Explore the real-world places that appear in An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include The Carter Center, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Spelman College, Midtown Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and 9 more.
One Copenhill Avenue — Alma's workplace
Alma DeLuca works as a grants manager at the Carter Center, where she manages the professional life she has carefully built. The center represents her ambition, intelligence, and independence—qualities that define her character before and after Roy's incarceration. Her colleagues and work ethic reflect her drive to succeed and contribute meaningfully to the world, making the disruption of her marriage and Roy's imprisonment all the more devastating to her identity.
The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. Located in the heart of Atlanta, it focuses on disease eradication, conflict resolution, and democracy promotion. The distinctive glass and steel building became an Atlanta landmark.
The Carter Center remains fully operational and open for guided tours. It is one of Atlanta's most significant cultural and humanitarian institutions, welcoming thousands of visitors annually to learn about global health and peace initiatives.
Visit: The Carter Center (historic site)
1640 Silverwood Road — Roy's prison
Roy Hamilton is imprisoned here after his false conviction for sexual assault. Alma visits Roy in this prison, and their marriage deteriorates through prison visits and letters. The facility becomes the physical and emotional center of the novel's conflict—the place where Roy is stripped of his freedom and dignity, and where Alma must confront the injustice that has fractured their marriage. Roy's years here fundamentally change both characters.
Atlanta Federal Penitentiary opened in 1902 as a federal correctional facility. It has housed inmates of varying security levels and has been a significant part of Atlanta's criminal justice infrastructure for over a century.
The facility continues to operate as a federal penitentiary. While not open for casual tours, it remains an active correctional institution on Atlanta's outskirts.
350 Spelman Lane — Alma's education
Alma is an alumna of Spelman College, one of the nation's premier historically Black women's colleges. Her education at Spelman shaped her values, ambitions, and sense of self-worth. The college is woven into Alma's identity and represents the intellectual and social foundation upon which she has built her life and marriage to Roy.
Spelman College was founded in 1881 and is the oldest historically Black women's college in the United States. Located in Atlanta's West End, it has educated generations of Black women leaders, activists, and professionals.
Spelman College remains a thriving institution with an excellent reputation. The beautiful Atlanta University Center campus is open for campus tours, and the college welcomes visitors to experience its historic grounds and academic excellence.
Visit: Spelman College (historic site)
Peachtree Street corridor — Urban life and encounters
Midtown represents the modern, progressive Atlanta where Alma and Roy establish their married life. It is where they navigate city life, encounter the cosmopolitan Black middle class, and exist in the spaces that reflect their aspirations. The neighborhood embodies their attempt at building an American dream, making it all the more poignant when their life there is interrupted by Roy's arrest and conviction.
Midtown Atlanta became a major cultural and commercial hub in the late 20th century, transformed from a declining area into a vibrant neighborhood. It became the center of Atlanta's gay community and progressive culture, home to museums, galleries, restaurants, and boutiques.
Midtown Atlanta remains one of Atlanta's most dynamic neighborhoods, filled with shops, restaurants, galleries, and the thriving High Museum of Art. It continues as a major cultural destination and residential area for young professionals and artists.
Visit: Midtown Atlanta (landmark)
10800 N. Continental Boulevard — Departures and arrivals
The airport serves as a symbolic threshold in the novel—a place of arrivals and departures that mark major emotional turning points. It represents the mobility and possibilities that define Alma and Roy's relationship in its early days, and later the isolation and distance that prison creates between them. Travel to and from the airport punctuates key moments of connection and separation.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport opened in 1925 as a municipal airfield. It grew to become one of the world's busiest airports by passenger traffic, serving as a major hub for domestic and international travel.
Hartsfield-Jackson is the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic. Visitors can experience its modern terminals, numerous restaurants and shops, art installations, and the airport's historic murals and exhibits.
Visit: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (landmark)
Auburn Avenue — Historic Black Atlanta
Sweet Auburn Avenue and the West End represent the historical and cultural roots of Atlanta's Black community, the foundation upon which characters like Roy and Alma build their identities. This neighborhood embodies the legacy of Black excellence, entrepreneurship, and community that gives the novel its social and historical context. It is the spiritual home of Atlanta's Black middle and upper classes.
Sweet Auburn Avenue was called 'the richest Negro street in the world' by Fortune magazine in 1956. It was the center of Black Atlanta's thriving business, cultural, and social life, home to Black-owned banks, theaters, restaurants, and professional offices. It declined after desegregation and urban renewal but has been undergoing revitalization.
Sweet Auburn Avenue is being restored and revitalized as a historic district. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, the Auburn Avenue Research Library, and various historic buildings commemorate the avenue's golden era. Visitors can explore this important cultural corridor.
Visit: Auburn Avenue Historic District (historic site)
2 E. Main Street, Cumming — Roy's trial location
Roy Hamilton is tried in Forsyth County Courthouse on charges of sexual assault. The trial is a pivotal moment in the novel—a moment of injustice where Roy is convicted based on insufficient evidence and the prejudices of a predominantly white jury. The courthouse proceedings set in motion the events that unravel Roy and Alma's marriage, making it a crucial location in the narrative of wrongful conviction and systemic racism.
Forsyth County Courthouse was built in 1920 and serves as the county seat of Forsyth County, Georgia. It has presided over significant cases in Georgia's criminal justice history and reflects the region's legal traditions and social dynamics.
The Forsyth County Courthouse remains in active use as a functioning courthouse. The historic building is accessible to the public, though courtroom access may be limited. The building is architecturally significant and is part of Cumming's historic downtown.
Visit: Forsyth County Courthouse (historic site)
18411 Highway 66, St. Francisville, Louisiana — Where Roy is transferred
Roy is eventually transferred to Angola, one of America's most notorious prisons. This hellish facility deepens the tragedy of Roy's wrongful imprisonment and intensifies the strain on his marriage with Alma. The transfer to Angola represents a descent into an even more desperate situation, a place where Roy's humanity is further diminished by the brutal conditions and his continued separation from Alma.
Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, built on the site of a former plantation, opened in 1901. It has been called one of the most violent and dangerous prisons in America, and has a long and troubling history of abuse, forced labor, and human rights violations.
Angola remains one of Louisiana's largest prisons and has implemented some rehabilitation programs in recent years. Guided tours are offered to the public, though they focus on the prison's history and current operations. It is located on a sprawling plantation-like grounds.
Visit: Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola (historic site)
450 Auburn Avenue NE — Atlanta's civil rights legacy
While not explicitly featured in the novel, the park anchors the Auburn Avenue neighborhood where Roy and Alma's story is rooted in the broader context of Atlanta's Black community and the ongoing struggle for justice and equality. The historical park represents the civil rights legacy that informs the novel's themes of injustice, systemic racism, and the African American experience in the South.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park was established in 1980 to honor the civil rights leader's legacy. It includes the Sweet Auburn district where King was born and raised, and commemorates the struggle for racial equality and justice.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is one of Atlanta's most visited attractions. It features King's birth home, the Ebenezer Baptist Church, a visitor center with exhibits, and walking tours that explore Atlanta's civil rights history.
Visit: Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park (historic site)
Peachtree Street vicinity — Marital home
The apartment Alma and Roy share in Midtown represents their marriage at its best—a space of intimacy, dreams, and possibility. Before Roy's arrest, this is where they build their life together as a young professional couple. After Roy's conviction, the apartment becomes a painful reminder of what they have lost, eventually becoming a place Alma must rebuild her life alone, grappling with anger and betrayal.
Midtown Atlanta's residential areas became increasingly attractive to young professionals beginning in the 1980s and 1990s, offering contemporary urban living with easy access to cultural institutions and employment centers.
Midtown Atlanta's apartment buildings and condos continue to be popular with young professionals and established residents. The neighborhood remains vibrant and dynamic with numerous housing options.
1280 Peachtree Street NE — Atlanta's cultural center
The High Museum represents the cultural world that Alma navigates as an educated, accomplished professional in Atlanta. It embodies the refinement and aspiration that characterizes her life and her worldview. The museum is part of the backdrop of the cosmopolitan, progressive Atlanta where Alma and Roy attempt to build their life before his arrest fundamentally changes everything.
The High Museum of Art was founded in 1926 and is the leading art museum in the Southeast. The current Richard Meier-designed building opened in 1983 and has become an architectural landmark, known for its dramatic white facade and innovative design.
The High Museum remains one of Atlanta's major cultural institutions, offering world-class exhibitions of contemporary and historical art. It is freely accessible to the public with general admission or special programs available.
Visit: High Museum of Art (museum)
407 Auburn Avenue NE — Spiritual anchor of Black Atlanta
Ebenezer Baptist Church represents the spiritual and moral foundation of Atlanta's Black community and the values that inform Roy and Alma's upbringing. The church embodies the faith and integrity that makes Roy's conviction all the more tragic—he is a man of principle and faith whose life is destroyed by a system that fails to recognize his innocence or his humanity. The church is a touchstone of community and moral authority.
Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded in 1886 and became famous as the church where Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained and served as pastor. It has been central to Atlanta's civil rights history and Black community life.
Ebenezer Baptist Church remains an active congregation and a major Atlanta tourist attraction. Visitors can attend services and tours that explore its historic significance in the civil rights movement and its connection to Martin Luther King Jr.
Visit: Ebenezer Baptist Church (historic site)
206 State Capitol Avenue NE — Symbol of state justice system
The Georgia State Capitol represents the political and legal authority that oversees Roy's wrongful conviction and imprisonment. It embodies the state systems that have failed Roy and countless others—the institutions of law and justice that, rather than protecting the innocent, perpetuate injustice and racism. The capitol is a symbol of the power structures that trap Roy in the criminal justice system.
The Georgia State Capitol was completed in 1889 and has housed the state's legislative branch. Its gold dome is one of Atlanta's most distinctive landmarks, symbolizing the power and authority of state government.
The Georgia State Capitol remains the seat of state government and is open for public tours. Visitors can explore the historic building and observe the legislative chambers where state business is conducted.
Visit: Georgia State Capitol (historic site)
East Atlanta neighborhood — Community and roots
Decatur represents the kind of small-town, community-oriented Atlanta neighborhoods that anchor the characters' sense of home and identity. Though not the primary setting, neighborhoods like Decatur embody the close-knit African American community values that Roy and Alma share. This is the kind of place where reputation matters, where family ties run deep, and where the personal tragedy of Roy's conviction would resonate throughout an entire community.
Decatur was one of Atlanta's first suburbs, originally incorporated in 1823. It developed as a distinct community with its own downtown square and neighborhood character, eventually being annexed into Atlanta.
Decatur Square remains a vibrant historic neighborhood with a charming downtown square surrounded by shops, restaurants, and cultural venues. It is one of Atlanta's most desirable neighborhoods and a popular destination for shopping, dining, and community events.
Visit: Decatur Square (landmark)
More by Tayari Jones: All Tayari Jones books
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