Decatur City Hall

Decatur thrives while living cheek to cheek with Atlanta.

At Decatur's City Hall the ladies behind the counter know the city and they will get to know you too.


We did business once a month at City Hall. The clerks I dealt with were competent, experienced, and neighborly. They recognized me and knew I was just the errand boy for the brains of the family. Nostalgia for small town life isn't based on myth.

Decatur is the seat of Dekalb County. County buildings dominate downtown. But none are better than City Hall, built in 1926, designed by Edwards & Sayward in Classical Revival Style. The 2006 addition and renovation by architect Brian G. Randall is first class.


Next time you are in Decatur enjoying the Brick Store or Leon's Full Service, have a look.

I love these panels. This was a garage for police cars and firetrucks.


The Chic-fil-A view


Columns, doors, urns, windows - nice.


Here is the south gable of the orginal building. The view will be greened over in a month.


This is the new wing, 6000 square feet, stately and quiet.


The panels and arches repeat on the new wing.


I look at brick more carefully than I used to. The addition includes some darker brick which blend with the old but don't match. Notice that every 6th course is header-stretcher-header-stretcher. This is known as "Common Bond with 6th Course Flemish Headers." Masons have a name for everything. They've been doing this for long time.


You'd think they'd use the same bond for the whole building, but no. At this corner we find 3 different brick colors and 3 different brick bonds. The new building is to the right with "Common Bond with 6th Course Flemish Headers." The old building to the left uses "Common Bond with 6th Course Headers." The old garage projects towards us and features "Common Bond with 4th Course Headers." If I ever meet the architect I'll ask and report back to you.


The views from City Hall reveal a working town not an outdoor museum.

But if you look south-southeast over the Chick-fil-A, you'll see the tower of Agnes Scott's "Main" Hall built in 1891. Mrs. AT lived on the 4th floor her Senior Year. Here is the 4th floor plan. It is a truly special place. It wasn't air conditioned at the time and not air conditioned now - "wawm" as we say down here.


Thanks,
Terry

I've got some more pictures, if you have the time:

What was going on today at the downtown Davison's?

It's 180 Peachtree now. It was Macy's and Davison's Department Store before that. The main retail floor has been empty for years with promises of a food court, entertainment mall; something for conventioneers. Downtown can't sustain that much retail space anymore.

Today something was happening in there.


It's is one of the great spaces in downtown Atlanta, maybe the best street facing room on all of Peachtree. The main retail floor expresses itself on the outside from the sidewalk up to the band above the arches. It's a space that makes humans feel important. In it's prime I would make a detour to walk through.

My business errands that take me by on foot every couple of weeks. It was raining hard today so I didn't take my camera. I usually can't even see into the big windows. Today was different.

Today the interior was lit theatrically. A group of about 30 folks in suits milled about in white hard hats, flashes going off. The huge 25 foot columns seemed to flank cathedral aisles. Workmen on lifts near the top of the columns weren't working. They were shining their helmet mounted miner lights on the capitals simulating something. I don't know. The room seemed under construction but not dirty or dusty.

There are several huge chandeliers - I'm talking 10 feet tall - covered with fabric. I don't know if there were really chandeliers under the cloth. It was like Ms. Habersham's house in Great Expectations.

A bit of searching revealed a $20M building permit issued December 3, 20090, and a group that had transformed the space for a corporate event. Is that what happened today?

Was this a dog and pony show to entice investors and tenants?

I hope so. I want to enjoy this space again.

Thanks,
Terry