After a much-anticipated and successful visit to the Ford Presidential Museum in January, I was eager to keep up the pace. So, I scheduled another trip for March, this time to Atlanta, home of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Departing from the Raleigh-Durham Airport on a Tuesday early in the month, it only took me several minutes to pass through the TSA Security checkpoint with my TSA PreCheck status. This is a must for any frequent traveler since it appreciably speeds up the entire security process. But there was one more program I could join which would make the process even speedier. Since I knew I’d be heading to Atlanta, I’d previously completed the preliminary enrollment process online for CLEAR, planning to finish it in person at that airport on arrival. Instead of using traditional ID documents, CLEAR uses biometrics, namely your eyes and face, which confirms your identity. As a result, it offers a faster, safer and completely contactless experience at a nationwide network of over fifty airports, stadiums and other locations. I charged the $179 annual fee to my American Express Platinum Card and was quickly reimbursed within several days. Once in Atlanta, it was quick and easy to complete my CLEAR registration with one of their helpful agents who recorded my iris scan (with contacts on), took my photo, and digitally registered my fingerprints.
Atlanta is a very big airport and is still the busiest in the world. I’m usually making a connection there so I’m relatively unfamiliar with the layout other than the terminals themselves. It took me some time to locate the Uber ride share area, but my pickup by Tydarius went off without a hitch. Even though it was a rainy and misty day, I saw nothing but a sea of Delta tails as we departed the field at this, their headquarters airport. We made it to the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in about thirty-two minutes, which was excellent time as we didn’t leave ATL until 4:18 in the afternoon, putting us right in the middle of the city’s rush-hour traffic. At seventy-three stories tall, this skyscraper hotel in the downtown area features 1,073 rooms and suites and is the fourth-tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere. Designed by famed developer and architect John Portman, the hotel opened in February of 1976 to rave reviews and it still impresses today. The building is cast in reflective glass in a cylindrical shape that reflects much of the downtown skyline (though each of the nearly 5,600 windows are actually flat, not convex). The seven-story tall atrium lobby is massive but well laid out and it didn’t take me too long to locate the check-in desks.
Only one of the desks was staffed at the time and there was a woman ahead of me in the line who was arguing with the gentleman on duty as they didn’t seem to have her reservation in their system. While she went off in a huff to make a phone call, I checked in and made a point of being very friendly and appreciative. The man at the desk was named Cario and he asked me if I wanted additional Marriott Bonvoy points during my stay, an amenity or the free breakfast. I chose the breakfast and received three dated coupons good for each morning. I inquired if there were any upgrades available for Lifetime Platinum members (it worked so well in Grand Rapids) and he gave me the keys to Room 6917, one of their signature Senator Suites! It never hurts to ask. What a great suite it was, consisting of a very spacious King bedroom, a small office area, two bathrooms and a combination dining room/ sitting room with a wet bar. The suite also had four separate thermostats which were a bit difficult to figure out at first glance. While I didn’t get to enjoy the lofty view due to the day’s foggy weather, I was very grateful for Cario’s thoughtfulness and telephoned him directly to thank him for his kindness.
The next morning I went down to The Café on the lobby level where I soon learned that my “continental breakfast” coupons were actually good for anything on the extensive buffet or off the menu. What a pleasant surprise! After breakfast, I inquired as to where I might find the Uber pickup location and was directed to 32 Andrew Young Boulevard. Unfortunately, even though the building sign indicated I was in the right spot, my driver was nowhere to be found. After three phone cals and several texts, I managed to locate him further up the street outside the Hard Rock Cafe. Apparently, not all the Uber drivers are aware of the Westin’s new preferred pickup location. At any rate, I arrived at the Carter Presidential Center exactly at 10:00 AM, the time noted on my pre-purchased entry ticket and its opening. hour. This hilltop site once served as General William T. Sherman’s headquarters during his Civil War siege of this southern city. The center is unique in that it’s home to both the Carter Library and Museum and well as the nongovernmental Carter Center. While the library and museum preserve the past and make that history available to the public, The Carter Center works towards helping to improve the lives of peoples around the world and assist them in achieving a better tomorrow.
The Museum was redesigned in 2009 and now guides visitors through President Carter’s life and artifacts on display range from his infant high chair to his desk in the Oval Office. Exhibits begin with his childhood in the little town of Plains in then-segregated 1920s Georgia and how that shaped his views on human rights. Later, his education at the US Naval Academy and subsequent service on a submarine are detailed, along with how those experiences opened the world to him. His return to Plains to take over the family peanut farm and his later service as Governor of Georgia are covered in other displays, along with his 1976 campaign for the Presidency. Stepping into an exact replica of the Oval Office as it looked during the Carter years and watching a typical day in his life as President unfold on six giant video screens provided a sense of the importance attached to the nation’s highest office.
The final year of the Carter Presidency was consumed with the Iran hostage crisis. In a video interview on display , President Carter remembers the anguish he suffered during that time. “I prayed more that year than I did in any other … of my life that I would act properly and that I would protect the interests of my country, and also that every hostage could come home safe and free.” After 444 days and within an hour after his administration ended on January 20, 1981, the fifty-two American hostages were released. They were flown on an Air Algeria Boeing B727-200 commercial airliner from Iran to Algeria, where where they were formally transferred to Warren Christopher. He was Carter’s Deputy Secretary of State and served as the US representative in a symbolic gesture of appreciation to the Algerian government for their help in resolving the crisis. The flight continued to then Rhein-Main US Air Force Base in West Germany and onto the US Army Health Clinic in Wiesbaden, where former President Carter, acting as emissary on behalf of President Reagan, received each hostage individually.
Soon it was time for lunch and a very helpful security guard suggested I try nearby Manuel’s Tavern as the cafeteria remained closed from the pandemic lockdown. It was an excellent suggestion. Service was friendly and efficient in this local tavern open since 1956 and filled with salvaged furnishings from grand old area homes and retail stores slated for demolition. Manuel’s has become a neighborhood spot frequented by a cross section of the Atlanta community, such as politicians, the press, writers, blue-collar workers, police officers and actors. With thirty-five beers on tap from India Pale Ales to Lagers and Belgian-Style Beers as well as a very extensive menu, Manuel’s is a local gathering place still owned and operated by the same family!
Returning to the museum, I spent a good amount of time at the exhibit detailing the Camp David Accords. These agreements between Israel and Egypt were signed on September 17, 1978. In the following year, they led to a peace treaty between the two countries, the first such treaty between Israel and any of its Arab neighbors. The agreement was brokered by Carter between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Officially titled the “Framework for Peace in the Middle East,” the agreements became known as the Camp David Accords because the negotiations took place at the US Presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains. Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peach Prize in 1978 for their contributions to the landmark agreements. Carter himself also awarded the same distinguished honor in 2002 for his work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.
Unlike other Presidential Museums, about a third of this one is devoted to the Carters’ post-White House work. The Carter Center has become an internationally recognized organization focused on health, democracy and peace. These exhibits explained their programs President and Mrs. Carter championed, including those for monitoring elections, promoting democracy and fighting tropical diseases, such as Guinea worm disease and river blindness, as well as Mrs. Carter’s work on mental health issues. The couple have traveled over one million miles around the world, receiving numerous honors for their good work. Several of these are on display in the museum, including President Carter’s 2002 Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom awards given to both President and Mrs. Carter. Outside, the grounds offer a peaceful sanctuary. Two small lakes, connected by a waterfall and stocked with fish, are surrounded by colorful azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons, Japanese maples and river birch trees. The wildlife love it as ducks and geese, hawks and herons have made a home here. It was a very quiet and welcoming place to visit after touring the museum, affording me to time to reflect on Carter’s many accomplishments. Often misunderstood and second guessed during his Presidential years, he strove to make government competent and compassionate and was a devoted champion for human rights. This Presidential Center is a fitting tribute to this very devoted public servant .
I spent an extra night in Atlanta in order to visit the Delta Flight Museum the next day. I’ll tell you all about it in a future post.
Until next time…safe travels.
Nice review George - and so glad to hear of the benefits reaped from being nice to the hotel staff!
Nice review of your Presidential Library visits. Glad you are able to resume and enjoy them.