Former Radium Springs Casino site still draws visitors

<p>Although Radium Springs Casino, a once elegant south Georgia resort, has been demolished, people still flock to the clear waters that gave the casino its name.</p><p>The casino, which never featured gambling, was torn down last year. It was a haven for swimmers, golfers and other recreational seekers. The historic but flood-prone building overlooked Radium Springs, a gathering place for Creek Indians.</p><p>It is one of Georgia's seven natural wonders. Generations of southwest Georgia residents and Northern tourists, headed for Florida on old U.S. Route 19, gathered there.</p><p>Today, visitors are anxious to walk the trails at the old landmark.</p><p>A new project to build an observation deck at the springs will be dedicated next month.</p><p>"Now we have a park the county and commission can be proud of," said Elizabeth Dean, planning manager for the Albany Department of Planning and Community Development.</p><p>The deck will allow visitors to walk nature trails as well as to view birds, trees and wildlife in the park.</p><p>"We've had reports ... that people have been trying to walk the trails and construction isn't even finished yet," she said.</p><p>A $20,000 grant from the Department of Natural Resources and a small amount of matching funds are helping fund the project.</p><p>Radium Springs, about four miles south of Albany, is one of several "blue holes" along the Flint River's bottom. They provide a habitat for Gulf striped bass, a large fish that has to huddle over the cool springs to escape the Flint's summer temperatures.</p><p>The Georgia Department of Natural Resources purchased 85 acres between the Flint River to preserve the springs, which are included with Stone Mountain, the Okefenokee Swamp, Tallulah Gorge, Amicolola Falls, Warm Springs and Providence Canyon as Georgia's seven natural wonders.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2859d50)</p>