What to See in Sandy Springs - Top Sights and Attractions

Building complex in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Built in phases between 1984 and 1991, the Concourse at Landmark Center is a real estate development in metro Atlanta's Perimeter Center business district, in the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States. It is a 70 acre planned community with two 34-story office towers, several low-rise office buildings, a hotel, and a health club, all set in landscaped grounds around a man-made lake.

Set at the northeastern corner of the junction of two of Atlanta's busiest highways, the Concourse, with its blue glass towers, was a major addition to the Atlanta skyline for commuters traveling to and from the north side of suburban Atlanta. It houses several corporate headquarters, including those of Rayovac, CodeMettle, and Allconnect.^[2]

Temple in Sandy Springs, Georgia. The Atlanta Georgia Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the first temple built by the church in the Southeastern United States and the second temple east of the Mississippi River since 1846. Members of the church consider it a literal "house of God" comparable to the ancient Israelite temple where, as recorded in Bible, God spoke with Samuel. Emphasizing this belief, the building's façade bears the inscription "Holiness to the Lord – The House of the Lord."

The announcement to build a temple in Georgia was made by the church's First Presidency in April 1980. A site for the temple was selected on a 13-acre lot in Fulton County, in the then-unincorporated city of Sandy Springs, between Barfield Road on the east and Glenridge Drive on the west, 3.5 miles north of Atlanta.^[3]

Bull Sluice Lake is created by Morgan Falls Dam, a small hydroelectric dam located along the Chattahoochee River at the northern end of Sandy Springs, Georgia, and crossing the river westwards into eastern Cobb County in north metro Atlanta. Originally constructed in 1904 by Georgia Power to provide electricity for Atlanta's streetcars, it now provides enough power for about 4,400 homes. It was named for then recently deceased Georgia Power president S. Morgan Smith's mother whose maiden name was Morgan. At the time it was by far the largest hydroelectric plant in the state. In 1924 it was rebuilt as a 60 cycle plant with 15,000 megawatts. In 1957 it was raised to regulate the flow from the larger Buford Dam, 36 miles upstream, in order to give Atlanta water during the hours it was needed most. It is 896 feet long, and 56 feet tall. The dam's license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was issued in May 2008, and expires in February 2039 which authorizes a capacity of 16,800 mW.

The construction of the dam changed the river upstream from a narrow river with rapids into a wetland. The wetland serves as a habitat for migrating birds, waterfowl, songbirds, beavers, muskrats, and numerous species of reptiles and amphibians.^[4]