Two Shutze's in Hapeville? Who knew? Both are modest compared to their downtown and Buckhead cousins. Neither are in original condition but both are still in service. I've already blogged Hapeville's First Methodist Church.
Here is North Avenue School in Hapeville, Georgia.
The original windows didn't survive 80 years on a school board's budget.
Still looks like a school though. The 3-part plan, chunky quoins, blind arches, and comfortable sheltering doorways have that "Shutze" look.
The little blonde El Nazareno Presbyterian Church, formerly Hapeville Presbyterian, is an unexpected delight. It's just south the school on Whitney Avenue.
If you've been around Atlanta much, you'll recognize Steve. He's giving an incidental thumbs up. It was actually an artist talk from the man who has the whole concept in his head. We got a walking tour, a house tour, a neighborhood tour, a new urbanism tour, a government relations tour, and a land use planning tour, a TND tour, a sustainability tour, a form based code/transect tour and more.
Steve even showed us his kitchen and introduced his dog. That's what we give our highest awards for.
For me the day started with a carpool meet-up at Glenwood Park with some Young ICA&A folks. That's Clay Rokickiin the baseball hat and Capella Kincheloe in the straw hat. You know who they are, right?
We rendezvoused at Serenbe's Blue Eyed Daisy Bakeshop and Steve took it from there.
Here is Steve discussing using porches instead of lawn chemicals.
Then we went for a walk, taking advantage of the Omegas. Ask me about Omega design some time.
This the Serenbe real estate office, a mighty nice room. This is where we started our talk and walk...
To a southern vernacular single family. This shape is etched my brain from childhood drives in Randolph County with my parents.
A shady hill-side balcony in the live-work building.
Steve led us down some stairs to a gravel courtyard with arbors and fountain hiding 30 geothermal wells. It's by Ryan Gainey.
We followed Steve another few steps to a shady gravel path that linked Omegas.
We couldn't see houses from the path but we soon emerged on a street of single families.
Steve told about porch requirements, yard requirements, streetlight requirements, and the composting garbage concierge. It seemed like a lot of requirements.
But Steve's explanation of the concepts helped us grok the details. This was an artist's talk after all.
We took another path through the woods to the dog trot house. I'd be happy with the steps, even one step like these.
We'd only seen a tiny bit of Serenbe but it was plenty to get us thinking.
We visit relatives in Stockbridge, Flippen, and Hampton. When I have time, I'll cruise home on Jonesboro Road, Highway 54. I'm probably the only one. It's darn interesting but it's not Paces Ferry.
UPDATE from PAM
This church reminds me of a home in a very upscale neighborhood in Oklahoma City that I was in once, many years ago, as a small child. The sharp peaks are glass or some other clear material allowing light in. It has always stuck with me. Fascinating and talk about immaculate. You can see pictures of it on our county assessors web site as follows: here and here
Going north on 54 last week I glanced left across the cemetery next to the tanks and spotted zigzags and diamonds.
Good grief. You could put your eye out with that thing.
Next time you are at Scott Antique Market go south a few miles and turn west at the tanks.
It stands proud on a huge level lot, as if it's on the coastal plains. It's immaculate.
It's the Evangelistic New Life Apostolic Church in Forest Park, just a block west of Jonesboro Road at Forest Avenue. I suspect it started life with a different congregation.
My birthday festivities began on Sunday, the eve of my birthday. JoAnn and I cruised to Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens for Finster Fest. It was a warm and gentle afternoon with folk artists, food, music. Here I am with Katherine Michael's self-portrait on cardboard.
Down here the closest we get to paradise is family. So road-tripping to Paradise with JoAnn seemed like a stolen base. We were architecture tourists in unfamiliar territory in no hurry to get home.
We got off I-75 at Adairsville and found a double porch
a town square
and the Adairsville United Methodist Church.
We made a bee-line to Summerville then north to Pennville on 27 to Rena Street and Paradise Gardens. We found my dream car, a red Cadillac convertible with angels.
I don't know what to tell you about Paradise Gardens. Howard Finster died in 2001. I understand the gardens took a beating after that. It's not a huge place. But we could sense the huge energy and passion of the man. He collected, he built, he painted, and he preached all at once.
Where else can you find a mountain of metal and bicycle frames.
The "L" shaped "bridge" had everything inside, everything that Howard hadn't yet made into art.
It was a gentle place. Folk artist SANDY told me that she started the day by painting miniatures. It helped get her motor running.
If you are wondering and still reading: I am 61 today.
If you don't mind, I'm feeling sentimental about family:
"Marriage is a duel to the death which no man of honour should decline." -- GK Chesterton "There is no finer investment for any community than putting milk into babies." -- Winston Churchill
