ATLANTA — The Atlanta Streetcar rolled into downtown on its inaugural journey Tuesday, marking the first time streetcars have regularly traversed those city streets in more than 50 years.
A grand opening ceremony was held Tuesday in Woodruff Park, one of the downtown stops for the streetcar route.
Pastors blessed the bright blue streetcar with prayers, a band played tubas and horns and onlookers snapped photos on cellphones.
“You know it’s been more than 50 years since we’ve had a streetcar and cities all across the United States of America are trying to win streetcars,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in an interview. “So it feels good to be opening one and I’m really appreciative of all of the hard work that folks put in to making this possible.”
The streetcar’s 2.7-mile trek will connect neighbors to several tourist attractions, museums and entertainment venues. The route includes 12 stops.