The Full Record

The walk of evidence.

These are the unedited images Ernest Timothy carried home from the walk that started this initiative. Every photo is on this page, each one described. Nothing was staged, cropped to mislead, or held back. This is what's in front of any Atlantan today — and what would be in front of every World Cup visitor in the weeks ahead.

A commuter walks past stained tile flooring next to a weathered board-formed concrete construction barrier in a MARTA station.
A commuter walks past a stained tile floor and weathered concrete barrier — the kind of friction that adds up across a station.
A stained board-formed concrete wall beside an HVAC vent grille, with grime along the baseboard and tile floor.
Stained board-formed concrete beside an HVAC vent grille; the baseboard line and floor seams show years of grime no broom can address.
Long stretch of stained tile flooring running alongside weathered board-formed concrete construction barriers in a MARTA station concourse.
Stained tile and weathered concrete construction barriers — with no signage telling anyone what's behind them, the visitor only sees the neglect.
A Maps and Information board mounted on a board-formed concrete wall above a metal trash can and stained tile floor.
A Maps & Information board next to a dented metal trash can; the floor here hasn't seen a deep clean in seasons.
Close-up of a scarred, scratched metal trash can sitting on a heavily soiled tile floor.
A scarred, scratched trash can on visibly soiled tile — the can itself is part of the decor visitors will photograph.
Close-up of urine pooled on station floor tiles at the base of a weathered board-formed concrete construction barrier.
This is urine — not water — pooled at a barrier base, with a pungent stench carrying the length of the concourse. The welcome any commuter, and any visitor, gets.
Arts Center platform viewed from the track edge, showing decorative wall panels and an orange Arts Center strip running along weathered concrete.
Arts Center platform from the track edge: decorative panels and station signage all filmed over with neglect.
Discarded item left on a station floor next to a Skechers advertising panel and a stained board-formed concrete wall.
Trash on the concourse floor, paid advertising still running on the wall behind it.
A 988 mental-health crisis-line sign mounted beside an elevator and a metal trash can, set against a weathered board-formed concrete wall and a stained tile floor.
Beside a public-service "988" mental-health sign, an elevator entrance and trash can sit in a corner whose floor and walls tell the longer story.
A public concrete bench under bright Delta and LifeLine Animal Project ads, with a scuffed metal trash can on a stained tile floor.
A public bench under bright ads — dog-rescue and tropical-getaway — flanked by a scuffed metal trash can and a stained tile floor. The contrast is the case.
A MARTA train arrives at a platform; the platform tiles show years of accumulated grime.
A train arrives at the platform. Look down: the tile shows years of accumulated grime no quick mop can lift.
A blurred MARTA train at a station platform, with one commuter waiting on dirty floor tiles.
Doors close as a single commuter stands on the platform — and beneath them, the same tired tile that greets every other rider on the line.
A person rests on the ground next to a colorful public-art mural and a concrete bench on a station platform.
A person rests against a public-art mural on the platform — the bench, the floor, and the lighting all tell their own story.
Anti-loitering metal bars installed along a concrete bench beside a station mural, with a soiled granite floor in front.
Anti-loitering bars on a stone bench beside a station mural — a design language nobody asked for, on a floor nobody cleaned.
Looking down at the base of a MARTA fare gate, showing heavily stained tile where riders step through.
Looking down at the base of a fare gate — heavily stained tile where every paying rider plants a foot.
Two fare gates open onto a concourse with a visibly worn tile floor.
Two fare gates open onto a concourse whose floor visibly bears the residue of how many feet, on how many bad days.
A pair of sneakers left on the floor beside a concrete trash receptacle and a folded A-frame sign on a station mezzanine.
Sneakers left beside a concrete trash receptacle and an A-frame sign — small abandonments that nobody picks up.
An overhead view down a long MARTA station showing two parallel platforms flanking the tracks.
An overhead view of two platforms — the scale of what one Saturday crew can begin to address.
A concrete station stairwell with worn, stained treads and white tile walls darkened over time.
A stairwell every commuter uses, worn well past what age alone can explain.
A wide concrete landing at the base of an escalator and stairwell, with white tile walls grayed by years of grime.
At the bottom of an escalator, a wide concrete pad shows the patina of long neglect; the white tile wall is graying with it.
A long stretch of stained concrete station floor running alongside a white-tile wall with a bright wellness advertisement.
A long stretch of stained concrete runs alongside a bright cosmetics ad — proof that someone still maintains the advertising space.
A station concourse near a Maps and Information board with discolored granite-look floor tiles.
A concourse near the maps board. The floor's discoloration is uniform — this is years, not a bad week.
North Avenue station platform showing the escalator and stair entrances, a directional sticker on the floor, and weathered tile underfoot.
North Avenue station. The escalator and stair entrances rise above a stained granite platform with directional stickers half-peeled.
An empty MARTA platform with a mural visible at the far end, in low light.
An empty platform at quiet hours, lit and signed and entirely unloved.
A MARTA train arrives at a station platform with a commuter waiting in the foreground.
A train arrives at the platform — and again, the floor it stops over is a record of what the system tolerates.
A commuter rides an upward escalator. The concrete floor at the base of the escalator is darkened almost to black with accumulated grime.
At the base of the up-escalator the floor is darkened to near-black — a public-facing inch of a billion-dollar transit system.
The exterior of a MARTA station at dusk, with its signature green-and-pink mural wall, station signage, and benches under a concrete canopy.
A MARTA station exterior at dusk — proof that the public-facing identity is intact. The work is interior.
Midtown Transit Station entrance at night — the fare gate hall lit beneath an overhead concrete canopy.
Midtown Transit Station entrance — the fare gate hall lit and ready, with no signage of the conditions beyond.
A MARTA station outdoor concourse at night with a large mural wall, benches, and a round AstroTurf installation underfoot.
A station's outdoor concourse — mural wall, benches, AstroTurf circle. Public investment in the surface; what's missing is the maintenance.
Looking down a station's downward escalator; a person crouches at the bottom near a trash bin and signage.
Looking down a Down escalator — a person tends to something at the bottom; the floor below is what they're stepping onto.
Looking straight down an escalator tread, showing scratches, paint marks and accumulated discoloration on the metal.
The top of an escalator. The tread itself bears scratches, paint marks, accumulated discoloration nobody scheduled to remove.
A station corner where a stained granite floor meets a white tile wall, the grout darkened to a rust line.
A station corner where stained floor meets white-tile wall, the grout darkened to a rust line.
MARTA elevator alcove with weathered board-formed concrete walls and litter on the concrete floor.
The elevator alcove — the only path for travelers with luggage, strollers, or mobility needs.
Yellow tactile platform-edge strip alongside a track, with stained concrete platform surface in the foreground.
The yellow safety strip at the platform edge — meant to keep riders safe, itself coated in grit.
An empty platform in off-peak hours showing a long stained concrete floor and a weathered board-formed concrete feature wall.
A platform empty in the off-hours. With nobody around, the bones of the station are unmistakable.
A close view of MARTA track bed showing bottles, fast-food wrappers, and an orange plastic bag among the rails and ties.
The track bed itself — bottles, fast-food wrappers, an orange plastic shopping bag. What riders look down at while waiting.
Base of a MARTA station escalator showing a stained, paint-flecked concrete floor.
The base of an escalator. The first thing visitors step onto after arriving by train.
A wider view of Midtown station platform, looking across the tracks at a colorful abstract mural under a coffered concrete ceiling.
A wider view of Midtown's platform with its abstract mural across the tracks — a station designed to host visitors, asking only for a clean.
A well-lit MARTA escalator going up, with clean treads and stainless-steel side walls.
A clean, well-lit escalator. The proof that the work, when it is done, can be done. We are not asking for new — we are asking for restored.

Every image on this page is one Saturday's worth of work for a small crew with the right supplies, the right permissions, and the right intent. Reserve your spot for the next session →