Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., a bridge builder, to be honored with a bridge and walking museum

November 18,2019

Maria Saporta, Saporta Report

The tapestry of Atlanta's civil rights history is getting a colorful new thread with the addition of the new Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Bridge.

An official dedication of the bridge will be held on Monday, Nov. 25, and it will highlight the contributions of one of Atlanta's greatest mayors. Allen served as Atlanta's mayor between 1962 and 1970, one of the most tumultuous times in the city's history.

The bridge has been designed to do double duty. It connects downtown at Marietta Street and the Westside over the railroad tracks of Norfolk-Southern and CSX serving as a symbolic connection of both sides of the tracks.

It also will serve as an outdoor museum – an opportunity for pedestrians and cyclists to learn more about Allen, a mayor who helped lift Atlanta from a city in the segregated South to one that became a beacon for racial integration and cooperation during the 1960s.

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"Mayor Ivan Allen was a great bridge builder," A.J. Robinson said. "Hats off to them for finding a creative way to really pay tribute to Mayor Allen beyond just the naming of the street. We are thrilled to see it happen, and I think it will do a lot to enhance the memory and contribution of one of the most important mayors in the history of Atlanta."

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