The Studio Going Underground

Architect and tour guide publishes new book on Atlanta’s unseen underground

By Collin Kelley

As a poet and novelist, I am often asked by writers and publishers to “blurb” a book, which means to write a short endorsement that will appear on the back cover. I have written many, but never in my capacity as editor of Atlanta INtown. So, I was quite tickled when Jeffrey Morrison reached out to me about writing a blurb for his book “Atlanta Underground: History From Below,” which is out now in hardcover from Globe Pequot Press.

The blurb reads: Jeffrey Morrison descends into the buried and nearly-forgotten heart of Atlanta with a meticulously researched and fast-paced historical narrative coupled with stunning, noirish photographs and archival images that illuminate a city in flux. Atlanta has famously demolished some of its most historic buildings as it aggressively strives to be a modern, international city. As this underworld vanishes in the name of progress, “Atlanta Underground” is a must-read for history buffs, city planners and guardians of history now and in the future.

If you only think of shops, restaurants, The Masquerade and the Peach Drop when someone mentions Underground Atlanta, then let Morrison take you to somewhere you’ve likely never been in the heart of Downtown.

The area in question is The Gulch, a warren of below level parking lots, train tracks, tunnels and streets that date back from the city’s earliest beginnings. This area has been in the news a lot lately, including these pages, as it barrels toward transformation into a massive mixed-use project called Centennial Yards. Many might not know that “Underground Atlanta” also stretches east all the way back to Georgia State University and that remnants of the old Omni Coliseum are still down there, too.

If you’ve ever parked in The Gulch for an event at State Farm Arena or Mercedes BenzStadium, then you’ve caught a glimpse of the underworld beneath Atlanta, but Morrison has been leading tours there for more than a decade and his personal fascination became the genesis of “Atlanta Underground.”

Morrison got the idea for the tours from a prompt in the old DIY magazine, ReadyMade. The prompt was to “lead a tour of somewhere you know well.” As an architect and advocate for preservation, Morrison had been exploring and photographing The Gulch and its environs since the 1990s. He started leading lunchtime walks for his fellow architects, but word spread of the “Unseen Underground” tours and they grew quickly to become anticipated public events in the Spring and

Fall. His tours have been since been included in the annual Phoenix Flies celebration hosted by the Atlanta Preservation Center and he’s also given tours for Central Atlanta Progress. His last “Underground Tour” in October attracted 75 people and his upcoming tour in March is sure to be even more popular thanks to the book. You can check out the Unseen Undergroud Walking Tours page on Facebook or AtlantaFromBelow.com for more details on the upcoming tour.

Morrison originally thought of selfpublishing a coffee table-style book of his photographs with short captions. But after his walking tours started to get buzz

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