History
{ Friday, November 18th, 2011 }
Metrobrokers Billboard Missing In Action
How many times have you seen the Metrobrokers billboard on I-85 South? You know the one that I’m talking about- it’s about a half mile north of the 85/75 connector, just next to the MARTA yard:
I don’t think I’ve ever written about a competing brokerage’s marketing, but the Metrobrokers billboard is borderline iconic. While its approach to counting home inventory is often disputed (I’ve been told that it computes the Atlanta housing market based on a 35-county radius), its impact on thousands of commuters is immeasurable. It’s turned everyone into a housing inventory expert- and has become Atlanta’s answer to New York’s famed National Debt Clock:
It’s safe to say that I was more than a little shocked to see the billboard empty when driving down 85 South last night. Not sure if it’s gone for good, or if it’s in the shop for repairs. If the fat lady has in fact sung, this is Atlanta’s greatest vehicular marketing loss since the “Gwinnett Is Great” water towers were taken down.
I suppose, at the end of the day, nothing has been the same since the loss of the So So Def “Welcome to Atlanta” sign:
Photo Credits: Metrobrokers (billboard), Telegraph (Debt Clock), Atlanta Metblogs (So So Def)
{ Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 }
Gene Kansas, Sidewalk Radio
If you live in Atlanta and you’re interested in art, architecture, design, development, city planning or preservation, then you should be making an appointment to listen to Sidewalk Radio every month. Each episode is guided by host Gene Kansas‘ passion for culture and community, covering a wide range of topics like the impact of the beverage community on Atlanta to the architecture of MARTA stations. But before you decide to catch up on Sidewalk Radio on am1690, take a minute to meet the host with the most…
Q. Favorite Atlanta neighborhood?
A. Ansley Park is a perennial favorite, I fell in love with it the moment I moved here 16 years ago. I love that it is in the “middle of it all”, bordered by the arts district on one side and Piedmont Park on the other, but intentionally designed to feel like you’re “away from it all”. I also love its rich history and because it makes me feel like I’m in New Orleans with the gorgeous oak-lined streets.
Q. The most underrated thing about Atlanta is…
A. Well, as we all know, Atlanta is a very self-promoting town. Finding something underrated and unknown here can be a challenge. I’d have to say that despite being a transient type of city, we’re actually really high up there when it comes to appreciating community.
Q. A fairy godmother puts you in charge of Underground Atlanta and gives you carte blanche to do whatever you’d like with it. Thoughts?
A. Hmmmmm…good question. If I had control of Underground Atlanta I’d promote the Zero Mile Post (the literal spot that marks where the city started) to a much higher degree. It’s an important part of our reason for being. Otherwise, I really try to stay away from there. Is that wrong?!
Q. You’re asked to create the essential Sidewalk Radio Atlanta weekend. What’s on the agenda?
A. Sidewalk Radio explores art, architecture, design, development, city planning and preservation so it would have to be a long weekend, but I think I’d try to spend the whole time on Peachtree. To quote urban planner and Sidewalk Radio guest David Green, “Peachtree Street is the cultural heart of Atlanta”, so an anthropological adventure along that famed corridor seems right on time. The agenda would include a show at the Fox Theatre, a drink at the Georgian Terrace, a burger at The Vortex, a visit to the High Museum, a pop-in at Perkins+Will to thank them for being our sponsor (shameless plug!), a Southern Cola hand crafted by Greg Best at Holeman & Finch, chips and salsa at Jalisco, a visit with Elton John to see his private art collection, and of course an all expense paid shopping spree at Lenox and Phipps.
Q. What is Sidewalk Radio, and why should everyone tune in?
A. Sidewalk Radio is a monthly radio show on AM 1690 “The Voice of the Arts” that features local experts and their insights about Atlanta’s creative and cultural community. The show is very conversational and informative with nods to our developmental history, to dynamic places and movements in a state of flux, and to our hopefully illustrious future. If you like cool, creative, interesting things and you love Atlanta, then I hope and think you’ll really dig Sidewalk Radio. Did I mention you can listen anytime on iTunes?! November’s upcoming show explores the Atlanta restaurant world. Check it out and enjoy!
{ Monday, August 1st, 2011 }
Terry Kearns, Architecture Tourist
Terry Kearns is the author of Architecture Tourist, one of my favorite blogs. It was fitting that we recently met one another while touring a home, and serendipitous considering that I’ve wanted to feature Terry on A Is For Atlanta for quite some time. If you’re interested in Atlanta architecture, history or neighborhoods, Architecture Tourist is not just a must-read, it is the must-read. I’m really not sure how else to put it. Fortunately for me, Terry was generous enough to field a few questions from me recently- I hope you enjoy as much as I did…
Q. You’ve got three hours to meander through any neighborhood in Atlanta. Which one are you choosing, and why?
A. I’d choose the Dekalb Avenue east from Krog. It’s not an obvious place to look. Start at Krog Street Bridge and head east, turn anywhere into Inman Park, just anywhere. Make sure to check the “war” streets just west of Moreland: Battery and Degress. After you cross Moreland, cruise the “lady” streets in Candler Park: left on Josephine, right on Euclid right on Elmira. In Lake Claire you’ll see the huge continental divide mural at the Arizona Avenue underpass. Then turn left at Connecticut and tour the “state” streets: Connecticut, New York, Arizona, and Delaware. Then cruise “Southerland Hill.” Turn left on Southerland Place just east of the Lake Claire swimming pool to see Southerland, Oxford, and Gordon. Finally, tour the “garden” streets. Cross East Lake and turn left at Drexel. Make sure to see Melrose and Emerson, home to Ryan Gainey’s Garden of Poetry and Prose. Go home via Oak Grove, Kirkwood, Edgewood, Reynoldstown, and Cabbagetown…but that’s another meander.
Q. What are the essential “must sees” for Architecture Tourists in Atlanta?
A. How about downtown’s public lobbies? Whatever your tastes these lobbies impress. The Grant Building lobby is straightforward and reserved. The former C&S Bank is Atlanta’s Pantheon. The Healey Building has a gothic ribbed rotunda. The Hurt Building’s main entrance is an elegant rotunda that softens this huge building. The Candler Building lobby is small and perfect and ennobling. Visit the Victorian portrait gallery at the Ritz. At 191 Peachtree see the colossal Helena Hernmarck tapestry “Urn” and ride the escalator down to see Ray King’s “Atlantis.” The Peachtree Plaza’s lobby conveys the sense of the colossal hotel almost floating overhead. The Regency’s groundbreaking lobby remains spectacular and cozy. The Marriot Marquis’s lobby is a multi-level playground that my eye can never fully take in. When it’s busy – think Dragon Con – it’s one the best people watching places in Atlanta. Finally, the Sun Trust Tower’s elevator lobby is a pyramid in a square in a circle in a square with breathtaking clarity.
Q. Hidden Atlanta gems?
A. There are so many. I enjoy small scale public or public facing places: Oglethorpe Hill, The Villa Apartments, the former Scottish Rite Hospital in Oak Grove, the Cator Wolford Gardens on Ponce, the Little Chapel at Glen Memorial. Allow me to add the renovated Hinman Building at Georgia Tech though it’s not open to the public. It may be the most exciting indoor space in Atlanta.
Q. If you were given an unlimited budget, unquestioned power and the edict: “make Atlanta more beautiful”, what would you do?
A. Beautiful things continue to enrich us. It may be physical beauty; it may be functional beauty. But I’m rather an anti-planner and would be a terrible Tsar. So I’d abolish the position and retire with a big pension. Then I’ve volunteer to help folks enjoy these places and to find ways to preserve them as best we can.
Q. What is Architecture Tourist, and why is it awesome?
A. The most awesome thing about Architecture Tourist Blog is meeting people. Blog posts connect people. Once in a while we meet in person. What a pleasure.
Photo Credit: Architecture Tourist
{ Friday, May 27th, 2011 }
Historic Atlanta Walking Tours
What am I? Where am I? Why am I important? Take the Sweet Auburn tour...
There is no better way to learn about a neighborhood than to walk it with an expert. While the internet may be full of snazzy resources… there is no substitute for learning about the history of a neighborhood in person.
The Atlanta Preservation Center’s Guided Walking Tours provide phenomenal perspective into the soul of some Atlanta’s most popular neighborhoods, including Grant Park, Ansley Park, Inman Park and Frederick Law Olmsted’s Druid Hills. The tours are led by trained volunteers who are passionate about preservation, and they last for about an hour and a half.
Tours are offered throughout the Summer- just check the Atlanta Preservation Center’s website for more information. $10 per person ($5 for students and seniors).
{ Monday, April 4th, 2011 }
Thomas Wheatley, Creative Loafing
Thomas Wheatley is Creative Loafing’s ace reporter and Atlanta’s ultimate man on the street. When it comes to urban development, local politics and the every day issues that effect intown Atlanta, he’s first on the scene. For those of you who’ve ever wondered what he’d do as Mayor, or why his shoes are so shiny, this one’s for you…
Q. Favorite neighborhoods?
A. Jesus, this is tough. I’d have to say Little Five Points (it’s walkable and close to parks), Downtown (filled with history, character and potential) and Old Fourth Ward.
Q. Mayor for a day- what’s on your agenda?
A. I’d start the day at 6 a.m. with a citywide address on a PA system, replete with a marching band soundtrack. Honestly, I’d sit down with downtown property owners, banks and small businesses and artists to discuss what could be done to fill vacant spaces. Then I’d call Georgia Tech and Georgia State to see if some students could overhaul the city’s website. I’d make sure they’d include a page where city lobbyists could register and disclose their activities. (Thomas lets us know that, thanks to a new law that took effect this year, lobbyists must disclose what they spend on city officials.) I’d appoint Besha Rodell to chair a MLK Day Planning Committee, Pecanne Log to a City History Task Force, and demand Gwynedd Stuart, who sends me photos of kittens and miniature horses at least once a day, be named executive director of Zoo Atlanta. And I’d reopen Sci-Trek just for kicks. Between all that I’d magically find billions of dollars in funding, which I’d use to build transit lines and bike lanes throughout the city, fix sidewalks and potholes, maintain parks, and start a program that offers seed funding for small businesses.
Q. A transplant is trying to decide between moving to Atlanta and our bitter rival, Charlotte. Sell them on why they should move here.
A. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say that Charlotte’s fun. It’s a great city. A nice city, which, from afar and through our eyes, might seem like it’s got its act together. But Atlanta’s got culture. It’s got grit and this incredible history. We might be behind on transit, but we can build that. It’s a lot more difficult to “create” culture.
Q. Creative Loafing decides to move you over to the Food & Drink desk. What can we expect out of your first issues?
A. Lots of articles about burritos, tacos and veggie burgers. And which restaurants have the best homemade lemonade. The following week my editor would tell me I need to stick to writing about the Beltline, furries and reservoirs.
Q. Hidden Atlanta gem?
A. I’m addicted to shoeshines. It’s a sickness. And the best shoeshine in Atlanta (that I’ve found) is at the Capitol. And The Varsity has some of the best ice in the world.
Photo Credit: Pecanne Log
