By Robert Schrader
Weird and Amazing Travel Expert, about.com
It isn't a stretch to say Atlanta is one of the United States' most American cities. It's home to iconic American companies like Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines, hosted America's most recent Summer Olympics, and played an important role in both the conflict and resolution of the Civil War, to name just a few reasons. In spite of this, you'll probably still find it shocking to learn that America's most famous house makes its (second) home in Atlanta.
Atlanta's White House: Facts and Figures
When
you think of replicas of famous historical places, you think of China
or perhaps India, where there's a fake version of the Taj Mahal.
Atlanta's White House, uncanny as it may look, is not identical to its
more famous cousin at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – a few key differences
exist.
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First and foremost, Atlanta's White House is smaller than
Washington, D.C.'s. The scale of construction is 3/4, which means that
the Atlanta White House occupies just 16,500 square feet, compared
to 22,000 square feet at the original White House.
On the other hand, both houses boast famous rooms
such as Lincoln's Bedroom (complete with corresponding Emancipation
Proclamations – the Atlanta version is obviously a copy), movie theatre
and even an Oval Office.
[post_ads]Why is There a White House in Atlanta, Anyway?
The
existence of a White House has nothing to do with American history –
this isn't some kind of alternate-Confederate White House. Rather, it
only dates back to 2002, when a wealthy Persian man named Fred Milani,
who fled the newly-Islamic Iran in 1979 had it built. The Atlanta White
House symbolized both the honor and respect Milani had for the democracy
and freedom of his adopted home country, as well as a presidental home
for his family, to commemorate the illustrious real estate career he
built during his first decades as an American citizen.
Yes, you
read that right: Atlanta's White House, like Washington's, served as the
residence of a single family. Unfortunately for Milani, whose budgetary
problems proved even more severe than the federal government's, his
stay at the White House proved almost as short as one at a nearby Atlanta hotel.
How to Visit Atlanta's White House
The
bad news, for Fred Milani anyway, is that his presidential-style home
proved an unsustainble investment when the housing bubble burst in the
later part of the 2000s. The good news is, or at least for a time it
was, that the home's "foreclosed" status made it an easier target for
tourists, who could simply call the real estate agent an request a
"showing," which would serve as a de-facto tour of the impressive
property, which is located at 3687 Briarcliff Road NE, just northeast
off downtown Atlanta off I-85.
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According to Zillow,
however, the Atlanta White House sold for a cool $2.2 million in
November 2013, which means that your best bet for seeing it is to view
it discreetly from the street. You know, the same thing you have to do
in Washington, D.C., unless of course you care to book a tour months in
advance.
