I told Isabel, "It's like a dagger to an Atlantan's heart if you..."

After her extraordinary talk I told Isabel Castilla, "It's like a dagger to an Atlantan's heart if you..."

"If you don't say the Atlanta BeltLine is the coolest thing EVER."

"I didn't say anything about the BeltLine," she replied.

"Yeah that hurts just as much."

"But no two (corridor reclamation projects) are the same."

"Certainly not, but it still hurts."



Kate Allen with Isabel Castilla for the poster signing. Isabel Castilla is Principal at James Corner Field Operations currently the lead designer and project manager the for Section 3 of New York’s High Line; Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road District; and The Underline in Miami, a 10-mile long corridor of parkland, trails and neighborhood connections. 

I'm embarrassed for Atlanta that you weren't there. It was the annual Doug Allen lecture, and we had a High Line designer.

“Landscape architecture concentrates on anything open to the sky.” - Isabel Castilla

Make plans right now, clear your calendar for the Fall of 2018 or have an excuse from the doctor.

Deprovincializing BeltLine-Like Projects

The is my first lecture about a BeltLine-Like project that wasn't given by Ryan Gravel.

More on that another time.



You should'a been there. Look who is building on the High Line.



Who knows when there will be a pop quiz on peel-up bench typologies?

See ya'

Tribute to 461 North Highland a Double Terminated Vista

I'm sure you know. 461 North Highland rewards every time so I'm giving it a shout out.

We don't have many of these. We don't produce this kind of extravagance anymore not even in our most bodacious new mansions.



It's probably my favorite building on North Highland. It's tucked into a little curve where Conquitt T-bones Highland.

It's the northern most and fanciest of a fine little apartment block, tax records say they were built in 1915.




The developers knew to make 461 a tiny bit fancier than its neighbors because it's a terminated vista. It catches our eye as we approach.




From the north we can just see the arch in the folliage. Mental Note: Keep trimming those trees a little.




It's actually the second arch, the one up Colquitt.



From the south we get a peek of a top porch window. This is so appealing to me, like a street front lookout tower, a crows nest. How's the view from up there? Was it always enclosed?



See? The view is better when the leaves are off.

Let's look around.



This is what motivated the blog. Seeing the backside.

I went to Scott's house for dinner last week. Not sure if he noticed: I said hello and bolted to his deck to see this view. The 461 street-side is so elegant. The back side so full of life. This vignette says Brooklyn more than Atlanta and I've never even been to Brooklyn.

Some details:



Little porch down there.



Lots.



Lot's more.




It's two buildings stuck together though property records show only the 461 address. I don't know of there is passageway between them. The back building must have been 1037 Colquitt.



Can we call this triple porches?




Fresh sign.




The new address sign is the only thing that seems dated.




It rewards every time. I hope you'll have a look in person. Here are all my pictures of 461 N. Highland.

Teardown: Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church, Adams Street

It was different and doomed, it won't be remembered or missed, but its loss leaves the neighborhood with a little less. 

I have a thing about these "different" places set among subdivision mono-cultures. The old houses in the  MAK Historic District in Decatur Georgia are mighty good, Leila Ross Wilburn designed several. Adams Street is particularly good, a street of porches. The new houses are pretty good too. (See the map at the end of this blog)

Though this little church fits neither the quality, style, scale, or age of it's neighbors, I still have a thing.

I only have a few pictures:



It's on my errand route, I've been driving by every week or two for more than a decade. The blank marquee is a sign of danger. Then...


Nothing says doom like an "Historical Preservation Commission" sign that says "DEMO NON-CONFORMING STRUCTURE"



The auditorium and Sunday school are on the corner of Adams and Ashley: Calculated Acreage 0.29, Year Built 1967, Square Footage 3,228.









There's an older building out back. Actually on a separate lot. 136 Ansley Street Calculated Acreage 0.31 Year built 1945 1088 sf


More charming, more beat up.


On the parking lot.


Little buildings like this are behind 1000 churches.


Fellowship hall downstairs and Sunday school in the "L."


The big window.

Peeking through windows in the door.


Narthex


There's a lantern in the narthex.


Pews are gone. There's still a "stage" in the chancel.


Lanterns and a trophy.

All the other windows were blocked.


I just missed the demolition. Wish I was there earlier

Map




Terry's tiny notes:
"The problem is that most churches thought their building was a permanent representation of their congregation."

"Even those who want to build impressive liturgical structures may need to consider whether or not this makes sense, particularly if we do not live in a French village that will be the same in 500 years."
 - 2 Wrong Ways to Think About Church Buildings

Philip McDuffie House (1922) Hentz, Reid & Adler, a "Neel Reid" Part 2 of 2

We don't know how much is Neel Reid, how much is Hentz, Reid & Adler, how much is not. Away from the big public rooms things get less Neel Reid-y don't you think? Brown marble floors for example, don't harmonize with the front rooms, not to my eye anyway. 

Here's part one: Philip McDuffie House (1922) Hentz, Reid & Adler, a "Neel Reid" Part 1 of ? 


"Floral" would describe the dining room.

My interior pictures don't convey the house. So here's a little video.



Here are all my pictures.

Thanks,
Terry

Tiny Church on 8th at Fielder Awaits Mixed Use-ification

I call it the Octane Coffee District and I have a secret parking spot when it's busy over there. I take 8th street down from the Marietta Street ridge and park on Fiedler Avenue next to this nondescript little church building. (Note to self: Didn't I just blog a Neel Reid Mansion?)



Last week I peeked inside.


In the Brady-10th-Northside triangle of flattop warehouses this little gabled shotgun with stained glass is the "difference" that I often find irresistible.

Those magnolias were probably perfect for about 5 years then got too expensive to take down.



Where to park: Fielder Avenue.There's the Architecture Tourist-mobile.


I don't know about Christ Church Midtown, but in 2013 the House of Prayer Pentecostal Holiness Church sold it to a developer (a) "...recognized and respected leader of urban development in Atlanta, Georgia - focusing on the revitalization of under-utilized areas and transforming them into vibrant neighborhoods."

So it awaits mixed use-ification. Lot: 6,050 sf / 0.1389 acres, built 1955 3,360 sf.
 
My father's advice was that if you keep the grass mowed, it'll be fine. No foundation planting, no problem, no pesky pruning either.














Not fixing these.


Bushy on the west side.


Windows in fair shape over here. Are there dedications and memorials on these windows?


Last week the sun was shining just right and I realized I could hold my camera over my head to see inside the front windows.















Thanks,
Terry