Cyclorama
In an effort to actually prove “we were there” I practice the custom of posing people in front of the landmarks we visit. It is silly when I think about it, but as I get older it is a reminder of where I traveled and with whom!
Here’s a picture of my husband Stan Hitchcock, and Alan McLaughlin, the COO of BlueHighways TV standing in front of the building housing the Cyclorama in Atlanta, Georgia. It was Stan’s and mine 21st wedding anniversary. We had no choice but to travel on business that day so we took a celebratory adventure to this Atlanta landmark to say we did something special to mark 21 years together. As you can see, men don’t much like to smile in pictures; it must be a macho thing – gruff and tough. Or perhaps they just find my notion of getting a photo of them in front of a building as silly. (I have seen evidence that men do smile in photos – but typically its news photos and they have usually been caught doing something stupid, meaning they did not actually know that the photo was being taken.) Most women wouldn’t be caught with a grim faced photo.
Let’s get back to the Cyclorama. It’s a gigantic 122 year-old painting about the Battle of Atlanta and the current presentation adds diorama models that blend into the base of the painting for an amazing “you are there” feel. The painting, which measures 42 feet high by 358 feet in circumference, is hung in a circular theater and the audience platform rotates throughout the program. When you visit the Cyclorama look for Clark Gable, dressed as a fallen civilian near the base of the painting. Story goes that during the premiere ceremonies for “Gone With The Wind” Mr. Gable was invited to view the Cyclorama. Afterwards he snipped that it wasn’t complete because he was not in the painting or diorama. A dead Gable was promptly added.
To get to the Atlanta Cyclorama in Grant Park take I-75 South to downtown Atlanta, take I-20 East to Boulevard. You will see well-marked signs for Grant Park which has the Cyclorama and the Atlanta Zoo. It was a great way to spend our 21st Anniversary – but I vote for the beach next year!
Denise