Atlanta's skybridges are part of the city's visual identity

Caption

A skybridge crosses a busy Atlanta street at night.

Credit: Orlando Montoya / GPB News

A $10 million pedestrian walkway to connect the Georgia Capitol building to a new legislative office building across the street from the Capitol is now being installed.

Historic preservationists and some lawmakers had pushed against the skybridge, which is part of a larger renovation of the Capitol complex.

A portion of the controversial walkway is intended to be up in time to be wrapped in a message welcoming visitors for the FIFA World Cup this month, and it's expected to be in use by October.

Matt Terrell, a Kennesaw State University assistant professor of communications, is conflicted about Atlanta's newest skybridge.

Terrell researched the history of Atlanta's skybridges. There are about 35 of them, making them part of the city's visual identity.

Terrell spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya.

Orlando Montoya: How did you become interested in Atlanta's skybridges? 

Matt Terrell: When I moved to Atlanta in 2008 for grad school at Georgia State, I used to walk around and bike around downtown and see the skybridges very often and wonder, "Who are those people up in these skybridges? I wondered how you got from one skybridge to another, if they were even open. And eventually when I had the opportunity to pitch a story about skybridges to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, I knew it would be my perfect opportunity to deeply explore the subject. 

Orlando Montoya: And if people aren't aware of them, can you sort of describe what they look like, what their function is? 

Matt Terrell: There are different types of skybridges around Atlanta. Most of them are centered in the downtown area. However, there are a few in the Midtown, Buckhead, and there's actually one in the north burbs area, which was designed by John Portman. Most people associate skybridges with the iconic Atlanta architect John Portman, and in his original idea and the original designs, you could basically walk from one side of downtown Atlanta to the other without ever having to go outside. It was perfectly climate-controlled. You are above the traffic and the noise and the commotion. And it's often described as watching a television show of a city when you're up in a skybridge. 

Orlando Montoya: Now, how far can you walk across downtown, either in terms of distance or number of buildings? 

Matt Terrell: These days you cannot walk very far from one side of Atlanta to the other, particularly because some of the skybridges are in disrepair and closed altogether. As part of my research for my article for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, I tried to access some of the skybridges that connect Peachtree Center and some of the tallest skybridges — in particular the ones that, I believe, cross Peachtree Street — those are completely closed. That's sort of also part of the story: is that they represent a different approach to urbanism that's very closed off.  And I — I experienced that firsthand with America's Mart, where I couldn't find any information about the skybridges. I even asked the PR people at America's Mart, you know, "Can you give me information? Can you talk about these? Can I see them?" And the answer was no. And that's very reflective of, I think the criticism of skybridges is they create a barrier between people who have access and people who did not have access. 

Orlando Montoya: This is so different than, say, Montreal, or Edmonton, or Minneapolis — other cities known for skybridges. 

Matt Terrell: In particular, those places you're naming, those skybridges exist for sort of like the opposite reason of Atlanta. Those exist because it's too cold outside. And I think in a city like Edmonton or Minneapolis or Montreal, there's an even bigger need for a skybridge, just because, you know, in Atlanta, it may be hot, but you can still go outside. But in a place like Edmonton, it could be so cold that you could die if you were outside for too long. 

Orlando Montoya: Are they beautiful? 

Caption

An Atlanta skybridge crosses a busy street at night.

Credit: Orlando Montoya / GPB Photo

Matt Terrell: I think they're beautiful. I think John Portman buildings are beautiful in general. I like the idea of skybridges. They maybe are not trendy right now. We have a sort of push for more street-level and sidewalk-level activation of our urban environment. And I get that. But I do think that there is definitely something to be said about the skybridge. I mean — If you are an employee who has to go from one building to another all the time, you don't always want to have to go out on the street, especially if it's hot or if it's dirty or it's raining. And that could be a great time to have a skybridge. 

Orlando Montoya: At the same time, do you want it on a historic building? I mean, that's why we're talking to you, of course, because of the skybridge going into the state Capitol. What do you think of that project? 

Matt Terrell: Well, first of all, I think that the reason why our state legislature proposed a skybridge is because basically every other government in Atlanta has a skybridge of their own. I think that it probably would have been more agreeable to the public had it been an underground passageway rather than above ground. I think, you know, I don't know the numbers on it, but I imagine an underground walkway would be more costly and complicated to build than a skybridge. People act like the skybridge at the Legislature is going to be coming literally out of the gold dome itself. It's not. It's more on the side of the building. And so I have some sympathy for our state legislature. But on the other hand, I do think there is something to be said for the fact that, you know, our elected officials should be on the streets with us. They shouldn't be above the street. You know, going back to the John Portman analogy, it does create a closed-off system where you are not just physically above the streets, but you are disconnected from them. You don't have to deal with the dirt, the grime, the reality of our city. And ultimately, I think that we want our representatives to be at our level. And so there's a disconnect there where it feels like a skybridge separates us from those who represent us and puts them physically above us and y'know sort of like emotionally and psychologically above us. And it creates a sort of negative feedback loop in that way. But y'know? I get it. I understand why they want it. 

Orlando Montoya: Apart from it looking like a gerbil tube, as some people have called it. 

Matt Terrell: Yes, people have called the skybridges gerbil tubes or human — human Habitrails. I've heard that one before. What you see a lot is John Portman buildings being represented in dystopian futuristic movies. In particular, that is because of the skybridges that create this atmosphere of "Oh, the outside world is so contaminated that we have to create this closed-off environment for travel between places." And so I think it does kind of send the wrong vibe and the wrong message in some ways. But personally, I think they're kind of cool. 

Orlando Montoya: Well, this has been very fascinating. Matt Terrell, assistant professor of communications at Kennesaw State University. Thanks for coming in and talking about skybridges with us. 

Matt Terrell: All right, thank you Orlando.