The future is now!

29 Aug

I was browsing through my copy of Atlanta: Triumph of a People, a hefty illustrated history of the city by Norman Shavin and Bruce Galphin, when I came across this drawing of “an artist’s 1910 conception of how Peachtree Street would appear a century later” – as in 2010. This futurist was still not quite forward-thinking enough to imagine Portman’s “honky tubes.”

Well, now I feel disappointed.

Here’s what Peachtree Street looked like around the time of the above rendering.
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The new “trashy” media

25 Aug

You snooze you lose, Thomas Wheatley…you’re in Central European Time right now. Sorry, Mark Davis…you don’t write about zoo animals anymore. My new favorite match made in heaven of local journalist + beat is Christian Boone covering the grotesque horrors of metro Atlanta’s hoarders. The latest is “Uncle tipped cops off about little girls living in filthy house.”

He first flaunted his hoarder coverage chops with updates on the Sandy Springs hoarder – we all know that didn’t end well, but just recently we had a follow-up story about the business that cleans hoarders’ homes. Mr. Boone gives a whole new meaning to the title “muckraker” – am I right or am I right?

Let Mr. Boone’s stories be a lesson to you, all you who played hooky from your jobs to buy three dozen soiled desk chairs at City Hall East this week. I didn’t have time for such a wasteful pursuit of junky possessions; also, the sign for Lee Haney‘s World Class Fitness Center wasn’t for sale anyway.

photo from I Saw It On Ponce

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5th Street secrets

20 Aug

The broad north-south avenues like Juniper and Piedmont have the showcase homes with the giant yards and consistent landscaping, things that belong on stately southern boulevards. But the narrower east-west streets have cobblestone alleys, idiosyncratic architectural embellishments, and sweet little carriage houses pushed right up on the sidewalk.

I have been obsessed with these first three houses for a long while now. This one below, right behind St. Mark UMC, is a duplex that was fairly recently fixed up. It still looks so strange – the facade has nothing to do with the rest; the windows on the side and back are all 1920s-ish.

This one I call Grey Gardens because…

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Unsolved mysteries

19 Aug

If anyone loves a good mystery, it’s me. But I want my mysteries solved within one and a half, maybe two hours (allowing for commercial or bathroom breaks). That’s why, readers, I NEED YOUR HELP with the things that have been keeping me up at night (besides ghosts and booty jams).

Riddle me this:

1. What is going on with Buddy’s extreme wine/convenience store makeover? What is the intended outcome in removing their iconic, decayed lettering?

2. What is “The Phoenix, the newspaper of Underground Atlanta”? This was in the back flap of a recipe book called Georgia Receipts that was at Antique Factory ages ago. (Here is the cover.)
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Congratulations, ladies

18 Aug

Maybe you didn’t hear that today is the 90th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment! And did you also know that Georgia didn’t ratify the amendment until 1970?? Georgia was actually the first state to reject the 19th amendment! Yes, we have always been trailblazers here. However, the amendment still became effective in 1920 when Tennessee was the 36th state (only the third Southern state) to ratify, so Georgia women were still able to vote prior to 1970. Still, Georgia law required that a voter be registered six months prior to an election, so women here couldn’t actually vote until the 1922 election. It’s so complicated!

The good news, sort of, for Atlanta ladies was that in 1919 they were allowed to vote in municipal primary elections. And what a glorious day it was for upstanding suffragists on that May day in 1919 when they took to the courthouse to register for the very first time.

The Atlanta Constitution, May 27, 1919

Yes, the subtitle here is “Basket of Roses and Daises Brought to the Tax Collector’s Office by One Woman to Give ‘That Feminine Touch’.”

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So much pulchritude in this Gate City

9 Aug

In case you are wondering why you look so radiant and lovely right now, it is due to three things: the devastating southern heat and humidity, the dwindling water resources brought to you via our crumbling sewer systems, and the excess of hair salons (which go up $10 in service prices every month it seems). At least this was the Atlanta Constitution‘s booster-ish theory in at 1926 article which detailed some of the most modern beauty treatments available to the city’s “many beautiful women” as well as its “lady strangers and visitors.”

June 17, 1926

When the paper wasn’t hyping Atlanta ladies’ aptitude for beauty via its editorial department, the advertisers were happy to point out some of the services and products available for female improvement.

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For posterity

8 Aug

Druid Hills

Midtown (an old favorite)

Poncey-Highland

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Then and now: Pastimes of Atlanta’s elephants

31 Jul

THEN (1933): Elephant rings a bell to demand she be brought pretzels and beer; drinks beer; knocks over table in a drunken rage; blacks out.
You HAVE to watch the newsreel of this here (via British Pathe).

NOW (2010): Elephant paints on a canvas; politely greets onlookers.
Video at PBA’s This is Atlanta.

Maybe mankind is rapidly losing our sense of morals and decency with each passing generation, but the animal kingdom seems to be growing quite mannerly and cultivated.

Previously: Animals are Atlantans too

Mark your calendars for the cutest thing ever!

28 Jul

Friday, August 13 is the City of Fairburn’s SOCK HOP! From 7:30 to 9:30 pm at Clarence Duncan Park, “Put on your poodle skirt and go back in time with us while we dance the night away to live music.”

Just make sure you visit this guy first:

via a blog

Stick around south Fulton for the whole weekend because the following day features an indoor picnic at the Old Campbell County Historical Society. Just be sure you RSVP with Gloria or Nancy first.

Fairburn, 1954 - via the Atlanta History Center

Here are some other things that are adorable about Fairburn, from the OCCHS:

- Emma Lulu Duggan Camp was the first woman sheriff of Campbell County and Georgia. She served for one month between the death of her husband, Sheriff Thomas Wiley Camp, and the election of a new sheriff.

- In 1896, you could purchase any size watermelon you wanted for a nickle.

Previously: Speaking of drag queens…

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Write ins

28 Jul

Best hair: John Portman and Maria Saporta

via Wikipedia and Atlanta Business Chronicle

Best hair in HD: Thomas Wheatley

via brookehatfield

Best Marietta lady hair accessory on primary election night: Marie Barnes

via AJC

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Senior superlatives, part 5? 6? 7?

27 Jul

We got a bit off on the blog, seeing as we were researching for the next edition of Pecanne Log’s Rural Explorer on one of the hottest weekends in Georgia history and have had to spend DAYS furiously re-hydrating. But we just had a few last points we wanted to make this week to wrap up some key Best of Atlanta nominations.

The biggest rabble-rouser in the city, has to be Lunacy Black Market/all the Mitchell Street businesses. Those people know how to make a righteous fuss about being innovative businesspeople in a neglected gem of Downtown blocks. They’re scrappy enough defend their rights to run interesting places to eat and shop, and media savvy enough to make the news constantly speaking out against the the parking troubles, street closures, and kafkaesque regulations with which dear City Hall charms Atlanta’s small business owners.

231 Mitchell Street, S.W. (Downtown)

Most underrated thing about Atlanta? Riding the bus.
Side note: T-shirts I’ve seen on MARTA recently:
- “Salt kills snails, not players”
- “Same shirt, different day”
- “Sorry, I was drunk”

Most overrated thing: Riding the streetcar.

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The bounty of Southern solstice

25 Jul

After suffering through an entire weekend with precious few moments spent not sweating, I can say definitely that it is really hard to tell the difference between low blood sugar and the early stages of heatstroke. Certain foods were perfected in the South that could be consumed even in late August but that also still included signature regional ingredients, like mayonnaise and white bread. Oh, and Coca-Cola. Lots of Coca-Cola.

Children at Howdy Doody Ice Cream stand (1953)

Trust Company of Georgia barbeque (1953)

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Where shopping is a pleasure

20 Jul

I feel like all my alterna-best of Atlanta posts have just had to do with shopping, or getting clothes tailored or dry cleaned that I bought while shopping. This makes my life sound way more luxury-oriented than it really is. The thing about living anywhere is that you have to deal with so many transactions every week – trying to mail a package, finding a last-minute birthday card, swiping your MARTA card, managing your absent-minded spouse’s life, etc. – so all my favorite things about Atlanta are where these interactions and necessary purchases are more enjoyable, or at least more entertaining in that I can call a friend afterward and be like, “You will not believe how many people with scar tissue instead of lips were on the #2 bus today.”

Sevananda Natural Foods Market is the REAL DEAL in grocery shopping. I love, love, love this store. I am in there constantly. It is the best food shopping experience. I can never go in another grocery store again without feeling horrified by the just getting inside and the singles meat market and the out-of-control shopping carts and the indifferent staff. And what is the point of Trader Joe’s campy and chipper cashiers when their parking lot is VICIOUS and there is some creeper in the coffee aisle giving you bedroom eyes? And the last time I was in the Edgewood Kroger – making a frosting run for you-know-who – I walked in to see the refrigerated deli case by the door full of plastic to-go boxes with a single prepared rack of ribs in them, accompanied by a row of energy drink varieties. That is revolting! How can I be in any mood to buy food when I’ve just realized that the store strategically arranges the ribs and energy drinks together by the entrance because that’s a thing people need quick and easy access to?

Sevanada is the complete opposite. There is wheat grass in the fridge case by the entrance. Many the products have a real person’s face on them or uplifting aphorisms like, “Help Ever – Hurt Never.”

Look at these inspiring flavors of granola!

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Altered reality

19 Jul

My favorite tailor has to be Bangkok Tailor and Alterations in Midtown (or is it Virginia-Highland?) right next to the Bookhouse. Our friend Drew referred us there when we weren’t even soliciting recommendations for a good trouser cuff. He was just like, “You have to go to this place; it’s so weird and you will love it.” So we did go AND IT IS SO WEIRD AND WE LOVE IT.

Golden pig moon cake and a cryptic receipt - what can they mean?

There is constantly some old melodramatic movie playing somewhere in the back – “I simply shan’t believe it, Donny; I simply shan’t, shan’t, shan’t!” – while I try to explain what needs to be mended or tailored. There are piles of clothes everywhere and weird trinkets, cheap jewelry, and old magazine pages hanging on the walls. I try to imagine the owners merching up the walls, carefully curating where the sagging tube top on a wire hanger goes and where the faded torn stock photo of some bridesmaids should be taped. I wish I could just hang out there with the lady of the house all day, watching mediocre black and white movies and cutting out Gitano Jeans ads from McCall’s magazines and drawing fake eyebrows on each other.

The owners always want to know what occasion my clothes are for and get very excited about the event. “Happy party! Happy party!” the husband and wife team gleefully wished me the last time I picked up a dress. Now, how could I not have a happy party? Also, inexplicably, one time she asked where I lived and when I told her she gave me the treat pictured above – “It’s golden pig. Moon cake!” she explained. I was delighted!

P.S. Cash only.

736 Ponce De Leon Avenue NE (Virginia-Highland, I guess)

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Summer makeovers

17 Jul

I noticed recently that one of my favorite decaying boarding houses is being renovated!

7th between W. Peachtree and Cypress

And everyone’s observing the progress at the yellow brick beaut in Poncey-Highland. They’re turning them into condos. Which just means they are for sale instead of for rent? Right?

Blue Ridge and N. Highland Avenue

My wish list for apartment building rehabs:
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Cake walk through Atlanta

15 Jul

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: the Pecanne Log centerfold of Thomas Wheatley-designed cookie cakes. I alluded to these last month for the BurnAway fundraiser/Lot & Parcel and I know a lot of people didn’t take us seriously. I didn’t take us seriously, but then after making 13 batches of cookie cake batter (=2 sticks of butter each) I came around and realized this was really happening.

And then after the bake sale, I wanted to wait a little while to celebrate that we pulled this off in case anyone who took one of these cakes home died (the BeltLine one was pretty undercooked in the middle) (metaphor!). I am happy to say we sold all but three, one of which was secretly devoured by the bar volunteers (they deserved it) and the other two of which we kind of phoned in when we decorated (we deserved it).

First, a few words about the creative process. Not to brag, but I can decorate a high-quality cookie cake (birthday party caliber) in five minutes flat. Thomas is still struggling with expressing himself in an efficient manner via decorative gel. It was really hard for me to hold back when I wanted to mentor him artistically yet not smother his creativity. Often he wanted to use hot pink buttercream frosting to recreate architecture that would look better in a more natural color and with a more delicate line, but I had to sit back and let the Olympic Spirit carry him. Sometimes I would lose my patience and covertly churn out a design (anything you see below that uses cursive script, obviously).

These are all issues we’ll have to work out when we quit our day jobs to bake and decorate Atlanta-themed cookie cakes full time.

Westview Cemetery

(Click any to enlarge.) Continue reading →

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Having a ball

14 Jul

One of the many things that John, owner of My! My! My!, is a master of is mannequin arranging. I thought no one could make me appreciate a mannequin display since 1987/Andrew McCarthy – until I gazed upon the likes of these dramatic poses, right on our very own Peachtree Street. Other things John and his associates are skilled at: making you spend your entire lunch break trying on hundreds of pounds of beads and shoulder pads; reminding you that every price tag in the store is negotiable.

What are you wearing to Designing Women Live? It’s Wednesday night already and you haven’t even thought about it yet, have you? That’s what I thought. Well, I think you know where to go. (After buying tickets here.)

I should also add that My! My! My! also has a wonderful array of subtle accessories and sweet little summer dresses (both vintage and new), so don’t let me characterize it as just five sizes down from a drag queen’s spare closet.

“I never use catalogs. I’d rather go in the store and see all the salespeople groveling and sucking up to you.”
- Suzanne Sugarbaker, on buying local

900 Peachtree Street, Suite 100A (they’ve expanded!) (Midtown)

Previously: Baubles, bangles, and beads

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Fashion solutions

13 Jul


Atlanta’s dry cleaners know exactly what my business casual and wedding fashions look like, and that is why I trust them to properly clean my stylish attire. I have twice as many blazers that need to be cleaned and pressed each week because I always wear one on my person while rakishly tossing the other over one shoulder. I guess you could say that’s my “thing.”

What I like about Sig Samuels is they don’t need flashy, modern graphic design, like that shown above, to flaunt their capabilities, except for the occasional Vernon Jones for U.S. Senate sign. These Southern gentlemen trust the combined powers of fierce loyalty and word of mouth, and they believe in customers to pay them back when they don’t have sufficient cash or a handy checkbook to pay the cleaning bill (no credit cards accepted*). Here’s another anecdote about them: once I got a text message from a friend that read, “I am one of five men in Sig Samuels right now, but I am the only one without feathered hair.” And here’s yet another: if you go in there between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, every fourth item hanging in plastic to be picked up is a Santa suit. It’s INSANE.

906 Monroe Drive, NE (Midtown)

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Senior superlatives, part I

13 Jul

I started to fill out my Creative Loafing Best of Atlanta ballot but had to stop because I am SO OVERWHELMED by all these categories on which I have no opinion. I immediately forgot all the things I do feel strongly about that I wanted to be sure got recognized. So I am just going to write little posts over the next weeks about each thing I intend to be sure I vote for, in case you might be inclined to patronize these establishments, real or virtual, due to Pecanne Log’s powerful influence over your decision making.

Providence Antiques

First of all, let me say that this place is a real class act before I talk about the things I’ve actually bought there. The owner has a French bulldog and there are always real interior designers stopping by. It smells so great and everything is so perfectly curated and arranged. The window display is just a work of art. I really hate to use the A-word on such a thoughtfully designed store, so I won’t name that chain store that everyone compares anything that’s the least bit charming these days. And don’t you dare either, because Providence is so much better! Keep in mind the “Antiques” in the name isn’t fully accurate in case you’re one of those people who gets overwhelmed by the traditional concept of an antiques store – there’s a complementary mix of new and old.

With all those sublime tokens and international antiques, there are still always some little items that are a bit rebellious and/or creepy, like this x-ray of a monkey I got a friend for her birthday gift.

I also got a great detail of an etching of Botticelli’s The Youth of Moses – the part of his childhood where he’s staring off next to the tiny chihuahua. It hangs prominently in my bathroom.

Both of these were in a stack of constantly-revolving sale items. I think most boutiques will, of course, have those very exclusive and expensive items for people with a dedicated decorating budget to spend (or no budget at all), but a truly great boutique will also have smaller treasures that are just as special but easy to drop pocket money on. You can buy cheap mass-produced crap anywhere that anyone else can find in any other city, but a mindful shop owner will find items in a wide range of prices so that most patrons can find something beautiful to take home, or at least something freaky.

The other great thing about Providence is that it stays open later than a lot of comparable boutiques. There’s a good chance she’ll still have the door open while you’re running into Movies Worth Seeing.

1409 N. Highland Avenue (Morningside)

“VMC vs. the Radio Star”

Even though Downhome Traces is a blog operation run by a real documentary film professional, he still needs your approval for the things he does. (Perhaps you remember his “Better Know a Neighborhood” series.) You should vote the short documentary “Video Music Channel vs. the Radio Star” for best YouTube video. It’s about Atlanta’s scrappy little music video channel. I know, I know – it’s really more Vimeo material as it’s shot in shockingly high quality and doesn’t involve humiliation, but whatever. Best YouTube – do it. Here are both parts. Continue reading →

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Animals are Atlantans too

12 Jul

Think about what it takes from the animal kingdom to impress us these days. We have to have a palatial aquarium and a constant stream of newborn pandas to keep us interested. It’s no wonder that we have orangutans dropping dead left and right and gorillas having rage black-outs everywhere. Primates used to be the toast of the town just a couple of decades ago! Now they have to play constant second fiddle to an animal for whom 99% of his diet is a highly-invasive species of grass.

Willie B. for Congress - Children with campaign posters

Look, I’ve wasted countless hours on Panda Cam like everyone else, but don’t you remember when animals at Zoo Atlanta were named after beloved mayors instead of names selected by fast food Asian restaurants, and when those animals at the zoo could actually launch a campaign for the United States House of Representatives?

Dog and man

But before even Willie B, Atlanta had a deep fondness for simpler creatures – dogs, cows, ponies. As recently as 1900 Atlanta was trying very hard to be sophisticated and forget its rough-and-tumble roots. This was just 20 or so years after the “cow ordinance” was perhaps comparable to “PARK Atlanta” in controversy and disdain, when the city tried to make it illegal for residents to let their cows graze wherever they liked. Can you imagine? The ordinance was approved, and then seen as bad for poor people and repealed, and finally adopted again and fully enforced. Our grizzly pioneer past was over and it was time to find new and fascinating ways for animals to stay involved in our daily lives with common livestock no longer running the business district.
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