Sunday, February 21, 2010

Shutze's Peachtree Manor Apartments (1923)

Update from Atlanta Time Machine March 14, 2010: El Morocco Club and ad posters for clubs that operated in the Peachtree Manor.




I first laid eyes on it in 1969. It was a seedy looking hotel, a flophouse. It deteriorated from there, abandoned for more than a decade.

I lived 3 blocks away. I could see the Manor from the dental chair while got my wisdom teeth pulled, not a happy memory let me you tell you. The Academy of Medicine is 2 blocks away, the Dwoskin Office and Buck Crooks' Crum & Forster Building a few blocks south are all on the downside from their heyday. Some of these may share the happy fate of the Manor.

It's address in now 826 Peachtree but "696" is carved into the stone. I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation.
P2082070-Entrance

In the late 60's and 70's there were rumors of organized crime. You could buy liquor on Sunday here so the street people said. There was dive of an eatery next door but we never ate there, thinking it was too sleazy even for us. The building just south was a data center where I spent quite a few over-nights early career testing accounting programs old mainframes.
P2082070-696-Peachtree-Top-Window-Pediment

Even at the bottom, the Manor kept its dignity. It's looking great now, part of our resurgent Midtown.
P2082070-696-Peachtree-Door

The pictures above show the East facade, the one facing Peachtree. I like the North facade fronting 6th street just as much. You can see the "H" shape that guarantees a lot of corners. It on a slope. You can see the rustication better from this side. It looks like two modest bookend buildings rather than one big one.
P2082075-696-Peachtree-North-Facde-Rustication

The curvy gate encloses a cozy courtyard. It feels a little like getting a hug, a little refuge just below street level.
P2082074-North-Facade

Here is the view to west on 6th street toward Ga Tech's Technology Square. It feels good now. It hasn't been very nice there for a long, long time.
P2082072-6th-Street-West-From-Peachtree

Inside the "H" it's not a square corner. And there's a pediment up there with a circular vent. Nothing behind it, it's a parapet, just for looks, only showing on the north side. The chunky cornice is anything but quiet.
P2082073-696-Peachtree-North-Facde-Cornice-Band-Quoins-Inside-H

The South facade below the west facade aren't meant to show.
P2082076-South-Facade

I went to the 2010 Philip Trammell Shutze Awards last night and just WOW. I'll have more to say about it later. In the run up to the awards I've done a batch of posts about Shutze in my neighborhood. I have a few more yet to go.

Thanks,
Terry
terry @ surf303.com
No pro photography or pro architecture was committed in this post.

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting all of these terrific Shutze buildings Terry!

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  2. What a fantastic building. Really like this one.

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  3. Can't wait to hear about the awards. I love this building, I think it is one of the ones my grandfather helped do electrical on, I will have to ask my dad for conformation on that. He worked all over and when he was alive and we drove through town he would always point out the buildings and tell us stories. Thank you for stiring family memories today.

    Cha Cha

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  4. I like that it feels like you're getting a hug...

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  5. When can we move in, darling? Cocktails and Slo-Gin Fizzes for ever body!

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  6. We're a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with valuable info to work on. You have done an impressive job and our whole community will be grateful to you.

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  7. Hi - I live in this building now. I'm pretty sure Neel Reid designed this, not Shutze. I went today and looked at the original plans at GA Tech. I took pics of them if you'd like to see them.

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  8. Hi, I noticed on another blog post of yours about the Pershing Point Apartments that you once lived in the Winnwood Apartments off West Peachtree. I am a resident and am looking for any historical information I can find on the building. Would you happen to know anything about it? Thanks a lot!

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  9. There is a mention of hearsays about organized crime and Sunday alcohol laws that add an element of mystery to the history of this area. Memories of a dump truck café and the data warehouse next door are indicators of varied and vibrant culture in the region.

    Similar to your neighborhood’s transformations, transitions also occur when one moves to another urban setting, such as you must have been doing. towing in new york city services are indispensable for driving around New York City blocks. It is through the contrast between historical tales and towing services’ pragmatism that multifacetedness of city living becomes evident.

    ReplyDelete

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