Tiny Doors ATL

Not all doors need to be opened to lead you somewhere interesting. Scattered around Atlanta, there are more than 20 whimsical vignettes featuring miniature doors just about seven inches tall. The story behind each door is yours to imagine.

The #TinyDoorsATL project was started by the Atlanta artist Karen Anderson with the goal of inspiring curiosity and exploration in people who happen across them. The little doors are affixed near various landmarks that make Atlanta unique. For example, four of the doors can be found at various points along the BeltLine, an urban development that is home to large-scale graffiti murals, some amazing wide-open views of the city, and 33 miles of urban trails.

The first tiny door can be found at the Krog Street Tunnel, a spot known for its vibrant and often-changing graffiti. Anderson installed it in 2014, and chose the site hoping that other artists would respond to the door. Soon after it was put in place, tiny gifts started appearing on the door’s stoop: a small takeout box from a neighborhood restaurant, a miniature copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a tiny pumpkin around Halloween. The project was off to a successful start. In the years since, Anderson and her collaborators have created more than a dozen tiny doors, a tiny street, and one standard-sized version of a tiny door.

Some of the other tiny doors can be found near the International Peace Fountain at Woodruff Park, at the historic Fox Theater, and by the whale shark sculpture at the Georgia Aquarium. Because they are hidden in plain sight, the doors are intended to draw your curiosity down to ground level, and meant to be seen by those who take the time to look.