Evidently this is the city that grew so fast and had such a limited vocabulary that it could only name its streets Peachtree...something. Tonight I'm staying in a hotel on Peachtree Road NE. Apparently there is also a Peachtree Road NW.
My dear friend M who lives outside Atlanta picked me up to have dinner tonight. We wandered around the City a bit - really didn't make any wrong turns, but were amazed that while we were looking for Peachtree Street (yes, apparently it forks off of Peachtree Road NW) we passed the following (no lie):
- Peachtree Avenue NE
- Peachtree Way NE
- Peachtree Battle Avenue NW
- Peachtree Hills Avenue NE
- Peachtree Memorial Drive NW
- Peachtree Park Drive NE (this is about when my giggling started)
- Peachtree Valley Road NW
- Peachtree Circle NE
- West Peachtree Street NE
- Peachtree Place NE
- West Peachtree Place NW
- Peachtree Center Avenue NE
Seriously.
Okay - I know I am a Yankee. As a Yankee I am supposed to be predisposed to mocking the South. It's not really my style. But seriously.
No really. Seriously.
3 comments:
Isn't it bizarre?
Maybe it is all a ploy to keep Yankees out? They figure if we can't get from a to b we may just decide to pack up and go home?
You're just now finding this out? Atlanta has long been famous for its proliferation of Peachtrees, a fact that's always referenced in travel directories and newcomer guides. We embrace it as one of those quirky things that make Atlanta unique, and we laugh at visitors and new residents (about 1 million since 2000 alone) who think we're crazy because they can't figure it out.
We know where Peachtree Street becomes Peachtree Road and eventually Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, and that West Peachtree Street runs parallel to the main Peachtree, two blocks to the west through Midtown. Various suburbs also have Peachtree this or that ... I grew up near Peachtree City, which has a Peachtree Parkway. But that's not the same Peachtree Parkway that runs through the Peachtree Corners community in Gwinnett County, clear on the other side of the Metro.
For a better understanding, I offer this informative link to the otherwise questionable Web site, Wikipedia;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peachtree_Street
As for trying to "keep the Yankees" out, I'm afraid that battle was lost long ago, thanks to Gen. Sherman -- and we've embraced our Northern cousins with open arms ever since. Have you ever BEEN here? Of the more than 5 million people who live in Metro Atlanta, well over half were born outside the region ... which is why Atlanta has a reputation for not being very Southern at all!
Come back y'all ...
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