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.
Almost all of them were taller than me. And smarter. Even the quiet ones crackled with energy. It's as if their sensors were all dialed to 11 while most of mine have been shut down by age and experience.
It was Excursion Week at Galloway. Our 20-student group chose "Interaction of Art and Social Justice" with the theme of "separate but equal." With the help of Galloway artist in residence and Georgia State sculpture professor Ruth Stanford the group explored, researched, and made some art. Galloway teacher Mary Stuart Hall gave me Tuesday to "do something." Mary and former Galloway principal, Gordon Mathis, had two little buses at our disposal to take on the town.
My idea was to visit neighborhoods and corridors "below the line" in the morning then talk with Atlanta's city planners in the afternoon.
To compare the booming corridors like Peachtree Street
"Peachtree Corridor" Courtesy Atlanta City Studio, Ryan Gravel, Tim Keane, Jodi Mansbach, Vanessa Lira and more.
To compare booming Peachtree with the less booming west side.
To compare the booming Peachtree corridor with the less booming westside corridors of Donald Lee Hollowell, Joseph Boone, Ralph David Abernathy. Courtesy Atlanta City Studio, Ryan Gravel, Tim Keane, Jodi Mansbach, Vanessa Lira, and more.
"Prior to the construction of Washington Park in 1919, there were no recreational parks in Atlanta available to African Americans. The park started with a gift of six and a half acres and expanded to 25 acres (100,000 m2) when completed in 1928. It originally included a swimming pool, dance hall, pavilions, and tennis courts."
Washington Park
I did not know that the current SW BeltLine construction ends at Washington Park. This place will change!
We'll be able to bike to swim at the Washington Park Natatorium.
Next stop Brown Middle School and West End.
Formerly Brown High School.
Joseph E. Brown Jr. High School, located at 765 Peeples Street SW in Atlanta's West End neighborhood, was opened in 1924
Then we did a West End Walkabout, in my opinion one of the most charming neighborhoods in Atlanta.
My personal favorite activity: small blocks, styles that have been consistently popular for 150 years, mix of sizes, close to the curb in a way that enhances the beauty of the street as a public space for all passersby.
Tiny tips for touring with teens? I'll work on these for next time.
1. Get two experienced teachers for each 10 students.
2. Do lunch with options: Ponce City Market and the Sweet Auburn Market are superb.
3. Talk briefly to the group whenever you can get them together.
4. Stop talking before they stop listening.
5. Huddle with teachers at stopping points.They make it look easy but...
6. Find a way to integrate their phones. Students are superb at their phones.
7. Pretend that they can't smell you fear.
8. Enjoy the ride though it won't turn out exactly as planed.
I'll get to Terry's Tiny Critique in a minute because I want to show you the Warhorse Cafe. Most of you have never seen it and some of you never heard of The Goat Farm Arts Center.
They are nice. They are feisty. They can be nice and feisty - the way they were Tuesday night bless their hearts. These folks put ideas into words. We are fortunate to have them.
The Warhorse Cafe is the Goat Farm's living room.
It's funky and flexible and multipurpose. It's got sofas and lamps, art and tchotchkes AND an indoor bathroom. Here's Jordan Stubbs who I joined in the outdoor SRO section.
The view from one of the dirtiest windows in town.
Finally, Terry's Tiny Critique:
I'd enjoy another kind of culture meeting. I want our art experts to talk mostly about art, to do it regularly, to be a bit ritualistic, a bit less open-ended. I want to get to know the art as we get to know the experts and the community.
I think art is an "indicator species" and indications are pretty good around here: A mature thriving gallery on the near west side and brand new soon to be thriving gallery in south Atlanta. Parts of the same scene I think.
Notch8 Gallery's second exhibition ever was on September 11. (You really have to be on Facebook to follow art around here.)
You probably haven't been to either: Great spaces all done up for shows. So...
I did a Terry's Tiny Art Show Video for each. I love they way they play together with 500 year old polyphony and modern ambient.
They play one after the other. You can just listen while you are doing email.
Notch8:
Great Space! Bravo Sharon Dennehy.
Terry's Tiny Tips for Art Shows.
1. Just go. They really appreciate your interest.
2. Don't try to "get" anything.
3. Enjoy the people. Most don't "get it" any better than you. Talk to them. Most are just as shy as you are.
4. Galleries have their own regulars who only see each other at shows. They are the ones talking in groups, nice folks who will know the answers to your questions, who can point out the artists.
5. Admire the craftsmanship even if you don't enjoy the art.
6. Look at everything 3 times. It's not always love at first sight. Imagine them in your place.
7. Be grateful if you find something you like or affects you.
8. Terry's special tip: Don't hog the artists. Help them meet everybody.
This one by Josh Feigert "got me" from across the room. I haven't the slightest idea why. I could totally imagine this at my house. I wonder if I'd like it as much the second time.
That's so
Atlanta: At Northside Drive it changes names to Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard. I'd prefer Boone-Allen Boulevard, kind of like
Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Until 2008 it was Simpson Road - so Atlanta
I've been watching three Living Walls murals on up at 1211 Joseph E. Boone. See the map below. They are where Troy Street T-bones JE Boone, just west of the BeltLine and east of Proctor Creek.
My first time through I took pictures of the churches, the physical landmarks and social bulwarks of the neighborhoods. This is Vine City and English Avenue, places folks like me go when we think things are going well.
I love these small churches in re-purposed buildings most of all.
Where's Joseph E. Boone Boulevard?
Who was Joesph E. Boone?
"Rev. Joseph Everhart Boone (September 19, 1922 – July 15, 2006) was a civil rights activist and organizer who marched together with Martin Luther King Jr.
He was a key organizer of the Atlanta Movement, which led to the integration of lunch counters and department stores in Atlanta, during the early 1960s. He worked with King, Ralph David Abernathy, John Lewis and Andrew Young, but never was recognized to the same degree they were. King named Boone as the chief negotiator of Operation Breadbasket, a program that encouraged businesses that sold to African-Americans, to employ and promote African Americans. Boone led a team of more than 200 ministers in more than 30 cities for Operation Breadbasket." Wiki.
That's just a few of them. It's a start. Go see.
Here are the murals, they should be finished by now.
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