Let’s walk over to the Plaza and catch a flick
Photo credit: Karla Jean Davis via Flickr
I recently interviewed Jonathan Rej, the co-owner of the Plaza Theater, for the AJC and our conversation touched on so many different topics.
My main interest for the AJC piece was finding out about the theater’s transition last year from a for-profit enterprise to a nonprofit (the story was originally meant to run in the business section).
You can see his compelling answers in the Q&A that the AJC ran yesterday here. Unfortunately, much of the Q&A focuses on the challenges Rej and his wife face as they try to keep the historic 1939 art deco theater afloat.
But not all of the cool stuff we talked about could make it into the Q&A.
And me being me, I couldn’t help but bring the conversation around to walkable neighborhoods.
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Bonner names her Atlanta desire
I often think I’m quite witty, even if evidence to support the claim is lacking.
To wit, the headline of the post is meant to spoof this headline from the Denver Post’s online edition:
“Romer Names his Colfax Desire: Streetcars”
You can read the whole story here, though I will warn you, if you live in Atlanta, the story may seem as depressing as “The Departed” and “Million Dollar Baby.”
I suppose that’s why I wanted to parody the headline.
The quick summary is that Colorado State Sen. Chris Romer is going to introduce a bill that “would take a portion of higher vehicle registration fees and flow the money to a special district that would coordinate financing, construction and operation of a streetcar line on Colfax Avenue in Denver and Aurora,” according to the newspaper.
‘”It’s been a dream of mine to restore streetcars to Colfax; they change the way people live,” said the 50-year-old Romer, D-Denver, who grew up not far from the area’s longest street.’
(The story also includes this key detail: “The state began collecting higher registration fees after last year’s legislature passed the FASTER transportation measure to pay for highway, bridge and transit improvements.”)
In the past week, I’ve written about Charlotte’s intention to apply for federal funds to build a streetcar system, and its existing lightrail network.
Now this.
I’m still learning the lay of the political land here in Georgia, but I look forward one day to reading a headline like this:
Reed (or insert another Atlanta/Georgia politician’s name) Names his Atlanta Wish: Streetcars
Now this is smart growth
I love to walk up to the Sweet Auburn area near downtown Atlanta and today I had the perfect excuse: the dedication of a new mural about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., at the King Historic site.
What can I possibly say about Dr. King that could do justice to his legacy? He touched everyone, including me, a white Long Islander who stood, rapt, listening to the loudspeaker in my Junior High homeroom when my social studies teacher played Dr. King’s last speech each year on the King holiday (which was not then a holiday, at least not in New York state).
An excerpt from that speech, given April 3, 1968, has pride of place in the mural, as you can see in the photo below.
If you don’t get the chills when he says “I may not get there with you,” well, that’s as good an indication as any that you’re not alive!
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Scaffolding down at Ponce and P’tree — finally
An old beauty has finally been allowed to show her face, and what a face it is.
This building at the corner of Ponce and Peachtree in Midtown has had scaffolding in front of it for, shoot, I don’t know — a year? Two years? And now finally the scaffolding is down and we can see just how gorgeous is it.
I’m sure you know this building because its iconic curved facade was the reason one of Atlanta’s old trolley lines cut an arc when it turned onto Ponce from Peachtree Street (you can see the arc in this small photo).
I think I’ve mentioned before that this little historical marker across from the Fox Theater just makes me sad because it says, “Look at your past progress, Atlanta. Now all you have is a plaque to mark the spot where you used to have something productive.”
Anyway, let’s not get away from the main purpose here, which is to admire one of Midtown’s best buildings. In fact, I’m going to take a page from Architectural Tourist’s book and note some of the great features of this building.
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Festive Chamaszaa
We have fattened up our baby for the Christmas feast. We have dressed the dog in reindeer horns. And we plan to dump the whole lot of them on the two grandmas so that we can go see Avatar on this, the eve before the day that all the coffee shops are closed.
But no holiday would be complete without going through the motions of wishing everyone a happy one, as I do so now, to you:
Have a blessed holiday. Keep the Christ in Christmas, keep the Chan in Chanukah, and spell the word Kwanzaa correctly.
May the wrath of Vishnu spare you, and the Soup Nazi give you a second bowl. May your days off be paid time, and receipts be enclosed in all the gifts that you wish to return.
Most of all, may the holiday spare you from any grevious car accidents or terrorizing domestic disputes.
Posts are likely to be intermittent through the holidays; you are still required to comment, however.
And with that I bid you good cheer!
Gallery: Santa Speedo Run in Va-Hi
I stumbled upon the Atlanta Santa Speedo Run in Virginia Highland on Saturday.
Then, I misplaced my camera. Then, I found my camera. So, now finally, I’m posting the photos.
Quite the scene and occasionally impressive scenery. It was very cold, around 36 degrees. But the 150 or so runners looked like they were having an exhilarating run.
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- Virginia-Highland Santa Speedo Run
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- Up Highland …
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- … and back down Highland
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- … the Santa Speedos are better looking than those New Year’s “Eskimo swimmers” in Chicago.
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- Santa Claus is everywhere …
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- … but Hanukkah Harry runs alone
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- What nice socks you have on, my dear
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- They raise money for Chris Kids Inc.
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- Which one’s the reindeer?
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- Brrr…
The Yes Men prank Coca-Cola
Coke has been pranked by the Yes Men.
Two people purporting to be Atlanta-based Coca-Cola PR employees blasted the company’s environmental and human rights record at a press conference yesterday in Copenhagen, according to Grist. Public Relations Specialist “Frank Guerrero” and Public Relations Assistant “Stacia Van Wooten” “urged people in Copenhagen to never drink the soft drink again, denouncing their company’s environmental and human rights record in a highly unusual press conference* in the Hopenhagen LIVE area in City Hall Square.”
Watch the video and read the rest of this post at My Green ATL.
Tour of Ctown’s Stacks — urban living with a twist
Over the weekend, the Stacks at Fulton Cotton Mill in Cabbagetown held their annual loft and artists’ studio tours.
The highlight of the tour is probably the loft that includes what I will call the bell tower, the highest point of the mill’s main building and perhaps its most distinctive feature, which can be seen from various points around the city. The home has 65-foot ceilings!
But it’s also interesting to peer through the windows of one loft to gain a view of another part of the complex — a little bit like living in the apartment complex in Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” without the wife killing. The industrial shape of the exterior of the complex and the common courtyard space were as intriguing as the interior of the lofts, as funky as they are.
To have reclaimed the space and then converted it to residential living enriches that part of Atlanta immeasurably.
Terry at the Architectural Tourist blog took some fantastic photos of the event. See his slide show here, and make a mental note to check out the tour next year.
Lesson #1 — White mayoral candidate can win in Atlanta
Last night’s mayoral election result was most interesting for what almost happened: Despite her apparent loss, Mary Norwood proved that a white candidate can again win a mayoral election in Atlanta.
No white candidate has come as close as she came to winning the mayor’s office since Sam Massell did win in 1969. And Norwood didn’t get so close because she was an especially strong candidate who outperformed a generic vote for a white candidate (maybe, I should be saying “non-black” here actually — but that sounds kind of funny).
In fact, Norwood did well despite being a seriously flawed candidate. Read more
The Obi has landed
Obediah Medrano Edelstain at about one week
Where have I been? Giving birth to our son — Obediah Medrano Edelstein. That’s where.
OK. If you want to get technical about, I wasn’t exactly giving birth. My wife, Silvia, was. They always give credit to the ladies, just because they’re carrying around and sustaining the little guy for eight or nine months, just because of the amazing miracle of what their bodies can do, just because they put themselves through pain that would kill most men …
But, hey, I was there to see the little booger come out. He was blue, and then he was pink, and then he was crying. And he was so, so beautiful. Still is, in fact. He gets more and more beautiful every day.
Obi also was early. He arrived just as we completed 34 weeks. In other words, he left Silvia’s comfy confines six weeks before the full nine months. Still he’s doing well.
And he’s already blogging. Think about that: How many people do you know who began blogging before they even were supposed to get out of the womb? Read more
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