Castleberry Loft For Sale

I know I know, it's been a LONG time since I've blogged. But I'm realizing that real estate exposure on the web is necessary these days. Thus, here goes!

The Homes for Atlanta team with Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta proudly announces its newest listing: 146 Walker St, Atlanta, GA 30313. This property is a very spacious four floor loft with rooftop deck in the trendy Castleberry arts/warehouse district just south of downtown Atlanta.

For more information on this property please see our featured listings section or check out its custom website at http://www.146walker.com.

Also, be sure to check out all of our other great listings at www.HomesForAtlanta.com!
Check back soon for our new and improved website!

Phoebe Allen

My first year of architecture school (I later changed majors to mathematics) was largely an art curriculum. I think the curriculum included one or two drafting (by hand, not CAD - it was the eighties!) classes. But mostly it was freehand drawing, art/architectural history and just plain old "art" (even though it had an "architecture" title). It was a "series" course like cal I, cal II, etc, but you had the same professor each term.

I was fortunate to have Phoebe Allen as my professor. Of course, when signing up for courses the summer before (using punch cards!) I certainly didn't know. However, upon getting to school and talking with some "upper" classmen (i.e. sophomores - *sigh*), I discovered that Phoebe Allen was the art/architecture professor. Students in Phoebe's class could mock the students in the other art class. While we used gouache and art paper to learn about color and spatial concepts, the students in the other class used water colors and construction paper - poor things! (A series of abstract paintings from that class is in my living room this day!)

At any rate, Phoebe Allen was different. I think I was too naive to notice at the time, but now that I remember her it seems that she would have been more comfortable in a cosmopolitan place like Los Angeles and Miami. She sort of has a "Patsy Stone" flair about her - at least in presentation. There was a big rumor that she would add vodka to her Diet Coke before class. I honestly don't think she did, but given the town I wouldn't blame her. She drove a late 70's white Corvette with white leather interior - mint condition, of course.

What made me think of Phoebe Allen? This morning as I was quickly ironing my shirt, I remembered that she once asked me where I took my shirts to be pressed. She nearly had a shock on her face when I said "I iron them myself in my dorm room". I've always had an ego about ironing since.

June 7, 2007 update:
I should have added this like a year ago, but Phoebe's website is:
Phoebe Allen

Fabulous.

Good for Atlanta

I do enjoy Atlanta quite a bit, even though there are times when I wish it were more cosmopolitan. Over all though I do think there are many nice things here and the potential for much more. I think this has been a very good year for Atlanta due to several significant projects:

The opening of Atlantic Station. This is the kind of development intown/midtown has needed for a long time. I hope its effect reaches in to Midtown's growth over the past several years. It would be great to have more shops/restaurants stretching between Ponce and Tenth streets.

The expansion of the High Museum. Since Atlanta in general is lacking in museums, the recent opening of the expansion at the High is much appreciated. The original building, designed by Richard Meier, has been restored to original designs in places (like the atrium). The large addition by architect Renzo Piano will open to the public in a few days. Nice.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's new Symphony Center is another welcomed piece to the city's arts (and architecture) scene. The structure and accompanying skyscraper, Symphony Tower, were designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava. Although there are many nice structures in the city, few have the style and panache of the Symphony Center and Tower.

The Georgia Aquarium will open this month, and ground has broken next door for a new World of Coke. These will be great additions/attractions for downtown Atlanta. Additionally in this area Ivan Allen Plaza is currently under construction and will feature office buildings, condo towers and a hotel. And, Ivan Allen Boulevard (which used to be a hodge-podge of one way streets) was opened which connect the west side and east side of downtown very nicely.

On a smaller yet still substantial scale, Glenwood Park in East Atlanta opened this year. The development is a great mix of housing (single family, townhomes and condos), retail and office spaces.

Additionally, the Beltline just passed its first big hurdle when the City Council voted to create a tax allocation district to help fund the project. The project really promised to change the way Atlanta residents interact with the city.

If you're familiar with Atlanta, you might agree with me that a monorail stretching from the Georgia World Congress Center to Georgia Tech to Atlantic Station then into Midtown would be a fun transportation idea. I know those things rarely amount to much more than a government funded tourist attraction though... Maybe one of these years...

HGTV Debut

So Randy and I had our HGTV debut last Sunday. I was happy with the segment - we didn't look too hokey. However, those who know us and our house pretty well know that some elements they included in the show aren't really important, most notably the book return. It's merely sitting in the back yard by our shed and is basically a hunk o' junk to us. Oh well.

Also, I have to say they did decide to include some moments which need explaining - most notably when I was trying to play piano. That was something I was loathe to do in the first place. I very very rarely even try to play piano, much less on camera. Nonetheless, a more appropriate phrase would have been "I don't remember how to play this piece of music" instead of the dumbfounded "I forgot what I was playing!" Sheesh! Oh well.

A coworker made a DVD of the episode. I'm going to try to make an mpeg (or something) of our segment. We'll see. :)

Oh, also, I say it's our HGTV debut because we have had a few occasions of "stardom" in our lives... I was on CNN's Talk Back Live years ago with a preacher who was campaigning against gays in our (his) neighborhood. The same storm brought us a few spots on the local news channels as well. Celebs - not - heh.