No, this time I’m not being sarcastic! Atlanta has lost God-only-knows-how-many wonderful urban buildings over the past several decades because of the City’s disinterest in maintaining and protecting lovely architecture and later, its hastiness to make everything bright and shiny for the Olympics (thanks, Andrew Young). But I think if we’ve learned one lesson in the last few months regarding historic preservation it’s that if people freak out enough, we might just get our way and save those beloved structures.
The obvious example of this is the Buckhead library, but the most recent building that just may live to see another day is the Crum and Forster building near Technology Square, built in 1927 and designed by two of the first graduates of Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture.
Tech Square is one of the most successful new mixed-use developments I’ve seen in Atlanta, and much of its beauty – besides the skillful concealment of the interstate below – is attributed to the historic Midtown buildings that are the focal points of the new mid-rises – namely, the Biltmore building (which also served its time in historic building purgatory).
The worst part of the Georgia Tech Foundation‘s whole plan to demolish the building is that all the Foundation seems to want from this prized real estate is a patch of pathetic Bermuda grass. According to the AJC, “Immediate plans call only for replacing the building with a grass-planted lot.” Fools! At least call it greenspace to deceive us for a week until we figure out otherwise!
But that week never passed, because the City not only denied the Foundation’s request for a demolition permit but expressed its intentions to designate the building as an historic landmark.
The moral of this story is sign petitions and contact your elected officials and even the Foundation board members about all these matters so that Atlantans’ sole example of neoclassical architecture is not the Millenium Gate at Atlantic Station – the GT Foundation can still file an appeal, you know, and they probably will. Stay up to the minute on the progress of Crum and Forsters’ advocates at the Save 771 Spring St. blog.
photo thoughtlessly stolen from AJC
Previously: Bldg beauty
Tags: architecture, crum and forster building, georgia tech, historic preservation, technology square
I here the Buckhead Library is back up on the chopping block. Thanks to that vigilantly politician who thinks its ugly, and the gobs of money being thrown at him by investors. I think their tactic was to take it of the table long enoungh for everyone to think it was saved and then rush it through. My feeling is that it will be torn down for sure.
Clint, you’re right – as long as the Streets of Buckhead project is on, that developer will be after the land the library sits on. He’s already offered to rebuild the library in the same design at another location so he can demolish the current one, which indicates HE CLEARLY DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE FUSS ABOUT THE BUILDING WAS OVER IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Robb Pitts is a fool, along with the rest of the Fulton Co. Commissioners. You can bet that they’ll sell the library out to make that quick cash. As for tearing down the downtown library (should have left the beautiful Carnegie Library- http://atlantatimemachine.com/downtown/carnegielibrary.htm -up in the first place!) I just don’t see northside Fulton Co. taxpayers, or anyone for that matter, going for it.
I had no idea about the Carnegie library – unfortunately, “demolished in the 1970s” seems to be the name of the game around Atlanta.