mahanakorn

Thanks for the great pano's, Nashville. Love all the green!

"South of North" sounds cool, maybe because we're not used to seeing opposites juxtaposed this way. It's also very clear (for anyone familiar with Atlanta) that it means south of North Avenue. "SoNo" just sounds contrived and derivative, something a McMarketer knocked out in 15 seconds. It's been done way too many times before. BUT... the signs look great!

Dentistry AND real estate! I sensed there was an evil brew being concocted in that penthouse.

You got me there, Andrea. Had to Google "Roscoe Pickett" and then only learned that he was first president of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Assn and a delegate to the Republican Convention in 1960. And who was Dr. Goldstein? With no additional info, I can't shake the image of a Vincent Price-type character performing curious experiments in his penthouse lab-o-ratory (accent on -o-). Please tell me there was nothing nefarious going on up there. I guess the silly ads of the era (e.g. Thousand-aire, Tillie the All-Time Teller) made a bigger impression on me than local luminaries like Pickett and Goldstein. Thanks for the pic, Hammett. All kinds of memories come bubbling to the surface.

When I was a kid, I believe it housed Atlanta Federal Savings. That would have been early to mid 60's. I always sorta liked it; those rounded concrete ribs look a little like whale bones, or so I thought when I was 10 years old. AFS was "Home of the Thousand-aire", if I recall correctly. At that time, Five Points was the financial center of the South. This photo also shows the one-time home offices of Fulton Federal Savings (bulky, pinkish building between AFS and 191), Nat'l Bank of Georgia (over AFS right shoulder, once the city's tallest at 32 floors), and First Nat'l Bank of Atlanta (brown tower at far right, ecliipsed NBG to be tallest at 41 floors). Once upon a time, this was a "big city" view that made my young heart beat faster as I walked north from Rich's toward Marietta Street.

Atlanta is fortunate to have built the expensive spine, arms and legs (MARTA) during the 70's and 80's when land acquisition and construction costs were lower, and federal dollars were more available. Beltline, C-loop, Peachtree streetcar, and a few east-west routes across downtown and midtown could provide the rib cage that (please forgive the extended metaphor) encases the beating heart of the city. In a city where other transportation options are readily available, residents can give themselves a $10K/year pay raise (conservative estimate) by NOT having a car. (When you need one, call Hertz.) No, I don't think belt-line is a waste of money and time. Car ownership, on the other hand...