gloATL Re-opened the Rhodes Theater for a Little While

Atlanta seemed so full of theaters then.

"The (gloATL) tour concluded Friday and Saturday in the organizations’ home city of Atlanta, where the artists repeated similar activities, centering on photographic murals and a performative installation at the historic Rhodes Theater."  - ArtsATL by Andrew Alexander

I grew up with two theaters. In Atlanta I could see everything, movies I never heard of. There were six theaters in Midtown close to Georgia Tech.


You can still see movies at the Fox once in a while. The Rhodes is the only other one standing. It's still standing but hollowed out, in the shadow of an I-75 entrance ramp.

I saw the Atlanta premier of Woodstock at the Rhodes. I saw Cries and Whispers there too. I preferred Woodstock.


In 1975 I saw Bergman's Magic Flute at the Rhodes. I thought that would be the last time.


"It was a beloved Atlanta landmark single-screen cinema, the flagship of the Storey chain, before closing in 1985." - ArtsATL by Andrew Alexander


The gloATL folks performed in the Rhodes November 8-10, 2013.



You can't tell it was a theater. It looks 1-story yet seems colossal, clever design by Ivey and Crook.


Everything "theater" is gone.


The screen was down there. Was there a stage? I don't remember.


The lobby was on the other side of that wall. There wasn't a balcony,


The arches are still there.


The cornice is still there.


gloATL performed inside.


Music, dance by gloATL, projections by Living Walls, photographic murals by Dustin Chambers.


I'm a gloATL fan and I like this sort of thing. I'm fidgety and at glo performances I don't have to stay put.


The dancers danced everywhere, the music sounded great everywhere.


The babies enjoyed it.


I couldn't take it all in.


This was probably my last look and last listen at the Rhodes, but who knows?


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Landmark Modernist Ansley Teardown used Rotation, Superimposition and Poche

When completed about 1986, the Hulse residence wasn't like its neighbors. That made it a landmark.

 
Some modernists hated it, some traditionalists liked it.

"The Hulse house ... was designed in 1985 by Anthony Ames, Arch '68, for a young couple interested in a modern interpretation of residential living in Atlanta's Ansley Park. The modern house was built on the site of an older dwelling that was demolished." - Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine


In any case it had become a familiar sight and we thought it would last at least as long as a pro football stadium.


Demolition started in earnest on November 6. Most everyone has an opinion. Me too.


Fortunately we have Anthony Ames, the architect himself, on video. He spoke about the Hulse house and you can watch the video from September 24, 2008, Georgia Tech's Architecture Centennial Lecture Series. The Hulse House starts at 30:37 and runs until about 57:00.

From the lecture:

Palazzo Pandolfini (Raphael) was a source of inspiration.

"...pre-modern: ideal and regular, closed, often symmetrical...modern: endless and undefined or loosely defined"

"Consequently I designed a series of houses that allowed for the investigation of the coexhistance of modern and pre-modern space and the uses of rotation superimposition and poche."

"All the projects are the same only the site and the programs change."

Mr. Ames explains it all quite well with a sense of humor.


What is poche? Paraphrasing Mr. Ames: It's the screwy space you get when you superimpose rotated plans. It's good for service infratructure.  Turns out we have some poche in our house.

Sounds like poe-SHAY (Edgar Allan POE and SHEA Stadium).


Be on the lookout for the new house.

P.S. This may be the next Ansley Park teardown:


Its a 1909'er according to property records.