A Date to the City

Ryan Blumenauer

Physical Environment Assignment

            My outing was to the Centennial Olympic Park area of Atlanta’s downtown district.  Our day started with visiting Centennial Olympic Park and walking around the park, relaxing and taking in some of the views it provides of downtown Atlanta. When then decided to grab some dinner at a nearby restaurant at McCormick and Schmick’s seafood restaurant located right inside the CNN center. After enjoying some dinner we rode the Skyview ferris wheel located right next to the park. To complete our day and date we ended up attending a concert at the Tabernacle.

            The accessibility of Centennial Olympic Park is great. With very few stairs throughout the park it’s very easy to access all parts of the park without having to go out of your way. With the park being quite large you don’t have to worry about crowding and it was nice that you could enjoy some privacy and have a conversation without others eavesdropping on your every word. The park was a great start to a relaxing day/ evening ahead.

            After spending a few hours of strolling around the park and relaxing on one of the many park benches located throughout the park, we moved onto dinner. Across the street from the park was McCormick and Schmicks seafood restaurant. They are located just inside the entrance to the CNN center. While they did have easy access being on the street level of the CNN center the restaurant is quite small and very crowded. The restaurant didn’t seem to be very adaptable to accommodate people with disability with easy table access. This was a disappointment especially being so cramped mobility would have been an issue. If you were looking for a quiet place to enjoy a meal and converse with your date this was not the place to go. From a sociality stand point though, the cramped and crowded experience was easy to converse with other parties, especially near the bar.

            After eating dinner and still having time before we were to attend our concert we decided to enjoy the Skyview Atlanta ferris wheel. At this point it was around 8 pm and the ferris wheel was all lit up making it apply to your sensory stimulation making it very enticing to come ride. There were accommodations for anyone that was wheel chair bound but it wasn’t legibly stated making you inquire of how to access it. Especially when within 15 feet of the entrance there is a flight of stairs with no ramp. After inquiring we were told that you have to come from the back of the ferris wheel and there was a ramp to the platform and to the ferris wheel itself. Once inside the car it was accommodating to everyone and was a great experience to go 20 stories up and see the Atlanta Skyline lit up at night.

            After enjoying the ferris wheel, we moved onto our concert at the Tabernacle. The meaning of the Tabernacle being an old church converted into a concert venue is the main attraction to attend a concert here. The Tabernacle doesn’t require, but recommends that you call prior to attending so that they can make arrangements to accommodate anyone with a disability. While it is great that they can accommodate it is also a pain that you have to call ahead of time and takes away the ability to be spontaneous. The venue does have a general admission floor area as well as seat’s that didn’t seem to be easily accessible for anyone wheel chair bound being I couldn’t locate a elevator of any kind. This location proved to be the most difficult to attend and a lack of adaptability to accommodate a wheel chair bound patrons needs.

            To conclude the evening we ended up staying downtown at the Glenn hotel located 3 blocks from the Tabernacle. The hotel was wheel chair accessible but doesn’t clearly show you where you need to go only having one way to access the lobby or main elevators and receptionist desk. While all the rooms were easy to get in and out of with wide doors and spacious rooms the showers were stand up showers making it difficult for someone to get cleaned up.  Besides the shower being an issue it was a great hotel to enjoy a private evening in a great location.

            The experience was eye opening. You would think that everywhere would have accommodations to those who are wheel chair bound or do have a disability. You become surprised in how they may be accommodating but they are not always easily found or accessed. Especially in terms of the Tabernacle having to call in advanced to have arrangements made for you. I enjoyed this assignment and being able to spend a day looking at things that I would normally never consider.