Month of history tours returns March 5-27 with Phoenix Flies

By Collin Kelley

The 2022 edition of Phoenix Flies: A Celebration of Atlanta’s Historic Sites returns March 5-27 with a month of historic tours and events across the city.

From museums to adaptive reuse projects, to neighborhood tours to public libraries, this year’s 60+ new and returning partners are offering incredible free events both in-person and online.

Some of the historic sites on this year’s itinerary include Atlanta Woman’s Club, Balzer Theatre at Herren’s, The Healey Building, Oakland Cemetery, Historic St. Mark AME, Plaza Theatre, Ponce Condos, The Temple, Westview Cemetery, and The Wren’s Nest.

This year’s Phoenix Flies will also mark the 25th anniversary of the dramatic rescue of the Fox Theater from demolition, an event that permanently shaped Atlanta’s preservation ethos.

Registration is now open at preserveatl.eventbrite.com and all the events can be viewed in the digital program at atlantapreservationcenter.com.

Brooklyn to sell you,” Fort said.

Councilmember Antonio Lewis said the Campbellton community simply wanted “what was promised to us.”

“[MARTA] either forgot what they said or they’re outright lying to us,” Lewis said, adding that light rail was faster service and more equitable. “I know that once Cleveland Avenue, Campbellton Road and Cascade get what everybody in Buckhead’s got, the city is going to work a little bit better.”

Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet said getting light rail on the Campbellton corridor would be the catalyst for big change.

“If we get Campbellton Road right, the development will follow, and Atlanta will become more equitable. We’ll have more affordable housing, we’ll have grocery stores.” MARTA pushed back on claims that it is stealing money from Southwest Atlanta and the Campbellton Corridor project as “absurd and false.”

“The More MARTA program does not set aside a specific amount of money for specific Council Districts, rather, the program expands the transit system for the benefit of all Atlantans. It is irresponsible to suggest that MARTA and the City of Atlanta teams that jointly administer the More MARTA program have been anything but responsible stewards of that funding.”