103 members of the Atlanta Art Association never made it back from their month-long tour of famed European art galleries.
They were among the 130 people killed on the 3rd of June 1962 when Air France Flight 007 crashed off the end of an Orly Airport runway after an aborted takeoff attempt. Investigators later learned that mechanical failure caused the crash.
The crash was at the time the worst single-aircraft disaster, the first single civilian jet airliner disaster with more than 100 deaths, and the second-deadliest aviation disaster in history.
Among the prominent Atlantans killed were Ruth McMillan, Atlanta's Woman of the Year in 1955; Frances Longino, a co-founder of the Davison's department store chain; C. Baxter Jones Jr., a lawyer who ran for Congress in 1952; and Del Paige, president of the Atlanta Art Association.
Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. knew many of the dead. He'd seen them off on their trip in early May; a month later he faced the grim task of helping identify victims and accompanying their remains home from Paris. "This was my generation... ... these were my friends," the mayor, his voice breaking, told the Atlanta Constitution shortly after hearing of the crash.
The arts community suffered greatly from the loss, but in typical Atlanta "rising from the ashes" style, the city rebounded from the tragedy and worked hard to ensure that its arts community thrived, a civic commitment continuing to this day.
The Woodruff Arts Center, originally called the Memorial Arts Center, opened in 1968, stands as a memorial honoring the dead of Orly.
The bronze cast of Rodin's The Shade that stands on the grounds of the High Art Museum, encircled with the names of the patrons, was donated to Atlanta by France in memory of the victims of the crash.
The Three Shades was Rodin's vision of a particular scene in Dante’s Divine Comedy (think “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here”) a series of works that include The Thinker, The Kiss, Fallen Caryatid Carrying Her Stone and The Prodigal. The High in its collection holds many Rodin sketches and 3 other bronzes - Eternal Spring, The Bust of Victor Hugo and The Martyr, but these are originals, not recast copies.
To log this virtual:
Post in your log a picture of yourself standing at The Shade
and
respond to themoietyvirtual@gmail with the names of the 4 fallen Patrons who include the honorific "Doctor" in their names.
West of the Shade you may come upon one of the High's series of revolving interactive installations in a small plaza.
When last here we played with a array of brightly colored horns that twist, modify, and transmit sound in playful and unusual ways, The Sonic Playground by Yuri Suzuki. When you arrive Suzuki may have moved on but rest assured that the High, honoring it's mission and those fallen, will always have something free to all to delight, move and intrigue.
High Art Museum Hours, Parking and Accessibility Information The Woodruff Arts Center
(It is not noted on the High's web page but we've noticed that parking is usually free Saturday and Sunday :) ).
Visitors may also find limited street parking in the immediate area. Designated parking spaces for vehicles with a disability permit are available in the parking garage. Elevator access to the main Museum entrance is available from the Arts Center MARTA station and from the parking garage.
If traveling by train, disembark from the Arts Center Station, take the MARTA elevator from the platform up two floors to street level. Use the crosswalk to cross Arts Center Way and take the elevator up one floor to campus level.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.