787 Windsor and the Railroad Shops in Mechanicsville

It was love at first sight for me. Ric Geyer has bought it and he's going to do all those things we'd want him to do. Lucky us!

I first saw it during last year's Living Walls. It was like stumbling onto a forgotten temple in the forest. I showed Kelly Jordan a picture, he thought circa 1880.

I don't have words for 787 or for the whole railroad shop complex. Maybe I can tease you down there with a few pictures. It's pretty close to Turner Field. The map is at the bottom of this post, go see.


787 Windsor is a tiny part of the railroad shops that divide Mechanicsville from Pittsburgh, the shops that gave both neighborhoods their names.



 
The south end of the shops is the location for The Walking Dead's Terminus.


Between Terminus at the south end and 787 at the north end are these stunning railroad shops.














Back to 787 Windsor.



Here's Ric Geyer (rhymes with "flyer"). 

Go see before the crowds get there.

Could Angel's Housewarming Have Been More Delightful?

Angel invited the whole town to his housewarming yesterday, a party that started with a 6 mile hike on the BeltLine.

Do you know Angel Poventud? He's a human dynamo of impossibly earnest good nature and generosity. He's devoted to practicing what he preaches.

So he bought this wreck of a house for about $12/square foot on the Southwest BeltLine. He rebuilt it in public with the help of hundreds of friends and strangers. You should read more about it, it wasn't easy.

 
My porch pals and I could not be more delighted.


Here's Angel (in green) telling the story for the umpteenth time, never losing the thread of delight.


The house is in Adair Park which is shaped like Maplanta's housewarming gift. The long straight edge is Metropolitan Parkway, formerly Stewart Avenue.


After 90 years your ornamental trees can be a little invasive but they were the only thing the kudzu didn't claim.



Adair Park is across the street, nice.


The main feature is this room where everyone will want to do everything all the time.

Few houses have spaces this good, this well proportioned, this comfortable, this flexible. The wide-body woodwork rocks.


It's a little house and you are through before you know it. This view was total kudzu.


There was food and drink in the backyard. They pushed the Doggi Dogg food trailer up and eased it down.


Imagine the kudzu.


Angel's lot backs up to the southwest leg of the BeltLine. All the cool kids will be walking and biking here soon.


And Angel will have more to tell.


View Larger Map
You can see how the BeltLine divides industrial from residential.







 

In Case the Falcons Tear Down Friendship Baptist

It's been in the news so I went see Atlanta's Friendship Baptist Church. If the powers chose the "south" site for the new Falcons Station, Friendship is a goner. But maybe they'll chose the "north" site. I took pictures of the cornerstones, just in case.

 
It's beautiful. The institution itself has been REAL important for a long time though the buildings aren't particularly old.


The 2002 "Listed in National Register of Historic Places" plaque doesn't necessarily mean it's safe.


It's not in perfect condition, but it is in immaculate condition.

 
The gulch swallows it up. It's in such an open area, it doesn't have much visual impact until you get close.


View Larger Map
The church is picturesque but the setting isn't. Friendship is a buffer between the Georgia Dome, the railroad gulch, Castleberry Hill, and the Atlanta University Center.


Go see.


The 2002 bronze plaque plaque (2nd picture in this post) says 1866; this stone says 1862.

 
This is the 1968 cornerstone. This one says "1862" too.


The pastor's cornerstone says 1862.

This deserves more study but I was having a look around. Northside at Martin Luthor King is an "amen corner" with four churches.


Mount Vernon Baptist Church would be a goner if they pick the south site but they aren't talking with the press so we don't hear much about it.


Central United Methodist Chruch is on the west side of Northside Drive. I presume it's not at risk from the stadium.


The West Mitchell CME Church is also safe. Pardon me for taking a picture of the back side. You can't always tell with moderns.

Go see.