Inman Park, A New Atlanta History Center Exhibit
On July 2nd the Atlanta History Center will open a new exhibit entitled Gatheround: Stories of Atlanta. Inman Park is one of the communities featured. Highlights from the Inman Park installation include stories from the neighborhood’s revitalization beginning in the late-1960s, origins of the Inman Park festival and the ‘Road Fight’. “Prominent artifacts include the recently retired 9 foot long festival parade butterfly wings (gifted to the AHC by the Parade Committee), Road Fight t-shirts, “Stop the Road” sign, video footage of protests, and a slideshow of images of the trolley barn throughout the years “ said Jesse Garbowski, AHC’s Neighborhood Exhibition Project Manager.
Inman Park resident Bill Goodman donated the audiovisual work and almost all images and artifacts have come from former and current Inman Park residents as well as the neighborhood association’s archives. Content for the exhibit was developed with help from members of IPNA in collaboration with Garbowski. Garbowski emphasized the importance of neighborhood involvement in telling the Inman Park story for the exhibit.
When asked about the significance of the exhibit past president Dennis Mobley said: “Since moving to Inman Park in the late 1990s, Faye and I were steeped in the tales of the Road Busters, and have since called them Inman Park’s “Greatest Generation”. It’s one thing to read the Settlement Agreement and hear anecdotes about the Road Fight, but thanks to the Atlanta History Center exhibit on Inman Park, to see TV news footage of the civil disobedience, the neighbors in trees or with arms locked, chanting “We have a right to be here…….” was incredibly moving. My admiration for those who fought and won the good fight has grown immeasurably as a result of this vignette. I heartily recommend all Inman Parkers come see this exhibit!”