels to the elevated viaducts, upper street systems were created, effectively burying structures and streetscapes that later became Underground Atlanta.