Here’s a map of Atlanta’s Tallest Building leaders over the last century or so. Each building was at the time the tallest in the city.
Click the icons to see a bit of background on each building. Hear about “The Skyline” now.
(Zoom out to see the latest two)
William Fox
In 1929, William Fox was a movie mogul and The Fox Theatre was Atlanta’s crown jewel of movie palaces. This Christmas Day, “The Fox” celebrates its 82nd birthday. Over the years it has hosted many award-winning performances. Comedies, tragedies, & dramas – in the form of movies, plays & dance – have all played on the big screen and the stage, creating more than a few memories along the way.
The Nutcracker is a long-standing holiday tradition at The Fox Theatre.
However, The Fox’s history is not all glitz and glamour. The curtain nearly closed in 1974, and would have for good if not for the efforts of concerned citizens, community oriented corporations and the foresight of Atlanta Landmarks, Inc. and their “Save the Fox” campaign. This month we celebrate with The Fox and take a look back at the history, the preservation, the restoration, and the theatre’s place in Atlanta’s cultural landscape.
Walt Disney’s “Song of the South” grand world premiere at the Fox Theatre, October 1946.
“Save the Fox” poster circa 1976.
Beauchamp Carr is EVP at The Woodruff Arts Center and was an integral player with Atlanta Landmarks, Inc.’s effort to prevent The Fox from becoming a Bellsouth parking deck. Beauchamp joins Gene in the studio to remind us about the incredible preservation effort, and to share some personal thoughts about the theatre he helped rescue.
Chairperson of Emory’s Film & Media Studies, Matthew Bernstein also swings by Sidewalk Radio to talk about The Fox, the golden age of cinema, and the magic of movie palaces. Bernstein’s passion for film and his knowledge about cinematic history paint a nice picture of how The Fox used to be, what it used to be, and why it is important today.
The Fox is a anchor both on Peachtree Street and in our cultural heritage.
Leo Alvarez is nothing if not real. As Atlanta’s Urban Design Leader at Perkins+Will, Alvarez is consumed with culture. In this episode, Alvarez discusses how to protect, plan, design and deliver culture within our community while keeping it genuine and appreciating the authenticity that already exists. And, in Atlanta, “The Fox” is synonymous with authenticity.
The 1922 finding of King Tut’s Tomb set off a craze in Egyptian architecture & design.
Molly Fortune is Atlanta’s good fortune in that she leads a team that keeps The Fox alive, refreshed and restored so that memories can be made and so that this cultural monument can be enjoyed for generations to come. As Director of Restoration at The Fox Theatre, Fortune has a magnifying glass on every detail from furniture to fixtures, wallpaper to windows. In our interview, we examine these important design and architectural details with her down to the smallest twinkling star.
So, as we move into a New Year, let’s reflect on the icon we almost lost, and remember the importance of keeping it real! Here’s to a fantastic 2012, and a sincere appreciation for The Fabulous Fox Theatre over the past 82 years. Happy Birthday Fox Theatre & Happy Holidays, y’all!
The introduction of the “Bird’s Nest” (鸟巢) in Beijing, China for the 2008 Olympics wowed the world with its brilliance. This icon, on a monumental scale and stage, reminds us about the creative and cultural capability of man. Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron designed the National Stadium, but few might know that their original design actually did have a roof. Structural concerns and constraints lead to the removal of the roof and ultimately to a most inspirational result, the nest itself.
Be it a small coffee shop or an international airport or an office building or a museum or a hospital or a university or even an Olympic Stadium, all spaces go through a creation process. And, you never know when or from where inspiration will strike. The March episode of Sidewalk Radio explores this process, along with inspiration, getting the inside scoop behind some of Atlanta’s most interesting, cool, and conceptual spaces. Join host Gene Kansas, along with four of Atlanta’s most “with-it” professionals, as they layout, design, educate and cook up what it takes to create space.
The Place Maker. Bob Amick of Concentrics Restaurants serves up not only what it takes to prepare fabulous spaces, but also how to pick the places in which they exist. As creator of ONE Midtown Kitchen, TWO Urban Licks, TAP, and Parish to name a few, uncovering potential seems to be second nature to this taste-making entrepreneur. His passion for design and love of the experience helped put Atlanta on the restaurant map, and makes his Sidewalk Radio interview sizzle.
The Interior Designer. Allison Hyer of Hyer Creative, worked with the Grammy Award winning Zac Brown Band to turn a 30,000 sq. ft. warehouse into the perfect combination of creative space and glorified green room. Hyer shares with us her secrets for success with an tune that’s right on key, as she describes how Zac’s entrepreneurial spirit and down-home sensibilities shine through in “The Warehouse”. This multi-use facility houses the corporate offices for Lucy Justice Goods, a commercial kitchen with style, an auto body shop, a leather shop, a t-shirt screen printing facility and a “living room” for the band and their families to enjoy time together when they’re off the road.
The Historian. Leslie Sharp, a historian and Assistant Dean with the Georgia Tech College of Architecture, also joins Gene in the studio this month. Sharp shares a historical context of architecture on campus and brings the listener on a journey through Tech’s newest star, the Hinman Research Building. Well, okay, maybe it’s not that new…A historic structure, and Georgia Tech’s first research building, Hinman was originally designed in 1939, and has just recently been renovated and re-imagined. It’s a space that is so thoughtful, that it actually makes you want to think. Check it out at their Grand Opening on March 30th.
The Architect. And then there’s Perkins+Will’s new headquarters building and the soon to be unveiled MODA (Grand Opening March 19th) space at 1315 Peachtree. Lead Designer on the new space, Bruce McEvoy, enjoys his role as both Chairman of the Board at MODA and a Associate Principal at P+W. McEvoy and P+W CEO, Phil Harrison, both serve on the MODA board and feel like the stars aligned to make the project possible. McEvoy shares with us an insider’s guide to both the client and the designer’s perspectives on this transformational move for both his firm and the Museum of Design Atlanta.
So, join us on the creative journey, we know you’ll be happy you did. The show airs on Monday March 14th at 8:30am and 6:30pm on AM 1690, “The Voice of the Arts”, both on your radio and online at http://www.1690wmlb.com. And, of course, catch Sidewalk Radio anytime on iTunes. Thank’s for tuning in, y’all.
Peachtree Street circa 1875
On Sidewalk Radio’s February show, the phrase “street smart” takes on new meaning as some of Atlanta’s brightest minds share their expertise and insights about our city’s icon, our connective landmark, the history laden, world famous Peachtree Street.
There is Broadway in New York, Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Sunset in LA, and Bourbon in New Orleans, but Peachtree Street is more than famous, it is a living, breathing, archeological diorama of Atlanta’s history told through its transitioning neighborhoods and ascending architecture.
Join host, Gene Kansas, as he explores the history, lore, legacy, culture and character of a street whose name really came from a pine tree. See, it’s already getting interesting.
To discuss the past, present and future of urban planning, transit and architecture is David Green AIA, LEED AP, and Senior Urban Designer with internationally renowned architecture and design firm, Perkins+Will. In addition to his applied professional chops, Green also adds a professor’s point of view, gained from more than 20 years of teaching at Georgia Tech, helping to educate us about how cities develop and why Peachtree is so important to Atlanta.
Perkins+Will took extra steps to make 1315 Peachtree not only beautiful and environmentally friendly, but also connected to the street, a move that limited their parking, but added to the appeal for Peachtree and Atlanta.
Preservationist Mark McDonald, President & CEO of The Georgia Trust, enlightens us about the street that boasts such treasures as The Georgian Terrace, The Temple, The High Museum, and The “Fabulous” Fox Theater, saved from certain destruction through a grassroots effort in 1974. McDonald also discusses important places we’ve lost and “Places in Peril” that we need to protect.
Lowe’s Grand Theater was site of the 1939 premiere of Gone with the Wind. It was built in 1893 and lost to fire in 1978.
Adding some real legs to our tour along this famous route is Atlanta Track Club’s Executive Director, Tracey Russell, in charge of putting on The Peachtree Road Race. In its first year, 110 runners finished the race. 41 years later, on July 4th 2011, 60,000 participants will take part in the world’s largest event of its kind, and Russell runs down a long list of impressive stories and statistics that will have you entertained and intrigued from start to finish.
And, very much a place-maker, Shannon Powell, COO of The Midtown Alliance, rounds out the guest list taking us back 15 years to shed light on a neighborhood that at one time was so unsavory you would not have walked down Peachtree at night, but now is thriving with the arts, restaurants, residences, and the promise of incredible street level retail that one day soon will be on par with its Midwestern cousins along “The Magnificent Mile”.
shopSCAD’s “Pop Up” Shop at Atlanta History Center’s 990 Peachtree Street.
Peachtree has come a long way, both literally and figuratively, growing and developing in parallel with the city, and spawning 71 variations of its name along the way. And, just like in the treaties of the Creek Indians that inhabited our land before Peachtree, the “pitch” still holds us together, symbolizing the vows that we have to history.
AND, A SPECIAL “THANK YOU” TO OUR SPONSOR, PERKINS+WILL.
