Bloglanta

The Decatur Square is on its way back. For two years, the city and MARTA cut the square in two in order to renovate and improve access across downtown Decatur. They’re not done yet, but the key half of the square is again accessible.

The space is improved; there are now about 10 torch columns which keep the space illuminated and tiles over the station have grooves which make illustrations. Still one would have hoped for more.

The reconstruction made a huge impact. Stores and shops on the south side of the square really suffered. Sage stopped serving lunch. Other restaurants cut their hours back and the ability to serve people al fresco was severely diminished. The process took over two years and went over budget. They used Chinese marble rather than Georgia stone. They sealed several sections before inspectors could check them out.  Given what the merchants suffered, these mistakes are horrid.
The changes, however, are more aesthetic than practical. While improving the beauty of public spaces is a very worthwhile goal, adding practical improvements would have made a bigger difference. One improvement is a wheelchair ramp, but other than the lighting, that’s about it. Adding another stage, or at least the pre-production electrics, DMX patches, and anchors would have been great.  Swings would have been fantastic.
Yet even with improvements they did make there was another cost. The Decatur station used to have sky lights. Now they are gone. Natural light helped make the station work. Lighting the station will cost more for lower quality light.

Hopefully, the results will pay off. It would be great if more people came on the train for a night in Decatur and if that traffic moved MARTA to keep the Bankhead line running to Decatur all night. A new restaurant, Pasta Please has opened and Sage will soon resume its lunch plans.

Whether the improvements will make a difference you’ll have to judge for yourself.  The city certainly needs to make sure they finish everything else on budget and on time for a while.

Tonight February 24th and tomorrow, the 25,  ‘The Meeting‘ is playing and you should go see it.  Moreover, when you do, pay attention to everything.

For those unfamiliar with the play, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) and Martin Luther King Jr. battle mentally and physically in a Harlem Hotel Room on Valentines day 1965.  They come to a truce of sorts, but each set of ideas is explored and it is something to see how relevant some of the ideas are today and how some of them have indeed passed on to history.

Sweet Auburn Theatre company is presenting this show in Javaology at 466 Edgewood Ave at the corner of Boulevard.  There is parking behind the building.

They are upstairs and you can bring your coffee into the show!  Being upstairs has the advantage of making the show more realistic.  The atmosphere of the room helps with the production.  You hear an urban street and boulevard is a character in the show.  You also hear and see what Shabazz and King were thinking and feeling as they went forward in time.

So you have a show, a space, and a place all growing together.  Despite all the attention paid to Auburn Avenue, it’s Edgewood that is developing.  High end clothing boutiques, restaurants, coffee houses, and with the introduction of theatre at the space, a growing arts component which will only feed things.

This is all to the good, but it happens in stark relief from the area around it.  North of Auburn Avenue, past the Freedom Parkway exit for roughly a mile, Boulevard is blighted.   Auburn Avenue has never had the renaissance people wanted for it.  This is a case where government planning has not helped.  Yet, Edgewood prospers and does so because people think they can make a go of it.  They’ve found cool spaces to renovate and transform and they can afford it.  The road leads straight into Chandler Park and so there is some customer base close by.

The coffee house is the capstone of the first holon of the redevelopment of the area.  It shows there is enough upper socio-economic traffic to support a spot of that type and in thriving it provides for a necessary service to launch the next step of development with better housing and the re-introduction of more non-retail business into the area.

All of this has happened without the deep investments and governmental workings that have gone into Underground or to Auburn Avenue.  It’s all happened from market demand and that should make all the libertarians smile.  They should.  While markets can’t be the sole determinant in deciding where aid, development money, and particular kinds of business go, they often rescue downtrodden and blighted areas and rebuild them.  It happened in East Atlanta, Castlebury Hill, and Decatur.

The business and real estate people would be smart to take notice of the theatre company.  By bringing in new folks, the theatre company grows awareness and interest in the community all in a positive light.  If cities such as Lawrenceville can think that way, it would behoove folks such as Charles Brewer and other developers to think about the importance of arts in their communities as well.

NYC’s Streetsblog recently began compiling a list of other blogs that focus on livable streets in their local areas. Streetsblog, for those who have never checked it out, is a group blog produced by The Open Planning Project. Their focus is on “the burgeoning Livable Streets movement” in NYC.

It’s also a wonderful resource for both new and “mature” ideas on making streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and yes, even drivers.

As I mentioned, they’re seeking livable streets blogs in other cities. In Atlanta, there don’t really seem to be any such blogs. One commenter pointed out PEDS, which is not really a blog — though certainly it’s a great organization working on the issue of livable streets in Atlanta. Another organization (disclosure: I’m on the board), Citizens for Progressive Transit does maintain a blog, but the organization is more geared toward transit. Which isn’t to say transit and livable streets are mutually exclusive — they’re more mutually beneficial than exclusive of one another.

Certainly, if New York is experiencing a Renaissance of livable streets, Atlanta is still in the Dark Ages. There is no shortage of material. If we Bloglanta writers were to begin writing an occasional piece on making our streets more livable, what area would you like to see us focus on first? And — this is a call for more writers — is this a subject you would like to write about?

Witnessed at P’cheen was the end of the ‘Salsa’ era in local cuisine.  As the population of Hispanic Americans grew in the US, salsa or picante sauce became more popular than catsup.  Then kaboom!  Chips and salsa were on menus everywhere!  Soul food joints had them.  Irish Bars had them.  Even white table cloth restaurants had them.  Taquerias were everywhere.

Now the fad has turned to fade.  We’ve simply incorporated a better understanding of Latin American culture and cuisine into our own and are ready to move on the the next thing.

And what is the next thing?  Curry.  P’cheen made the move because they will selling 3 orders of nachos per week.  Their curry trio sells like hotcakes.  There are two more items on their menu that have curry in them and other items inspired by cultures where curry is prevalent.

Not that Atlanta diners are unfamiliar with curry; Thai & Indian restaurants are all over the place.  Now, however, we are seeing curry proliferate to be come the next staple item on menus.

Most of Furman Bisher’s work between two covers has been collections of columns or anecdotes with only three full-length books I have been able to find. One about the Masters, one about Arnold Palmer and Miracle in Atlanta (1966) which came out just as Atlanta became the first city to premier an NFL team the same year as an MLB team.

I knew bits and pieces of the machinations which brought the Braves here: from Ivan Allen Jr’s Notes from the Sixties I knew about Citizens & Southern Bank’s president Mills B. Lane fronting the money and that the stadium came before a team had committed. But I didn’t realize what a character Lane was (there should be a biography of him!) or just how many deals were close but fell apart. Must of been very stressful for a mayor who promised a new stadium and pro sports.

Lane’s cylindrical C and S Tower matches the giant circle of Atlanta Stadium
In one interesting tidbit, Bisher mentioned a slightly earlier attempt to snag an NFL franchise. A “kitchenware and dime-store novelties salesman” named Bill McCane built a stadium out in the sticks of DeKalb County. He purchased the land from a chicken farmer and dug an enormous hole, installed borrowed bleachers from a friend in Houston and called it America Field.

Two exhibition games were played before they pulled the plug on the sub-standard stadium: Cowboys vs Raiders on August 4, 1962 and Oilers vs Broncos one week later. Soon after, the company that loaned McCane the bleachers came to repossess them and NFL dreams shifted to Atlanta.

Anybody know where this America Field actually was?

When Americans think about the national architecture, they don’t think much of Atlanta.

The American Institute of Architects surveyed two thousand Americans at the end of 2006 to find out what buildings they valued.  They don’t value Atlanta much.  No Atlanta building ranks in the top 50 and there are only 2 out of 150 on the list.  The High Museum makes the list at #96 & The Hyatt Regency downtown makes the list at #103.

The poll was conducted by Harris and shows that Atlanta really isn’t on the national radar for great architecture.  There is a certain irony in this as some of the leading architecture firms have started here or put key offices in Atlanta.  The cities on the radar include New York City (25 Buildings), Washington DC (17), and Chicago (16).

We’re in the same category as St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Austin.  Further, the national perspective does not match our own.  In survey after survey, Atlantans choose the Fox Theater as their favorite building.  The High Museum would also likely be up there, but one would guess that the Hyatt would not be the first choice of Portman buildings for Atlantans or even their third favorite building.

Hopefully, Atlantans will wake up to the importance of good solid design.  Renzo Piano’s addition to the High Museum is successful not only for the attention he brought, but because the additions work well.  They made the space better.  They are good spaces in which one can see art.  That is what will keep the building important for a long time.

Cynthia Tucker, normally a courageous editorial writer who tells Atlanta citizens what they don’t want to hear, has suddenly become dainty when riding MARTA:

Two weeks ago, after a pleasant, hassle-free trip to Hartsfield-Jackson on MARTA, I gave some thought to taking the train more often. Right now, my car is in the shop. Couldn’t I take MARTA rather than renting a car?

No, I won’t. It gets dark early, and I don’t take MARTA after the sun goes down. I don’t feel safe.

My response:

I’ve ridden MARTA for years. At one time, I used to live in Smyrna, and it was faster for me to park at the Holmes station and ride MARTA to Five Points from there — never had an incident beyond some guy selling socks and incense in the afternoons. Even when I rode back to Holmes very late at night, my personal safety was never threatened.

There are some things MARTA could do to make the system safer.

First, enforce fare gates more vigorously. Anyone who evades fare should at least be stopped for a while as an officer checks the evader’s ID. It’s a very good way of catching people who have warrants out for their arrest.

Second, make the police presence visible on the trains. Plain clothes officers may help catch sock sellers, but they’re a very ineffective way to maintain order on the system. Maintaining order will have the greatest impact on the perception of safety.

Third, discontinue M*PACT. This is the reason why it can be easier to see a MARTA police officer in a car than riding the system. I’ve heard about this program from several MARTA employees — all of whom acknowledge that M*PACT’s approach lacks common sense.

Overall, I feel much safer on MARTA than I do driving Atlanta’s suburbs. Having ridden the system’s trains and busses at all hours of the night and day, I am confident in the safety and security of the system. However, this is an area where MARTA could really stand to improve its image.

It’s a tumultuous time for Brookhaven Station. Two of it’s main tenants have turned over in 45 days!

First, Jocks and Jills is gone. The sports bar had been the most successful tenant of that space. Also gone is the 101 group’s representative, Meehans. Though another Irish pub has replaced it, losing two locations of Atlanta’s restaurant stawlwarts raises the question of what’s going on over there.

One reason may be that the rent climbed aout the $25-$27 per square foot that was being charged. Another may be that Atlanta’s restaurant scene now faces so much competition that chains are looking to branch out to other cities.

Jocks and Jills now operates in Colorado and North Carolina. The 101 Group is opening at Saint Simons beachfront location. There is now enough Atlanta competition that smaller markets are ripe for Atlanta chain pickings.

In the meantime, there is now a big hole waiting for someone to fill walking distance from the Brookhaven MARTA station. Though it’s probably not going to happen, wouldn’t that space make a great Trader Joe’s?

Republicans that run our state government are hypocrites. Their stated motivations for creating the city of Sandy Springs was to let local communities have more local control over the revenue generated by the tax payers there. They said they believed that you should not transfer money from communities that generate it to poorer communities that didn’t…So long as you don’t apply that logic to transportation funding or anything having to do with Alcohol taxes.

Georgia State University research shows that the big 5 metro counties make up over 24 percent of the state’s gas tax revenue, yet they get nothing like that in terms of the investment in transportation infrastructure. It’s so bad that the Metro Chamber of Commerce thinks that Metro Atlanta should be able to create its own self taxing district to raise the revenue to fix their transportation needs.

The same is true for liquor revenue. Fulton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb produce well over 20% of all the alcohol taxes and that money does not end up back in those counties. Heck, the Governor has promised to veto a bill which would let those counties sell beer and wine on Sunday.

So what is it about? They don’t want things to go well for those living in the blue parts of the state. They are afraid that if the blue areas of the state (And if you think that Cobb and Gwinnett are still solid red counties think again) get to control their money, drink, and build good transit systems, people there will be happier and they won’t be willing to live the red state, Sam’s Club, SUV way. The people might discover the power of the community and turn the Reds out of power.

So, The Georgia House wants to give Zell Bryan Miller a statue.  Bravo!  They should.  They should authorize a statue of Governor Miller.

Mr. Miller was not only among Georgia’s finest Governors, but it was as Governor that Mr. Miller was at his finest as a public servant.  He was worse both prior to and after he left the house on West Paces Ferry rd.

Prior to being Governor, Mr. Miller was among the longest serving Lt. Governors ever.  He worked for Lester Maddox, supported segregation, and created a bitter rivalry with then Speaker Tom Murphy that he could not get over until he was Governor.  After leaving office, he went into the United States Senate and became an advocate for unfettered Presidential Power.  His efforts have now come home to roost.

Mr. Miller’s time as Governor, however, was a time of excellence, and in making the statue… and the plaque that will surely go with it, is those days from 1990 to 1999 that should be remembered.

Governor Miller appointed Justice Leah Sears Ward to the High Court.  He made Justice Charles Weltner the Chief Justice.  He appointed Thurbert Baker to be his floor leader and then Attorney General.  He worked to bring the Olympics here, tried to change the flag to something we could all live with and created the lottery to fund the HOPE Scholarships.  All this while keeping the Budget in check, building up rainy day supplies, and making serious efforts to reform the way government worked in Georgia.  In short, he was a very strong conservative southern Democratic Governor.  He even gave Bill Clinton’s nomination speech.

It is a shame what age and Washington D.C. living can do to people. Mr. Miller’s service in Washington coincided with a wholesale strengthening of his religious faith.   The sincerity of that faith is beyond doubt, but the changes in policy it caused Senator Miller to advocate are dubious.  Senator Miller believes the government has a right to intrude into people’s lives to ‘protect them’ from themselves.  He believes in a nearly unfettered executive branch, and believes that we should have gone into Iraq.  He regrettably drank the Bush kool-aid.

It’s worth remembering the Governor who did great things and kept government from intruding in our lives.  Let us honor Democratic Governor Zell Miller.