Artist’s project spotlights some of Atlanta’s most ridiculous intersections

There’s a lot of “A”s in the A. | Barely Maps

Mind-boggling places like Glenwood Avenue’s junction with Moreland will be included in forthcoming book

Anyone who’s found themselves on Glenwood Avenue where it meets Moreland Avenue near East Atlanta Village has probably pondered the oddities—if not incomprehensible missteps—of city planning.

Fewer are those who see the potential for art in these bizarre intersections.

But such is the case with artist Peter Gorman, a full-time map designer based on the Big Island of Hawaii who recently completed a work titled “Intersections of Atlanta.”

It’s a compendium of 20, um, creative intersections across Atlanta rendered simple on a dark gray backdrop—and part of a series Gorman has been working on called Barely Maps.

Atlanta’s design will be included in a forthcoming hardcover book of 100 minimalist maps that was initially inspired by an 11,000-mile, solo bicycle trip Gorman completed around the U.S. and Canada. It’ll focus on 31 cities, proving Atlanta isn’t alone in its use of unorthodox (nonsensical?) street alignments.

“Since I started, I’ve been getting recommendations for new cities to adapt the design to, so Atlanta has been on my list for a while,” Gorman tells Curbed Atlanta. “It was fun to explore; I really like the names of streets in Atlanta, especially all of the Peachtrees.”

To raise cash for the Barely Maps book project, Gorman launched a Kickstarter campaign, and he reached full funding ($10,000, and then some) within a few days.

Gorman shared his Atlanta design online before committing it to the book. In the city’s decidedly non-grid street pattern, many commenters spotted “A”-shaped intersections. (An almost perfect A is also found where Virginia Avenue meets Monroe Drive, where Woody’s CheeseSteaks is.)

“One of my favorite parts of sharing these designs is hearing what people see in the shapes,” says Gorman. “One Reddit commenter was even able to spell out ‘ATLANTA’ using just the intersection shapes.”

Have a look below. What oddball ATL crossroads should be included next time, should a second edition be printed?

Barely Maps