The Nine-Mile Circle (today often called the "Nine Mile Trolley") was a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line of the

Atlanta Street Railway The Atlanta Street Railway was the first streetcar system in Atlanta. Originally chartered by the state of Georgia on February 23, 1866, by George Hillyer, John Westmoreland and John Thrasher soon after the city put such onerous demands on th ...

, later the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway which went from

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...

to today's Virginia-Highland neighborhood as follows: *from Marietta and Broad to

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead ...

and north along Peachtree *east on what was then Houston St. (now most of which is called John Wesley Dobbs Ave., though parts of Houston St. no longer exist) *north along N.

Boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

(now Monroe Dr.) to *Ponce de Leon Ave. from where it made a loop: **north along N. Boulevard (now Monroe Dr.) **east on Virginia Ave. **south along N. Highland Ave., and **west on Ponce de Leon back to the intersection of Ponce de Leon and Boulevard. The line started operation in late 1889, and was the second electric line in Atlanta, after the Edgewood line to Inman Park. The line was an extension of an earlier horsecar line: *The original line went from downtown Atlanta up Peachtree to Pine *Extended in August 1872 to "Ponce de Leon Circle" (today's Ponce de Leon Ave."Many Streets Get New Names", ''Atlanta Constitution'', October 17, 1903). *At some point later it was extended to Ponce de Leon Springs, where the

Ponce de Leon amusement park Ponce de Leon Springs was a mineral spring in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The spring was a popular tourist destination from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. Around the turn of the century, the land surrounding the spring was develop ...

would be built; today,

Ponce City Market Ponce City Market is a mixed-use development located in a former Sears catalogue facility in Atlanta, with national and local retail anchors, restaurants, a food hall, boutiques and offices, and residential units. It is located adjacent to th ...

(formerly the Sears building, then City Hall East) stands on the site. *Finally in 1889 the line was electrified and extended with the "loop" around what is now Virginia-Highland. In its heyday in the 1890s, the Nine-Mile Circle line was one of the streetcar lines popular for pleasure trips. It also took visitors to the Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, held in what is today

Piedmont Park Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...

. At some point (it seems around 1901 as the line was frequently mentioned in the ''Atlanta Constitution'' and suddenly ceases to be mentioned after June 1901), service in a loop was discontinued (see map). Service to the area did continue as individual lines however: *Along North Boulevard as far as Orme Circle *Along Ponce de Leon Ave. from downtown past Druid Hills out to Decatur, and *Along North Highland Ave. as far north as Virginia Ave.

External links

* Sarah Toton
Vale of Amusements: Modernity, Technology, and Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Park, 1870-1920
''Southern Spaces'

References

{{Atlanta history History of Atlanta Defunct public transport operators in the United States Railway lines in Atlanta Old Fourth Ward

See also

External links

References