Air Apparent

Somebody needs a hug this morning.

Top 10 List

This week Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood announced the 10 worst bottleneck intersections in the city....drum roll please...

#10 Piedmont/Roswell at Habersham/Piedmont/Old Ivy
#9 Piedmont at Peachtree

#8 Monroe at Piedmont
#7 Marietta Bolton at Atlanta Road
#6 Howell Mill at Chattahoochee
#5 Haberham at West Paces
#4 Collier Road at Peachtree
#3 Collier Road at Howell Mill
#2 Cascade Road at I-285

...and the #1 bottleneck intersection in the city is...

#1 Briarcliff at Ponce de Leon
(probably thanks to our buddy Willy Terry)

*(n = 1000, for all you nerdy types)

Good Friday Mass

The last Friday of the month Critical Mass meets at Woodruff Park downtown and rides the streets of Atlanta (the route is always "creative" but more often than not, proceeds down/up Ponce) to increase bicycle visibility and to create a stronger community that promotes alternative transportation.

The next one is set for Friday, August 31, 2007, 6:30 PM.

Thanks MDM!

Random...

...act of freakiness

Toldja So...

ISIOP called it back in April (and, technically, that's a Poncey High address and was most recently a Storehouse Furniture store, Lisa)

"Urban Outfitters is opening its second Atlanta location, in a well-known Virginia-Highland store.

Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters Inc. (Nasdaq: URBN), which sells trendy men's and women's apparel, accessories and footwear, is taking the 14,000-square-foot space at Ponce de Leon and North Highland avenues at the former MarketOne gourmet food site."

Atlanta Business Chronicle - August 17, 2007
Lisa R. Schoolcraft

Kiss 'n Ride

Some amorous "commuters" on Ponce this morning.

Politician Rear-Ended (and not in a good way)

An off-duty MARTA bus rear-ended Rep. Karla Drenner's car Saturday afternoon, while she and her communications director (Dolly Purvis) were sitting at a red light on East Ponce (between DeKalb Farmers Market and MARTA's Laredo Drive bus garage).

No serious injuries were reported and damage to the car and bus was minor.

The funny part is that Drenner declined to comment on the incident and deferred to Purvis (the communications director, haha, get it?) SHOTGUN!

You'd Better Pack a Lunch

Deacon Lunchbox (Tim Ruttenber) was known in Atlanta from his crazy nights at Tortilla's on Ponce, where at midnight the eatery was called "the Mudd Shack," a coffeehouse for underground performance artists who just didn't fit into the local rock clubs.

Deacon was a gentle giant, larger than life but as kind as a saint. He was a brazen and scary loudmouth on stage, but a caring, soft-spoken friend in real life. He delivered his impassioned rants while banging on an old metal torpedo and wearing fake breasts, but his message was deep and intelligent. He was a bona fide Southerner who refused to conform to the standard signifiers of ignorance, isolationism or prejudice. Somehow he managed to maintain a balance and sense of congruence between his personalities.

Deacon was a force of nature, more than 6 feet tall, burly, with a thick, red beard and a voice that rattled the windows. "He was one of the most important artists in Atlanta during a period of unparalleled progressive activity," says writer Doug Deloach. "At its best, his work evoked the soul-stirring, madcap, outlaw Southern identity of which he was so profoundly proud. He was fearless; as a result, he emboldened and inspired.

Sadly, we lost Deacon at the age of 41, along with Jody Grind members Robert Hayes and Rob Clayton, in a tragic auto accident on Easter Sunday in 1992. But they have never been forgotten.

"Life is an illusion, so you might as well make it a good one." --Deacon Lunchbox

Hotels.com

Caption from the reverse of this classic post card:

"The Georgian Terrace Hotel and The Ponce De Leon Apartments, Atlanta, GA. The Georgia Terrace Hotel and Ponce de Leon Apartments at Peachtree and Ponce de Leon Avenue, are among Atlanta's finest. There are one hundred and one hotels and restaurants in Atlanta, providing ample accomodations for visitors"

The Georgian Terrace Hotel opened to the public on
Monday, October 2, 1911

More recent estimates have Atlanta at more than 12,000 restaurants and fourth in the U.S. in the number of hotel rooms (75,000+).

Size queens rejoice!

Un-Orthodox

Here's a pic of the demolished St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church at Ponce and East Lake Road (from ISIOP's friend, Brian B.)

"Ponce is a bit of a Byzantine corridor with both St. Elias and an Ethiopian Orthodox church currently at Ponce and Briarcliff. Then there's St. John Chrysostom Melkite--an Eastern Rite Catholic Church. That's basically an orthodox church that swears allegiance to the pope and gets to keep their ancient Eastern ways. It's a schism-straddling compromise." -Brian B.

Be sure to check out more of Brian's quick wit at the Self-Abasement Tapes .

Breakfast of Champions

Mmm...The Majestic

Unicorns Are HOT

I was reminded by a friend recently that I haven't been to the Drunken Unicorn in a while , which began a stream of emails and web searches that uncovered that the whole world has, in fact, gone to the unicorns.

Upside Down You Turn Me

As seen at the Exxon station at Ponce and Moreland
(remember this is the "good" Exxon--if there is such a thing)

Fender Bender Video

It doesn't really go anywhere, but it was on Ponce...

The Softer Side of Sears

This picture of Linda T. Weller is about a year after her employment with Sears on Ponce (circa 1940). She was a clerk/typist at Sears and is the aunt whom Jeannie (of South Side Atlanta Memories) often writes about in her blog.

Special Thanks to Jeannie for sharing her “Ponce memories” with us.

The D-List Is Coming

Alert "the Gays" (as if they didn't already know) that the Queen of the D-List will be in town (and on Ponce) in just two short weeks.

Kathy Griffin
The Fabulous Fox Theatre
Fri, Aug 17, 2007 08:00 PM

(OK, so the address is technically "Peachtree", but the Fox borders Ponce...so "shut it!" to any of you nay-sayers).

Given Kathy's love of bloggers and media attention, maybe we can get her to share a lap dance with us at the Clermont Lounge while she's in town. That'd surely make the tabloids! (and don't call me Shirley).

Reggae Pub?

Here's a pic of Marley's, at 515 Ponce (next to the Shell station). Compliments of our friend the Post Pessimist.

We can't, for the life of us, remember Marley's ever being open, though it still has a little wooden sign in the window and some Googling seems to indicate that it was once a music venue.

Does anyone out there know the story on this place?

And here's a link to some of Post Pessimist's other adventures on Ponce (Oh, the Clermont!)

He Went That-A-Way

Another great shot from the lens of ISIOP's friend,
Michael David Murphy

Read and Seed

The Ponce de Leon Branch library is partnering with Atkins Park Association, Virginia Highland Association, Virginia Highland and the Morningside Parents Association to start its very first Organic Garden at the library.

All of the produce harvested will be donated to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

If you would like to volunteer or learn more about the library, stop by 980 Ponce de Leon Ave, call 404-885-7820, or email emanuel.mitchell@co.fulton.ga.us