Special-Interest Tours

The Atlanta Preservation Center, a private nonprofit organization headquartered at 327 St. Paul Ave. SE (tel. 404/688-3353), offers a variety of 1- to 2-hour guided walking tours of the city. Cost of each tour is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, students, and children. Tours of the Fox Theatre are given year-round; the remaining options are noted below. Call or visit www.preserveatlanta.com for days, hours, and departure points.

On the Fox Theatre Tour, you'll explore this restored 1920s Moorish movie palace in depth. The theater's auditorium resembles the courtyard of a Cairo mosque, and the architecture and interior were influenced by the discoveries at King Tut's tomb. This tour is subject to change due to special events or matinee performances.

Grant Park, the centerpiece of a revitalized neighborhood, became a favorite spot thanks to its beautiful lake, numerous springs, and amusement area. It's now home to the Atlanta Cyclorama and Zoo Atlanta. The Grant Park Tour (Sun in Mar-Nov) uses the park as the setting for a walk through Atlanta's history, from antebellum times (you'll see the Grant Mansion and Confederate fortifications) through the Victorian era to the present day.

The Historic Downtown Tour (Fri-Sat in Mar-Nov) is an architectural survey of Atlanta's downtown, from Victorian buildings to modern high-rises. You'll learn about the architects, the businesspeople, and the prominent families who created the city's early commercial center. The tour includes peeks at historic interiors.

The Inman Park Tour (2pm Sun in Mar-Nov, Twilight Tours Apr-Oct) visits Atlanta's first trolley suburb, where you'll see preserved and restored Victorian mansions (exterior views only). Highlights include the homes of Coca-Cola magnates Asa Candler and Ernest Woodruff.

The Sweet Auburn/Martin Luther King, Jr., Historic District Tour, offered only as a special prearranged group tour, focuses on the area that 20th-century African-American entrepreneurs developed into a prosperous commercial hub. You'll also visit the church where Martin Luther King, Jr., preached, and discover landmarks of the civil rights movement.