Sweet Auburn Contextualized: Completed project includes interpretive signs, mural

November 9,2020

Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District recently celebrated the completion of the Auburn Avenue Historic and Cultural Information Project.

The project includes the 21 new interpretive and four gateway signs along Auburn Avenue between Peachtree Street and Boulevard. A large-scale mural was added to the Downtown Connector underpass.

The new signage was designed by Sky Design to replace previous interpretive signs installed for the 1996 Olympic Games in 1995. Sign content was developed in partnership with project historian Dr. Karcheik Sims-Alvarado.

The mural features large scale images of Auburn Avenue’s historic buildings, landmarks, and cultural institutions past and present. The mural design team was led by husband and wife Ron Huffman of Wood PLC and Therese Huffman of Signature Design. Project elements were fabricated and installed by DeNyse Companies, and the underpass lighting elements were installed by Brooks Berry Haynie & Associates.

The project was made possible by funding from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and funding from CAP/ADID.

“More than fifty years ago, Auburn Avenue was a main thoroughfare on the highway to freedom and justice, serving as the headquarters for the churches, businesses and institutions that drove the American Civil Rights movement. How appropriate that GDOT would augment the local investment into this historic community through its Transportation Enrichment (TE) program,” said Stacey Key, who represents the 5th Congressional district on the GDOT State Transportation Board.