High's Sky Bridge & Midtown Skyline

I've shared with you before the I love bridges. The Sky Bridge at the High Museum of Art is another sort of bridge, but I totally love it for the vistas it offers.

View from the Sky Bridge at the High Museum of Art

From the Sky Bridge looking south, you have a brilliant view of 1180 Peachtree (Symphony Tower, left) and Promenade II. Both are stunning buildings.

Keep your cameras at the ready...you'll have some amazing vacation photos if you do.

ATLANTApix: Different View? Look Up!

Promenade II

One of the things that I love about Atlanta architecture, much like its skyline, is that it offers many unique and interesting views. I mean, just walk half a block, drive around the corner, or walk up to the base of the building and you're looking at something totally different...and probably even more impressive.

The stainless steel "fins" on top of the Promenade II building, in the heart of Midtown, are a spectacular design element. During the day they give a depth of field that teases one's visual perception, but in a fun way. At night, they're absolutely brilliant and offer a glowing 3D effect that pronounces the outline of the ziggurat-like tapering spire.

While I'm writing about tourist attractions all over the city, anytime I need an architecture fix, I just pop over to Architecture Tourist, the wildly popular architecture blog authored by my buddy Terry Kearns. He always, always provides an interesting look at our city's architectural marvels.

So, when you're making your vacation photos, remember to look around and take more than one photo of the subjects that interest you (so much easier with digital cameras and phone cameras!). Look behind you, look right and left, look up...you'll be surprised at some of the great shots you'll get.

ATLANTApix and ATLANTAvidz of the tourATLANTA blog features a daily photo or video relative to Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Four Seasons

Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta

Atlanta's only five star, four diamond hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta, stands proudly in the Midtown skyline. The hotel occupies the first 30 of 53 floors in the building with the remaining floors allocated for residential condominimums. Guest rooms and suites occupy the 5th through the 19th floor, including the 2,200 square foot Presidential Suite.

When originally completed in 1992, the building was known as the GLG Grand (for Swedish developer, G. Lars Gullstedt). Before being acquired by the Four Seasons, it was known as the Occidental Grand for a period of time.

The building's design is neoclassical with a facade of rose and pink granite. The building's interior is decorated in yellow, gold, and cinnamon colors, and the main lobby features a Baccarat chandelier.

In this photo, the Four Seasons is center, flanked by the Promenade II (left) and the 1180 Peachtree (right).

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Promenade II

Promenade II

I've learned a lot about Atlanta architecture since starting tourATLANTA. For instance, the Promenade II building (photo) is one of what was supposed to be three identical buildings, of differing heights, in the Midtown skyline. The other two were not built because of the collapsing economy. Promenade II, completed in 1990, is at Peachtree and 15th Streets.

Another point, vastly more important, is that building height doesn't necessarily translate into number of floors. At 691 feet, the Promenade II comes in at only 38 floors. Its fins at the top, dramatically lit at night (time stamp 1:57), make it a distinguished landmark in the Atlanta nighttime skyline...actually, it was built on a diagonal to emphasize its place in the skyline and to give it tenants optimal views of downtown Atlanta.

I love this particular photograph for its demonstration of Atlanta truly being a "city of glass"...the building being reflected is its neighbor, One Atlantic Center. Both buildings have former names...Promenade II was once called the AT&T Building and One Atlantic Center was originally known as the IBM Tower.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: Olympia

"Olympia"
(sculpture at Promenade II)

Atlanta is indeed a land of discovery. Beyond the magnolia trees, around every corner, in every neighborhood, below the majestic skyline, and in skyscraper courtyards are all sorts of treasures to be found. At the base of the Promenade II is "Olympia."

Created by (Albert) Paley Studios, Ltd. of Rochester, New York, in 1990, Olympia stands 30 feet tall and is fashioned of steel and polychrome. 

What's polychrome, you ask? I'm glad you did.

From Greek (as is the sculpture's name), polychrome translates as "many" and "color." You can see from the photograph, Olympia is indeed sporting many (vibrant) colors. I lived in Greece for more than two years and still remember a bit of the language, to my great surprise.

The Promenade II courtyard is but a brief detour on any Midtown Atlanta walking tour and is an excellent spot to make some great photographs of neighboring skyscrapers.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!

ATLANTApix: City of Glass

1180 Peachtree reflecting Promenade II

I moved from Atlanta, after 15 years, to live in Washington, D.C., for almost nine years. Upon my return, I discovered that Atlanta had become a city of glass. More skyscrapers than I could have imagined (mostly glass) were put up while I was away from home, including the entire mini-city of Atlantic Station.


The glass facades make for some fun and interesting photography. This photograph of 1180 Peachtree (Symphony Tower), a 41-story office building completed in 2006, shows a reflection of its neighbor, the Promenade II, a 38-story office building completed in 1990. Both are in Upper Midtown.

ATLANTApix of the tourATLANTA blog features a "photo-of-the-day" of Atlanta. Come back tomorrow for a new one!