Cape to Milan

Every Spring, the Atlanta Preservation Society hosts Phoenix Flies, a series of events to showcase the city’s historic neighborhoods and buildings. We checked out a couple of the tours.

Castleberry Hill

Just a few blocks from the blight of south downtown lies Castleberry Hill, a historically industrial area that’s turned into Atlanta’s fine art district.

We got to check out how some of the buildings look on the inside, such as this art gallery called The Granite Room:

Although most of the buildings have been converted into galleries, bars, and lofts, strict zoning regulations have kept the neighborhood’s gritty industrial roots in plain sight. It’s still not hard to imagine this area in a different time.

From the northern end of the neighborhood, you get a great view of downtown Atlanta as well as the railroads that made this city what it is.

Midtown

Filled with condo towers like these, Midtown, the neighborhood I call home is usually not thought of as a Historic District:

But a tour of the area shows some really cool old buildings.

The 1911 Georgian Terrace Hotel on Peachtree Street was the site of the Gone With the Wind premier ball.

St. Marks Church, 1902, on Peachtree Street

The former Biltmore Hotel on West Peachtree Street. After closing in the 80s, it was converted into offices.

The Crum & Forster Building on Spring Street, which Georgia Tech has been in a battle to demolish for several years now.