MARTA Memories MARTA Reunion The Equitable Tower June 12, 1995 New York City \ » MARTA Memories '--------------------------------- The following stories and reminiscences of the development of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) system are arranged in chronological order according to the authors' affiliation with the project. THE UNIQUE MARTA EXPERIENCE call was a wrong number. Well, I thought, we're off to great start. The question still remained - what do I do firstA Early in June of 1966, having become MARTA's first employee, I opened the offices in the Glenn Build­ A filing cabinet stood in a comer of the outer office. ing at Marietta and Techwood in Adanta. The On inspection it proved to be empty except for a Adanta Planning Commission, which had a suite few file folders in the top drawer. One folder had of offices on the floor above, had rented offices for a copy of the statute; I had already studied that. MARTA, installed the telephones, and furnished the Another folder contained copies of some of the suite with Steeicase office furniture. On the first reports of studies by the Planning Commission. working day of June I stopped by the Planning Com­ I had read them. mission offices and got a key from Glen Bennett for the offices that had been set up downstairs for Another folder contained a thin correspondence MARTA. The door had a nice sign on it which read, file. Ah! Here is something to do. Most of the "Metropolitan Adanta Rapid Transit Authority." correspondence involved the guys who had tried for the job I had just landed, and had failed to I went in. I was alone. An inspection of the suite get it for some reason. This would make good disclosed a large outer office and recepdon area reading. I have long been aware of Nicollo with half a dozen private offices. I selected the Machiavelli's litde tract, “The Prince." It explains largest private office, the one with two windows, how a leader should deal with both friends and as befitting the General Manager, and sat down in enemies, considering that both are usually the new Steeicase swivel chair. temporary. Whomever or whatever these guys What do I do firsts I thought. were, they could never have a role at MARTA. Everything has a beginning, but usually a new The last folder had the checkbook, which showed thing is an outgrowth of something created eariier. a balance of almost a half million dollars. That Usually a new job comes with a structure of some was comforting. The check stubs recorded pur­ sort, an institutional memory, or perhaps some chase of the furniture, installation of the phones, momentum that has things moving. No such rent, and payments of the stipends due the trappings came with this job. Whatever MARTA directors for their attendance at Board meetings. was to become would start here, today, and I was It dawned on me that there was no budget as expected to make it happen. required by the statute. While applying for the job as General Manager I had Glen Bennett came down and took me to lunch. read the statute that created the Authority, and I had read the reports of earlier studies of rapid transit On the way back from lunch we stopped at prepared by the Planning Commission. I had a vague several banks to pick up Bank Resolutions so that idea of what the project entailed. Several years and the cash balance could be spread around a little. several billions of dollars down the road Atlanta We stopped at a stationery store and purchased would have a new, passenger railroad. That was a some pads and pencils. long range goal. The real problem was immediate. Back in the office, I began dreaming up a budget to What do I do firsts be recommended to the Board at its next meeting. The phone rang. As I picked up the receiver, I real­ And, that is how it began, with a wrong number, ized that I hadn't even decided how the phone a thin correspondence file and a budget based would be answered. So, I gave the caller the mostly on imagination. I began to suspect that whole mouthful, “MetropoEtan Atlanta Rapid there was an awfully long way to go. Transit Authority" while I opened the desk drawer Henry L. Stuart to get a pencil and a pad. There were no pencils GM MARTA and no pads. It didn't make any difference; the 4966-1972 marta 2 5 marta ra Æ A A --D Srl>=».ü . îâA tâ c -«. HOW CIVIC CENTER STATION property fronting on West Peachtree between GOT THAT WAY Baker Street and North Avenue. Among the establishments potentially impacted was the restaurant known as Dale's Cellar. Between 1966 and MARTA's second referendum In the years of PB-T-B service and Win's visits, he in November 1971, PB-T-B was performing a and John would work late arid dine together series of system planning studies and related downtown. One of their favorite places was preliminary engineering work. This effort was Dale's Cellar, which was in the lower level of the toward better definition of the MARTA system old Imperial Hotel. In this time frame, Joe Dale and its pricing, building on the 1963 conclusions left the Imperial site and moved a block west to of a PBQD master plan prepared for the Planning West Peachtree, followed by John and Win. Commission. PB-T-B and MARTA were housed in the Glenn Building on Marietta Street. John Late one evening, before leaving the office, John Coil was resident manager for the joint-venture and Win roamed the deserted drafting room noting and Win Salter was project manager, overseeing where various tasks stood. They examined with work by trips from San Francisco. In the evolu­ interest and concern the in-progress Civic Center tion of a plan of the east-west and north-south Station studies and the solution which would kill lines within Central Atlanta, there was criticism the West Peachtree frontage, taking Dale's Cellar among the community planners about omission in the process. of CBD stations beyond the Five Points hub and the Cain Street Station. MARTA acceded to these After short study, the question occurred to both pressures and PB-T-B made alignment provisions engineers, “Why leave the West Peachtree center- for “future” stations close in on the North, South line at alR” Could we stay under West Peachtree and West lines. At the time of the 1968 failed and still cross over the freeway, pushing the street referendum, the 40.3-mile plan showed these up one leveh Because the street crossing of the three stations ghosted in on the drawings, but freeway was actually a profile dip, the idea looked not funded. (Georgia State Station was already as if it might work. If so, the alignment of committed.) In the aftermath of failure at the MARTA tracks remained tangent and Dale's polls, several alternatives to rapid rail were Cellar would be saved! The scheme was hastily examined, and the rail plan was reviewed for sketched on a print and left with a note for Ray improvements. Two of the three “future" CBD to develop further. stations became adopted for the next try and The "Save Dale's Cellar” scheme did indeed prove one in particular - Civic Center - presented an out, offered operational advantages and led to interesting challenge. (Omni Station was added today's “elevated subway” at Civic Center Station, still later.) without undue modification of cross streets. PB-T-B's route location engineer Ray O'Neill struggled to bring the Civic Center Station out Winfield 0. Salter PMPB/T from beneath the Downtown Connector (1-75/85) / 966-1976 where it had been previously shown for difficult future construction. The less cosdy alternative Footnote: The low-rise buildings along West Peachtree, was to cross over the freeway just west of the including that of Dale's Cellar, were acquired and demolished West Peachtree Street bridge at the same elevation anyway. The property was needed for construction staging as the street, with reverse curves and subway and was expected to have higher use potential once the sub­ way was completed. Joe Dale left the downtown area and portals on either side of the freeway. This scheme opened another restaurant in Buckhead. "worked" geometrically but was operationally poor, and it occupied several blocks of private m arta 4 i m arta ~ ■ ■ n a M n i -T "T’rr • • .4 I I worked for Roy Blount during the first referendum As I think back on the ten years that I spent at for MARTA in DeKalb County. We both had MARTA as General Manager, from March 1972 to worked very hard on the referendum, as well March 1982, one thing is certain, it was one of the as keeping up our “real jobs” at Decatur Federal. most interesting and exciting periods of my life. When the referendum failed so very badly in Designing and constructing the first elements of DeKalb County, I really wasn't looking forward the MARTA rail system and purchasing and merg­ to going to work the next morning. However, ing in the bus system to form the Metropolitan when I arrived at the office very early, I went to Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority was a significant Mr. Blount's office (really expecting him to be feat. We had a great team of legislators, board down and in one of his very rare moods) only to members, MARTA staff and fine support from find Roy already at work on the plans and strate­ the City of Atlanta.