Category Archives: Quirky Atlanta

Underground Atlanta

Before Atlanta grew to be the biggest city in what is known as the Empire State of the South, it was the home of the Zero Milepost. The Zero Milepost marked the endpoint of a 138-mile railroad that started in Chattanooga. Around that endpoint, a bustling railroad city called Terminus began to form.

General William Sherman ran his Union soldiers through Terminus, burning most of it to the ground. However, the people remained resilient and again built around the milepost. Viaducts, or types of bridges, were built in the 1920’s. All the shops moved up, abandoning underground roads and aged storefronts below.

The forgotten places beneath became what is Underground Atlanta today. Plazas were constructed above starting in 1943, but in 1969 The Underground once again became the home to shops. The stores no longer resembled Jacob’s Pharmacy, the first store to sell Coca-Cola in 1866. Where people first took sips of Coke, they now buy vibrant Jordan shoes from Foot Locker.

Falling in behind the modern retail stores, chain restaurants and nightclubs moved in. Next came the Pac-Man Play Arcade. A sharp contrast to the history that surrounds it, the arcade breaks up the musty darkness with its lively music and brilliant lights.

On one side of the Underground sits a classical diner, Johnny Rockets. On the opposite half, dozens of kiosks reside, selling smartphones and rap mix tapes next to concrete blocks where old hotels stood nearly 200 years ago. Take a stroll from the historical side to the opposing MARTA station entrance, and you can see how Terminus became Atlanta and how it got from there to here.

The Underground has experienced a number of closings and reopenings for a variety of reasons. The war, MARTA, crime, and other reasons that lead to lack of retail eventually caused Atlanta to look for another solution. In mid-March, the city bought out the rest of the lease that The Underground had and now it looks to sell the subterennean mall to anyone with a plan for the area. The timeline below will help put the ups and downs of the plaza into a more visual perspective.

[timeline src=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AszXIVg64TwJdHhqbEkxVUFLbm1EcjlRdkhEbU5iWGc&output=html” width=”100%” height=”650″ font=”Bevan-PotanoSans” maptype=”toner” lang=”en” ]

The 1970’s was probably the only decade that the Underground Atlanta really enjoyed any success over a period of time. The gallery below features some of the advertisements that a pedestrian would find while walking through the Underground for the restaurants and bars that were open.

 

 

The Tower

On the corner of a bustling Virginia-Highland intersection lies a set of worn stone steps. Trees line either side, masking all that lies beyond. The sight is mysterious, yet inviting. At the summit is an open lot enveloped with overgrown vines. It’s shady, with sunbeams peeking in through the canopy. Peaceful and still, there is no one in sight. But just beyond the vines and the brush, walls of gray stone and a dark wooden roof tower over the tallest of trees.

The Tower is not a house, but an art piece and work in progress. Jack Harich, a Georgia native, bought the lot in 1973 and began building two years later. Inspired by his motto “make it perpetually inspiring to live in,” Harich has been building the structure for the past four decades. He calls it a “design-as-you-go, pay-as-you-go, have fun type of art piece” — not a house.

“I just wanted to build something — build a house. Who’s to say why, but a lot of people build houses,” Harich says, reflecting on his motivation for beginning the project.

Harich sees his work as a craft, and for him, The Tower is a form of self- expression. The Tower has 100 tons of Cherokee marble and includes sections of White Oak and Yellow Pine. Each piece has been carefully integrated into the house to reflect Harich’s personality and creativity. The Tower’s form evolves as he does.

Harich’s first accomplishment was what he calls the stone circle. He originally designed it to be an outdoor accessory, but when he realized that it was a livable space, he continued to build around it. The stone circle now serves as stone pillars holding up the structure of the house. The stone circle, which now sits in the center of the lowest floor, is constructed of white marble for eight feet before it switches to wood. The structure is three stories high, shooting through the center of the house. At the top, Harich built the Crow’s Nest, a haven nestled away just beneath the roof. A wooden ladder ascends to a skylight that opens to the rooftop.

The base of the stone circle is now the core of the first floor – a space that Harich envisions to be his indoor workshop. It’s one of the largest open spaces in The Tower. And despite the Atlanta heat, the first floor will not contain air conditioning. The marble walls insulate the floor naturally through thermal mass, maintaining an average temperature of 56 degrees. The room will also have natural warming in the winter, retaining the heat. “You hardly have to heat it at all if you just bundle up a little in the winter,” Harich says. On the left is a section of the wall made entirely of thick translucent glass, allowing the sunshine to pour into the otherwise-dark lower level. Harich’s modern style incorporates two moon gates, which invite even more natural light to flow in, illuminating the room.

A wooden ladder from the outside leads upstairs. At the top, the light radiates through the windows constituting each of the main room’s walls. Harich says this room is meant to energize and inspire. The ceiling is awe-inspiring with grand arches and intricate carved designs. The wooden facade, sawed and nailed together by hand, took two years to complete. In 1995, Harich had twenty friends over for a weekend to help raise the timber frame. Six months later, Harich finished the joinery and decorative ceiling. Harich’s love for his wife, Martha, is palpable through the wooden carvings of hearts that crown each spectacular arch.

While the arched room is the most meaningful for Harich, the next room over, the guest room, is the most unique. Harich calls it the Tree Room. Built out of tree trunks, branches wind their way toward the ceiling. The tree trunks serve as a base to support the ceiling. With trees gracing outside the windows, the Tree Room becomes one with its surroundings.

And the artist? Jack is a jack of all trades. He’s as interesting as The Tower — maybe more so.

Meet Harich and find out the story behind The Tower here.

See the progress of the Tower over time:[timeline src=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AsOi4UlBn_w0dDFYSlhYRmdPRVFsc0EteFdPT1M4Z1E&output=html” width=”100%” height=”650″ font=”Bevan-PotanoSans” maptype=”toner” lang=”en” ]

Friday night at Church

It’s Friday in Atlanta, and you’re sick of dinner and a movie. Take a walk down Edgewood and you’ll see a sign for “Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium.”
Known to savvy, ATL locals as “Church”, this bar is known for its quirky features like church organ karaoke.

  1. “Church” was spontaneously founded in 2010 by a former divinity student named Grant Henry. (His alter ego is “Sister Louisa”, a fallen nun turned folk artist)
  2. The New York Times describes Church as a place that, “..plays with, and spoofs, church culture. Karaoke is
    performed in choir robes, and walls are decorated with faux-religious pop art.”
  3. Jesus was a hippie
    hanging out with the people at the Chapel Bar at CHURCH. pic.twitter.com/ifgdmwMywi
  4. His bar became so successful, it’s open on almost every holiday. So if you have been searching for a hiding place during Christmas/Thanksgiving/50th birthday parties, now you know about Church.
  5. CHURCH
    Open 365 days a year:
    That means Christmas Eve.
    That means Christmas.
    That means New Years Eve.
    That means New Years Day.
    GETCHER>
  6. I mean, if it’s good enough for Jessica Alba, it should be good enough for you.
  7. Artwork, religion, and booze, y’all.

    No,this is not the service entry way.
  8. One of my favorite #bars in #Atlanta @ Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium  http://instagram.com/p/jW76cUpyQZ/ 
  9. Have a hankering for harmonicas?
  10. Atlanta nightlife
  11. How about doing a little this?
  12. Monday Night Ping Pong Tournament @ Sister Louisa’s CHURCH
  13. And listening to this? …….It will sound a little better after you’ve had a few
  14. Krystal Woods singing karaoke at Sister Louisa’s Church. At
  15. Don’t let the title fool you. There is next to nothing holy about this place
  16. Earliest I’ve ever been to church on a Sunday #brodown @ Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and…  http://instagram.com/p/jV00tgKLLz/ 
  17. Not your cup of tea? Well, have a nice day, they aren’t changing for anyone.
  18. ADDEA Restaurant Winner
  19. So if you find Sunday services lackluster, try Jesus with a side of whiskey!

 

Cemeteries are for lovers, too

It’s a Saturday afternoon and you’re wracking your brain to come up with a cool, fun, and, let’s be honest, cheap date for your special someone. Then, suddenly, an epiphany: Oakland Cemetery! The most romantic spot in Atlanta, right?

Or, maybe you’re thinking, “Never would I ever bring a date to a place filled with creepy dead people and their creepy ghosts.”

casper
These ghosts are more cute cartoon than creepy. But there sure are a lot of them.

But, Oakland Cemetery is a pretty awesome place. Founded in 1850, Oakland is the final resting place for a lot of famous, and not-so-famous, Atlantans, including Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell, golfer Bobby Jones, and Atlanta’s first African American mayor, Maynard Jackson.

Oakland is a public cemetery, meaning that, for a while, every Atlanta citizen was buried there. Those who either did not or could not purchase a family plot were buried in a 7.5-acre area known as Potter’s Field. Admittedly creepy factor: A Georgia State geological study conducted in the 1970’s revealed 17,000 bodies buried in the field, laid next to and on top of one another. Although strange to think that if the dead did walk in Atlanta then 17,000 would rise from the same spot, Oakland Cemetery is impressive.

The cemetery is located on the southeast side of the city, just a few blocks from the King Memorial MARTA station. It’s situated between Grant Park and Cabbagetown.

Walking through the cemetery is like walking through the city’s history. And, after a century and a half, Oakland Cemetery has seen Atlanta through some pretty major changes, most notably its massive population growth. When the cemetery was founded, Atlanta’s population neared 2,500. Today, more than 420,000 people call Atlanta home.

[timeline src=”https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqTVBzk-fciCdFRhQmJyQnJ0NEc1ZWZmdEk4WkxzMkE&usp=drive_web” width=”100%” height=”650″ font=”Bevan-PotanoSans” maptype=”toner” lang=”en” ]

Not only does Oakland Cemetery have a historical cool factor, it’s a beautiful park in its own right. The cemetery’s caretakers have gone to painstaking efforts to ensure that Oakland and its gardens age gracefully.

Back in the day, families tended to their own plots and planted their own flowers. Today, all of Oakland’s 38 acres of gardens are tended by three good-hearted ladies and a band of weekend volunteers with some serious green thumbs.Throughout the year, they plant and prune among the headstones and green spaces, resulting in a truly beautiful patchwork of gardens that just happen to grow near some dead people.

Huge, ornate mausoleums framed by rose bushes and perfectly pruned shrubs sit among small, humble (and sometimes hilariously inscribed) headstones and fragrant flowerbeds.  The gardens at Oakland make for a fascinating, pretty, and peaceful stroll through the cemetery on a sunny afternoon.

And totally not scary. Or morbid.

oakland75

Seriously, consider Oakland as a fun, free date option. Just maybe stick to the rules and get out of there by dusk, or, you know, your date may surprise you with a zombie flash mob. But if you’re into that sort of thing, that’s cool, too.

thriller75

 For more information on Oakland Cemetery, including directions and park hours, click here.

Humans of Decatur: Why is Decatur Special?

Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s blog Human’s of New York, which photographs random New Yorkers and includes quotes alongside the photograph, I set out around Decatur to ask strangers what they thought was special about Decatur.  Check out their responses below!

“Decatur is good food, good drinks, good people” – Jeremiah, Barista at Cakes and Ale
Talia Blanchard
"I really like the diversity of the community" - Shakeem
“I really like the diversity of the community” – Shakeem, The Yogurt Tap Employee (White)
“I have had many senior customers who’ve lived in Decatur for a long time like Mayberry in the middle of a big metropolis. It’s very much a small, close-knit community feel but with all the amenities and drawls of a big city that has a lot to offer” – Owner of Vivid Boutique Michael Minga (Aqua Green)
“I love Decatur because of the community as a whole and all the locally owned businesses” – Annette
"What’s so special about Decatur is its sense of community, feels like a very small town." - Squash Blossom Employee Barbra
“What’s so special about Decatur is its sense of community, feels like a very small town.” – Squash Blossom Employee Barbra (Orange)
"Square pub is the best place to hang out after work because it’s close, people are great, and everyone from" - Liz
“Square pub is the best place to hang out after work because it’s close, people are great, and everyone from” – Liz
"My favorite thing about Decatur is HomeGrown, which is a local co-op that has local art from around Atlanta. It’s a way for smaller artists to get their art out to the world at large. We get lots of visitors from out of state and they come to this store and they get to see things that we would have never reached them before" - Cuppy, Employee at HomeGrown
“My favorite thing about Decatur is HomeGrown, which is a local co-op that has local art from around Atlanta. It’s a way for smaller artists to get their art out to the world at large. We get lots of visitors from out of state and they come to this store and they get to see things that we would have never reached them before” – Cuppy, HomeGrown Decatur Employee (Green)
“What I find special about Decatur is the different types of food” – Jordan
“What I find most exciting about Decatur is the architecture, especially the Square” – Spencer

Humans of the Old Fourth Ward

Using pictures and short quotes, the blog Humans of New York catalogs the inhabitants of New York City. The blog has become somewhat of a sensation, with over four million followers on Facebook and Instagram. It shows a side–or many sides–of New York that most people don’t see.  So what better way to showcase the diverse character of the Old Fourth Ward than by coming up with our very own Humans of the Old Fourth Ward. Enjoy.

Shenita
“She brings 13 little kids to school every day and is here waiting for them when it’s done,” The crossing guard said.
“They stay with me until I know they got somewhere to go,” Shenita told me.
“Usually it’s not long, sometimes a couple days.”
“I don’t know why you’d want a photo of me.”
Mark
“I do comedy too, I’m a regular at the Laughing Skull. Also I’m a doorman at Noni’s. I don’t usually paint, but I’m helping my friend out.”
Jeremy
“Old Fourth Ward Baby! Proud citizen, all my life.”
"We're tourists from Baltimore."
“We’re tourists from Baltimore.”
Connie
“I don’t want a picture with the stroller, let me do my thing.” 
Lauren
“When we moved here seven years ago there were more abandoned or crack houses on our street than lived in ones.”
Miso Puggy
Dog of the Old Fourth Ward

 

6 fun facts you should know to help you schmooze with Va-Hi locals

Breaking away from the fratty Emory student stereotype when you go to a bar (at least, a bar that’s not Maggie’s) can be a little hard Continue reading 6 fun facts you should know to help you schmooze with Va-Hi locals

Glamour Paws

They don’t sell dog food, only natural nutrition. They don’t sell collars, only jeweled accessories and fashion outfits. There are no kennels, only hotel lofts with stocked mini bars. There isn’t an outdoor fenced-in yard, only an indoor park with eco-friendly synthetic, antimicrobial grass.
The cats and dogs don’t have their nails clipped, but they receive pedicures. They don’t have their hair clipped, but they receive styling, blowouts, and coloring. Glamour Paws is the ultimate pet experience.