Scarlett's Atlanta Birthplace By John Deiner Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, July 27, 1997; Page E04

Diversion: The Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta.

Requirements: About two hours, including a $3 round-trip subway ride (about 20 minutes each way). Sufficient appreciation of "Gone With the Wind" to want to see the place the book was written.

Margaret Mitchell called it "the Dump," and during the '80s and early '90s, others would agree.

A hulking, dilapidated nightmare at 10th and Peachtree streets in Atlanta's stylish Midtown section, the apartment building where Mitchell wrote "GWTW" sat neglected for almost two decades. Well, it turns out that tomorrow is another day.

On May 17 – with funding from, of all places, German automaker Daimler-Benz – the building was reborn as the Margaret Mitchell House, complete with a visitor center, docent-led tour, exhibits, a film and a history that makes Scarlett O'Hara's tale seem tame.

Mitchell lived in Apartment No. 1 from 1925 to 1932 – during which time, suffering from arthritis, she quit her job at the Atlanta Journal and began spinning her little yarn about the Civil War. "Gone With the Wind," of course, went on to garner a Pulitzer Prize, inspire the Oscar-winning flick and launch a multitude of annoying catch phrases. But the building took another turn.

The Dump officially began its Eyesore Phase after it was abandoned and boarded up in 1978. It was saved from demolition 11 years later only after receiving landmark status. In 1994, an arsonist set a fire, and restoration began less than a year later.

A happy ending, right? Fiddle dee dee. Scheduled to open for last year's Summer Olympics, the house was hit by another suspicious blaze 40 days before the Games, setting the restoration back a year.

Now the museum is finally open, crowds have been consistent but not unwieldy. So if you want to see Mitchell's desk or the typewriter she used for "GWTW," you won't have to wait in line. At least for now. But tomorrow is . . . oh, you know.

Don't take a cab – it's expensive and, if you time it wrong, you'll hit traffic and miss your connecting flight. Grab the MARTA train at the airport to the Midtown station, adjacent to the museum. Starting Friday, the museum is open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m. $6 adults, $4 children 7 to 12. 404/249-7012.