It is quite possible that the true city center of what is now downtown Atlanta could have been located in Decatur if the citizens of Decatur in 1883 had not voted against allowing the Western and Atlantic Railroad to turn Decatur into a major railroad hub. The citizens at the time were afraid of the noise and pollution and growth that might be caused by having such a hub in their small town and did not allow it. Subsequently, the railroad hub was built about 5 miles away in what has now downtown Atlanta. It was the building of this railroad hub that made Atlanta prosper as a city.

Today, Decatur’s town square has been preserved to look much the way it did in the 1800’s. It has become a concentrated area of eclectic restaurants with a great number of “earthy and organic” type places. There is a great acoustic music venue in Decatur called Eddie’s Attic that has been extremely influential in launching the careers of the Indigo Girls who are from Decatur and, more recently, John Mayer who I had the pleasure of seeing at this venue prior to the release of his first album. In fact, he was the opening act for another artist when I first discovered him there and became a fan.