Where: Atlanta, Georgia
When: year-round
If you like: history, gardens
Why you should go: When Jimmy Carter died in December at the age of one hundred, the world remembered not just the Georgia peanut farmer who occupied the White House from 1977 to 1981 but the global humanitarian who strove to alleviate suffering for decades after. Both roles are on display in a crescent-shaped cluster of circular buildings crowning a bucolic hilltop near downtown Atlanta. One side houses the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, in which visitors can step into a replica Oval Office, see artifacts like an infant Jimmy’s high chair and a trove of eclectic gifts from foreign dignitaries, and glimpse Carter’s 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. The other comprises the nonprofit Carter Center, which works to eradicate disease, support fair elections, and resolve conflicts around the world. Among the nation’s presidential libraries and associated foundations, “we are the only truly active nonprofit organization that has been doing international development and assistance for forty years,” says Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander. “President Carter set the bar that other presidents are trying to reach.”
Though the museum is open year-round, the Carter Center is closed to the public except when hosting talks from authors, policymakers, and other special guests. But Alexander hopes people will engage with its work on a deeper level. In 2020 the nonpartisan center turned an eye to its home soil for the first time, and it has since launched Democracy Resilience Networks—cross-party coalitions that seek common ground around core constitutional principles—in six American states. “We started the year with the passing of President Carter and a transition in government,” Alexander says. “We will stay true to our work in global health and peace, but we want the country to come back together and heal.”
G&G tip: Roam the grounds, which are free and open to the public, to discover a hidden nature haven in the city. Highlights include a Japanese garden with a gurgling waterfall and a rose garden featuring more than forty varieties, including the coral Rosalynn Carter.
