Buckhead-Atlanta's "Twin" City

[Velvetj]

Lovely. Buckhead is my favorite Atlanta skyline.

[Labtec]

Originally Posted by QuantumX

What are the heights of the three tallest buildings in this last photo?

3344 Peachtree (Soverign) = 635 ft
The Mansion on Peachtree = 580 ft
Terminus 100 = 485 ft

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by Labtec

3344 Peachtree (Soverign) = 635 ft
The Mansion on Peachtree = 580 ft
Terminus 100 = 485 ft

Thanks! Because when I look at a tally of all of Atlanta's tall buildings, I'm not sure what is where. Buckhead is essentially uptown Atlanta then, as far as I can tell. I would love to see buildings over 500 feet tall lining Peachtree all the way up to Buckhead.

[simms3]

It comes pretty close. I don't want to/can't pull up Lsyd's aerial photo, but not only are there 7 500 ft.+ towers in Downtown, there are 2 just north of downtown between downtown and midtown, an additional 5 over 500ft. in Midtown, 2 in Buckhead, and several buildings over 400 ft. and close to 500 ft. between Buckhead and Midtown. If you lower the height to 400 ft. there is a pretty extended line running up Peachtree from downtown to Buckhead.

Atlanta did not see a boom to near the scale Miami did, and Atlanta's skyline is so stretched out, but driving Peachtree from downtown to Buckhead is becoming quite like a 6 mile canyon with gaps here and there.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by simms3

It comes pretty close. I don't want to/can't pull up Lsyd's aerial photo, but not only are there 7 500 ft.+ towers in Downtown, there are 2 just north of downtown between downtown and midtown, an additional 5 over 500ft. in Midtown, 2 in Buckhead, and several buildings over 400 ft. and close to 500 ft. between Buckhead and Midtown. If you lower the height to 400 ft. there is a pretty extended line running up Peachtree from downtown to Buckhead.

Atlanta did not see a boom to near the scale Miami did, and Atlanta's skyline is so stretched out, but driving Peachtree from downtown to Buckhead is becoming quite like a 6 mile canyon with gaps here and there.

I copied Lsyd's photo with his permission anyway and have it in my files. I love looking at it. It is a stunning picture.

[BronchoKyle]

Originally Posted by LSyd

how does Opulence live in so many cities?

-

[desertpunk]

2011

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarondavidson/

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarondavidson/

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarondavidson/

[pimpsquad27]

[hannah_banana]

Beautiful.

[simms3]

Originally Posted by pimpsquad27

Ha I took the last two and posted them a while back. Funny how pictures float around so easily but I'm honored that they are good enough to do so

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by simms3

It comes pretty close. I don't want to/can't pull up Lsyd's aerial photo, but not only are there 7 500 ft.+ towers in Downtown, there are 2 just north of downtown between downtown and midtown, an additional 5 over 500ft. in Midtown, 2 in Buckhead, and several buildings over 400 ft. and close to 500 ft. between Buckhead and Midtown. If you lower the height to 400 ft. there is a pretty extended line running up Peachtree from downtown to Buckhead.

Atlanta did not see a boom to near the scale Miami did, and Atlanta's skyline is so stretched out, but driving Peachtree from downtown to Buckhead is becoming quite like a 6 mile canyon with gaps here and there.

If tall skyscrapers qualifies greatness, then here is the proper order of things:

1) New York City
2) Toronto
3) Chicago
4) Miami
5) Atlanta
6) Houston
7) Dallas

[mrmocha413]

I've been to the ATL three times and it gets more enticing for me to want to move. I love where I am in the NY/NJ Metro Area but I think Atlanta offers about the same experiences that I can find in say Jersey City, Hoboken or parts of NYC. Buckhead's skyline is nice, can anyone tell me what a mid 20's bachelor could expect from living there?

[simms3]

Live in Midtown. Midtown will be the first area in the South to really resemble NYC, Boston, Philly, Chicago, or San Fran. This is my opinion and it is grounded in a bit of reality.

Buckhead is not truly walkable, but Midtown is. Midtown is also just as nice of an area as the Buckhead business district, but it is more compact and more walkable. Just look into it.

I live in Midtown and work in Buckhead. I work in a 3 tower development with shops and restaurants and services and an art gallery on the ground floor abutting the street and a covered courtyard, BUT across the street from me on either side are two strip malls. In Midtown you would not find a strip mall. ALL retail and restaurants and services are either in ground floor or in rehabbed buildings.

Also, Midtown is the hub of nightlife, gay life, and urban street life in Atlanta. It is situated around Piedmont Park, the best park in the South, and it is served by 3 MARTA stations. The museums are in Midtown, many of the good restaurants are, and the real estate market in Midtown is one of the strongest in Atlanta (about on par with Buckhead across all asset classes).

I predict that by 2020, Peachtree Street in Midtown will resemble to a degree the Magnificent Mile in 1990. We are 30 years behind Chicago, but we are catching up fast. Sorry to Dallas and Houston and while their metros are more urban than Atlanta's and while they are larger than Atlanta, their "cities" are not nearly as urban as Atlanta. And who cares about the suburbs right? Atlanta is fast turning into a real city. If you want to experience the transformation, experience it in Midtown, not Buckhead.

Downtown is on the rise, too, and is pretty darn urban and dense in areas, but can still be a bit sketchy for living (and I know plenty of people do, but I don't know if I'm up for that).

[mrmocha413]

Thanks so much for your insight, though I first need to find a job down there! I'm a graduate student who's had bad luck! I'd love to be part of that transformation, maybe once I get my Transportation Engineering degree I'll try to help out the city's infrastructure to help bolster its growth spurt. MARTA would be a dream company to work for. I agree with your viewpoint on Dallas and Houston, Texas cities lack personality, they're so cookie-cutter. Atlanta has its own soul and vibe, just like the Northern cities (Chicago, NYC, Boston, Philly) but with tad bit more charm thanks to its location in the South!

[RaiderATO]

Originally Posted by mrmocha413

MARTA would be a dream company to work for.

That's a good one!

[mrmocha413]

Originally Posted by RaiderATO

That's a good one!

From a study I had to conduct you can laugh all you want but its not the authority's fault that their ambitious plans keep getting shot down. I'd work for MARTA because I love trains and geeky shit associated with them. Also, random I know but a light rail line through the Buckhead area along Piedmont and Peachtree towards Midtown and Downtown would definitely spur some good growth once the economy picks up.

[krazeeboi]

Originally Posted by simms3

2) People ignorantly say that Atlanta is all that GA has, but for mid-sized cities, Columbus is actually a little powerhouse (though Synovus is about to be bought). Also, Savannah's port competes with Houston's, LA's, and NY-NJ's in terms of tonnage and container traffic. Walmart's big big big NA distribution center is right outside of Savannah. Get it? Athens is also home to UGA, which is a highly rated, old, traditional, and quite large university. Rural GA is home to America's #2 timber industry behind the state of WA. All of the timber hedge funds are based in either Jacksonville or Atlanta or Seattle. Timber is huge as I'm sure you, the expert, know.

I think what people mean when they say that Atlanta is all that Georgia has is that Georgia has one tier one city and then a really huge gap until you get to the next largest metro (Augusta) which is ten times smaller than Atlanta. In terms of major metros it's a true statement, but most people at least recognize Savannah for the special place that it is. Other than that, the other metros are pretty middle-of-the-pack when compared with their regional peers.

[ScraperDude]

Since Buckhead is further north than midtown, how far away can the skyline be seen from the north?
Like how far at ground level and how far away on some of the foothill peaks?

[simms3]

Originally Posted by ScraperDude

Since Buckhead is further north than midtown, how far away can the skyline be seen from the north?
Like how far at ground level and how far away on some of the foothill peaks?

I'm sure if there were fewer trees and hills it could be seen from pretty far away considering that there are several buildings in Buckhead of between 500 and 700 feet (which is tall). I personally don't know about the foothill peaks, but the furthest I have seen Buckhead is on I-85 in Gwinnett County around the town of Duluth (perhaps 10-15 miles away). I can tell you that even as a resident who recognizes his own skyline, I have confused Buckhead with Midtown/Downtown on a couple of occasions, and then shortly later realized it was just Buckhead. Atlanta's skylines are concealed by hills and trees, and they pop out at you unexpectedly. From a distance they kind of look similar.

Originally Posted by Mister Nifty

I'm thinking in terms of regional centers.

They are both convention centers.
In comparison to the Dallas Market Center, how does Atlanta rate as a market center?


But this thread is about Buckhead. Is it well planned? Does Atlanta have any Bohemian development like Houston? Houston retail is interesting because of the fact it has no zoning. They need to pass a law against shooting guns in the stip joints located next to the churches however. We Texans hold great reverence for both of these wonderful types of institutions.

I honestly did not know Dallas was a large convention center or that it had a mart. After some research into it, and viewing the marts on Google Earth/Bing, they appear to be a few miles from the city on the Stemmons Freeway, surrounded by parking lots and near the Renaissance Dallas and Anatole. About 5 million square feet in all. Atlanta's marts are downtown and consist of 7.9 million square feet in compact 8-20 floor buildings (parking underground). Dallas convention center is about 2 million square feet, GWCC in Atlanta is 3.9 million SF and is the 4th largest in the country. Dallas has a few big hotels downtown, Atlanta ranks only behind NYC, Las Vegas, and Orlando for convention hotel space, which is also much more convenient to the convention center and to the marts, being that they are all connected (and by rail obviously, but so is Dallas CC).

Buckhead is not well planned at all, but it has one area that is walkable that is redeveloping (and filled with great restaurants). They are making do with the horrible planning they do have, but it will never be a walkable urban environment like Midtown/Downtown.

And what do you mean by Bohemian development? Development without rules like Houston? No, Houston is notoriously alone in that department. Bohemian areas? Yea, Atlanta has some long time hippie compounds and counter-culture areas. I'd say big time. Atlanta has long been an "intellectual" city with a liberal culture, and as such there are large areas where free-lifes can be at home. Midtown actually used to be that way, but is now totally different.

[QuantumX]

Originally Posted by simms3

If there are two cities I am growing tired of, they are Dallas (never was fond from the get go and you only make me wish that city never existed), and Miami (only because the southern photo thread has been hijacked by Quantum X's Miami pictures and that annoys the shit out of me considering there is nothing southern about Miami).

Which Southern photo thread are you referring to?