Abandoned in Midtown
Photo credit: Johnny Urban via Flickr
If you read this blog, you may know that Johnny Urban is a frequent commenter. Well he’s also a prolific taker of photos around town!
Here’s one he took of a house in Midtown in February. And below is the description he added on Flickr. What I like about the photo is it captures the crazy mish mash of building styles in our city.
“Abandoned and forlorn after serving as a restaurant, this modest bungalow on a backstreet in Midtown was at one time the home of Celestine Sibley, a very popular writer in Atlanta. Although she is most remembered for the stories she wrote about her ancient farmhouse named Sweet Apple in Crabapple (near Roswell, GA), she raised her children in this home. I remember reading somewhere that she found joy in being an urban mother, as she wasn’t obliged like her suburban counterparts in having to play the role of chaffeur. They could simply walk out the door to stores, entertainment, the park. Who knows how much longer this place will still be around….”
Hey Johnny, where is this exactly? And while I’m at, I love your photo stream on Flickr! You’ve got an eye for what’s great, and not so great, about Atlanta.
The perfect city building? I think so.
I love this building at Peachtree and Fifth.
It adheres to the classic city architecture form that includes retail on the ground floor and residential on the upper floors.
It’s stately, and given the controversy over building plans at 10th and Monroe, it’s really not too tall. I mean, does this building offend or worry anyone?
I think it would be pretty cool to walk downstairs and slip into a chic bistro (Eno) for dinner or just a drink.
Look at the afternoon sunlight streaming in the windows!
And when you’re returning home from errands, you can pat yourself on the back that you live in a building that adds to the richness of the neighborhood, instead of detracting.
So what am I getting at?
Well if you have something that works — and I don’t think this building has gone into foreclosure and I looked at property records for residents and I don’t see a lot of foreclosure notices — why not replicate it?
To be sure, there are other buildings of a similar size in the city. This one, for example, which houses Utrecht art supply on the ground floor:
But, well, how about some more?
Gosh I see empty lots all over Atlanta and I wonder if people are thinking a little too big. On the other hand, I like that the folks who built this building understood this is a city; one and two-story buildings need not apply. At the same time, it’s not so large that neighborhood groups begin to agitate when the developers make the proposal.
The perfect city building, no?
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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Crime closes in on Midtown
Until now, crime hasn’t been the top issue on my agenda — as it has been for many friends in intown Atlanta. I guess, it still isn’t, but it’s climbed up a spot or two.
Two reasons:
1. A week ago, this — Man shot in midtown Atlanta — happened a block or two from my house
2. Then, last night, this — Georgia Tech students robbed at gunpoint — happened maybe a block in the other direction
And that doesn’t even account for the five killings reported in other parts of Atlanta over the weekend.
Suddenly, I’m kind of worried about my safety and the safety of my dog.
One more Beltline walk pic — an important one
I took the photo above last month during a tour of the Beltline’s Northeastern section with Angel Poventud, the uber-activist.
What do we see in the photo? A high-rise at the corner of 10th and Monroe.
As Linda Richman used to say, talk amongst yourselves, and see a personal disclosure after the jump.
And while you talk amongst yourselves, let me add my two cents — albeit a bit late — about a recent decision by the NPU-F to reject the Beltline’s plan to allow up to an eight-story building near the corner of 10th and Monroe in Midtown Atlanta. (See here for a great overview by Creative Loafing’s Thomas Wheatly).
Cent one: How did the building in the photo above get there? (Clearly the Beltline folks need to do whatever that guy did).
Cent two: Now that it’s there, why can’t there be other buildings of that size in the area? Does the neighborhood consider that building a mistake? Are there plans to demolish it?
For the rest of this post, and to see comments from readers, please follow the link to My Green ATL.
Falling in love with Piedmont Park
I think I’ve mentioned that I moved back to Atlanta last year, and have been exploring entire neighborhoods that I never visited when I lived here last.
I’ve also been rediscovering old treasures such as Piedmont Park.
I used to visit the park when I lived here last but I think somehow in the past it failed to cast a spell on me.
Now I’m finding excuses to visit. The other day I walked over to the park after meeting with a friend on Peachtree, and I just plopped down on the grass, in full view of the glorious sun, and read the newspaper.
And I’m delighting in the original stonework that you see at the entrance to the playing fields, and other places.
For many of you, this is all old hat.
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Stuff
I’d like to mention two things today.
First off, Creative Loafing has a really good story on the folks who want to open a nightclub in Midtown. This is something we had talked about a bit here so I thought I would add the link. Maybe you guys already saw it, but just in case.
And also a reminder that U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be in Atlanta on Sept. 21 to speak at the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Fifty Forward Transportation Forum.
I know sometimes attendance at ARC forums can be limited by space but this event will be held at the Georgia World Congress so I’m guessing a few more folks can squeeze in. Grace, if you’re out there, shed some light!
Here are the details from the folks at the ARC:
What: U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood will discuss the future of transportation in metro Atlanta and around the world at ARC’s Fifty Forward Transportation Forum on Monday, September 21, 2009.
Who: Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
Johnny Isakson, U.S. Senator
Sam Olens, chairman, ARC and Cobb County Commission
Shirley Franklin, mayor, City of Atlanta
Why: One of the largest factors sure to impact metro Atlanta’s transportation future is the shifting federal policy environment. Indications are that federal policy may be shifting in the direction of a more holistic and sustainable approach to transportation infrastructure. On September 21, US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood will speak at ARC’s Fifty Forward forum. This is an opportunity to hear about the future of transportation from one of the most influential people in the transportation sector.
When: Monday, September 21, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Where: Georgia World Congress Center, Room B-405
For more information, please visit www.atlantafiftyforward.com.
Biltmore
The news recently that the Crum and Forster building on Spring St. in Midtown has likely been saved from the wrecking ball made me think of another wonderful building nearby: the Biltmore.
When I look at the Biltmore, I think I begin to understand a little bit about architecture.
The building inspires me and makes me happy! It’s large and majestic and it makes a statement on the street. It helps to make that part of Midtown — around 5th Street and West Peachtree — such a pleasant place for a stroll.
But I do wonder: how is all that space used?
There’s a barber shop in the ground floor and I would imagine some offices. Anyone know what else is in there?
Essentially I just want to see all the great buildings full so we never have to worry about them. We can’t afford to lose any — and in fact, I often dream of the skyline growing larger.
Here in Atlanta it seems as though everyone likes a restaurant or a condo with a view, but we don’t always do what’s necessary to protect and expand that view.
10th and Monroe re-zoning
There’s a great discussion about the re-zoning of 10th and Monroe today at one of my favorite Atlanta blogs, Terminal Station.
Ben’s argument riffs on a story in today’s Creative Loafing by Thomas Wheatley about the intersection, which borders Piedmont Park and is part of the proposed Beltline trail and transit corridor.
Wheatley quotes a woman who lives in the neighborhood, writing, “She worries that dense development would mar the charm of the city’s most iconic greenspace.”
It’s so hard to understand this point of view. Look at the photo above! Isn’t that pleasant?
Is that not a classic city view that one sees in Chicago and New York? The classic interplay of the urban with the bucolic?
The picture above shows the opposite side of Piedmont Park.
I wish I had a photo of the other side of the park, which is at the center of this argument.
But I don’t because it’s one of the ugliest intersections in the city so I didn’t bother to snap a photo of it!
AJC: Neighbors oppose club back on Peachtree
In case you missed it, the AJC has an article today on the opposition of some Midtown residents to Vision nightclub re-opening on Peachtree at 11th.
The owners plan to re-open the club with a new name, but some residents say the club was too loud during its previous incarnation from 2003 to 2006.
In fact, there’s even a virtual petition you can sign.
I can tell you I’m obsessed with noise; as in, I don’t want to hear noise outside my house after 10 p.m.
But Atlanta is a city! And Peachtree is its main street. Where should clubs and restaurants be? Not on Main Street?
Do we want to ship nightlife to the suburbs? Does that even make sense?
Ever pass Esso on Memorial? I always think, what the heck is this club doing in a depressing, half-empty strip mall in a fairly suburban stretch of Dekalb County?
I would love to hear readers’ thoughts. I don’t want to minimize the concerns of these Midtown residents. But Midtown and downtown form the core of the city.
I don’t see how you can live on Peachtree and expect countryside quiet.
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