Visit the Atlanta History Center with your Reflection Riding Membership!

History: The Atlanta Historical Society was founded in 1926 to preserve and study Atlanta history, and became the Atlanta History Center in 1990. What began as a small, archival-focused historical society grew over the decades to encompass 33 acres of curated Goizueta Gardens, four historic houses, varied programming, and a range of signature and temporary exhibitions housed in the Atlanta History Museum on the property.

Pictured: The Historic Swan House.

Gardens: Goizueta Gardens is a 33-acre landscape encompassing nine distinct gardens—including preserved woodland, diverse plant collections, and heritage-breed animals.

Pictured: Olguita’s Garden in Spring.

Museum: The Atlanta History Museum features the people, culture, and history that have shaped Atlanta. Current exhibits cover topics like the 1996 Olympic games, women’s suffrage, the Civil War, railroads and locomotion, Native American history, and folk art.

Pictured: Turning Point: The American Civil War exhibit.

Cyclorama: The Battle of Atlanta is a 132-year-old hand-painted work of art that stands 49 feet tall, is longer than a football field, and weighs 10,000 pounds. This painting is one of only two cycloramas in the United States—the other being the Battle of Gettysburg cyclorama —making Atlanta home to one of America’s largest historic treasures.

Pictured: The Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama and viewing platform.

Research: The Kenan Research Center preserves extensive primary source holdings for the study of Atlanta and the surrounding region, including a special collection for Southeastern horticultural history in the Cherokee Garden Library! The center also has a collection dedicated to collecting and sharing the stories of veterans through the Veterans History Project. It’s free to the public; you just have to make an appointment in advance.

Pictured: Historical items at the Kenan Research Center.

Are you ready to visit?  Here’s what you get at the Atlanta History Center with your Reflection Riding membership card: Free admission, free parking, and gift shop discounts!  Make sure to have your membership card and I.D. with you when you go.  (Some restrictions apply: There is a 90-mile exclusion, meaning the benefits do not apply if your home address is within 90 miles of the participating garden. Special events are not included. It’s a good idea to call the garden before visiting when you’re planning on using your reciprocal admissions benefits.)

Visit the The Atlanta History Center website to learn more. Become a Reflection Riding member or renew your membership here to take advantage of the American Horticultural Society Reciprocal Admissions Program at over 300 other gardens across the country!

All images courtesy of the Atlanta History Center.