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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

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'

Saturday, October 28, 2017

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.


Saturday, September 2, 2017

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:


20170328_122949 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
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...

20170328_122702 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
Nothing says doom like an "Historical Preservation Commission" sign that says "DEMO NON-CONFORMING STRUCTURE"


20170328_122736 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
The auditorium and Sunday school are on the corner of Adams and Ashley: Calculated Acreage 0.29, Year Built 1967, Square Footage 3,228.








20170328_122758 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
There's an older building out back. Actually on a separate lot. 136 Ansley Street Calculated Acreage 0.31 Year built 1945 1088 sf

20170328_122803 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
More charming, more beat up.

20170328_123022 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
On the parking lot.

20170328_123028 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
Little buildings like this are behind 1000 churches.

20170328_122958 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
Fellowship hall downstairs and Sunday school in the "L."

20170328_122929 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
The big window.

Peeking through windows in the door.

20170328_122824 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
Narthex

20170328_122852 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
There's a lantern in the narthex.

20170328_122840 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
Pews are gone. There's still a "stage" in the chancel.

20170328_122920 2017-03-28 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
Lanterns and a trophy.

All the other windows were blocked.

20170714_135933 2017-07-14 Bethel Outreach Deliverance Church 204 Adams Street Decatur Georgia teardown
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

Thursday, August 24, 2017

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


Tuesday, August 1, 2017

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.


20170730_082155 2017-07-30 Christ Church Midtown stained glass
Where to park: Fielder Avenue.There's the Architecture Tourist-mobile.

20170722_192227 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown 645 8th St. N.W. Atlanta
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.
 20170730_082210 2017-07-30 Christ Church Midtown stained glass
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.

20170730_082307 2017-07-30 Christ Church Midtown stained glass


20170722_192042

20170722_192104 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown stained glass


20170722_192126 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown

20170722_192112 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown stained glass


Not fixing these.

20170730_082256 2017-07-30 Christ Church Midtown stained glass
Bushy on the west side.

20170722_192409 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown 645 8th St. N.W. Atlanta stained glass pe
Windows in fair shape over here. Are there dedications and memorials on these windows?

20170730_082322 2017-07-30 Christ Church Midtown stained glass
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.

20170722_192205 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown inside through front window stained glass

20170722_192211 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown inside through front window stained glass


20170722_192315 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown 645 8th St. N.W. Atlanta inside through front window stained glass

20170722_192325 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown 645 8th St. N.W. Atlanta inside through front window stained glass pew pews

20170722_192317 2017-07-22 Christ Church Midtown 645 8th St. N.W. Atlanta inside through front window stained glass pew pews




Thanks,
Terry