By Brandon Marshall-Todd
While historic buildings and street names seem to always be in danger of being torn down or changed, Roger Pennyman has made it his life’s mission to preserve Atlanta’s rich history and bring it back to life.
Pennyman Specialty Tours was founded in 1986 as a small company that initially only focused on the history of Atlanta. In 25 years, the company has since expanded all over the United States and into the Caribbean, providing hundreds of tours every year.
Pennyman is a living encyclopedia of many cities, but especially, Atlanta. He has found information and stories often left out of history books (he was a history major in college, after all) that helps bring the city’s past to life.
Pennyman says, “History is the reason we are all here. The very fabric of everything that we hold dear comes directly from the hard work of those who came before us. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, Asian, Hispanic and everything in between. There is something to be learned, there is something to be appreciated. It’s the only way we can have true progress.”
He peers over his glasses with a friendly smile, wavy black hair firmly in place, and dressed in a spiffy uniform as tourists file one by one into the tour bus to head down Sweet Auburn Avenue. Pennyman points out the various landmarks as the bus slowly makes its way down the street. The first major black newspaper, Atlanta Daily World, was created on Auburn Avenue, was home to entertainment hotspots like the Royal Peacock Club and, most famously, was the cradle of the civil rights movement. The bus slowly pulls up to Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood home, and Pennyman has information not likely to be found anywhere else.
By the time the tour is over, Pennyman has described the type of wood used to build Dr. King’s house, the reason why he wore a certain tweed jacket nearly everyday as a teenager, as well as how he survived two life or death situations before the age of 16 to become the Noble Prize-winning, historical figure known the world over.
The bus weaves through traffic toward Underground Atlanta, know to many as party and shopping destination now. Pennyman tells the tourists that the rail line that ran through Underground was the hub for transporting slaves around the South. Where Johnny Rockets now stands, slave auctions regularly took place.
Pennyman also has insightful details about the federal buildings, the Atlanta University Center, Emory University, The Georgia Dome, Grady Hospital and more. He expertly weaves Atlanta’s rich tapestry connects the dots with historical events all over the country. By the time the tour is over, many tourists swear they will never look at the city the same way again.
To set up a tour with Pennyman Specialty Tours, call (404) 499-1000 or visit www.pennymantours.com.
