rebuilding downtown

i always love an excuse to walk downtown, such as it is (atlanner is ok if you just quit wanting it to be nueva york or barcelona or wherever) --- after months of delays, the new streetcar started running on the "a line," and there was a big ceremony and what mary has dubbed the blessing of the streetcars (seriously, 3 preachers!) --- the route is basically a figure-8 between ebenezer church at mlk natl. hist. park on the east side and centennial olympic park and all the museums on the west, clearly pitched first and foremost to the conventioneers --- which is ok by me, if it leads to a really useful system connecting, e.g., to a similar belt line system or a line out peachtree! --- the city's first (mule-drawn) streetcar in 1871 ran from five points to the streetcar owner's home in west end, but it was definitely the start of something bigger --- i hope this will be, too