Moira Bucciarelli reminds us about the city’s new audio walking tour (mp3), which was mentioned in January’s Decatur Focus (pdf).  Here’s the Focus blurb, transcribed by Moira…

Are you interested in taking a 20-minute self-guided walking tour of downtown Decatur? Download Decatur’s audio tour from www.decaturga.com to your MP3 player, put on your favorite walking shoes and go. The tour begins at City Hall and ends at the old train depot.

The tour features some of Decatur’s history along with Lyn Menne’s observations about the city’s current growth and development. It also includes local musicians (the Dappled Grays and the Stonehouse Posse) and residents, and is narrated by David Hirt. Many thanks to Daren Wang for facilitating the process and to Moira Bucciarelli for putting it together. If you have ideas for other tours, please submit them to linda.harris@decaturga.com.

Honestly, it’s a very enjoyable and interesting tour, for old and new alike.

Next Stop…Decatur has a great pic of Decatur’s welcome sign at the intersection of Ponce de Leon Ave and Scott Boulevard circa 1950.

Looks like Decatur was all about cursive lettering and the Rotary Club back in the day!

Executive Director of the DeKalb History Center, Melissa Forgey, sends along this announcement…

The DeKalb History Center will host a new Temporary Exhibit on the historic Mt. Zion Community. This project has been a focus for students from the Arbor Montessori School for several years and builds on their work and oral interviews of residents from this community. The DeKalb History Center also received assistance from Commissioner Jeff Rader to conduct research in the community.

The Mt. Zion community is a small African-American enclave located on the northeast side of LaVista Road, and was settled in the 1800s. During the 20th century, the community changed from family farms to a suburban landscape which caused a large portion of the community’s African-American population to move away in the 1940s and 50s and then again in the 1980s and 90s. The community remained close-knit during these times of change and retains its cultural heritage today.

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What can the ranch house teach us?

That question, presented to a historian, architect, or planner will garner three (or more!) very different responses.

• Its long and low form is a direct result of its suburban environment.
• Its interior spaces document the American family’s desire for larger interior spaces.
• The ranch’s simplified architectural style, evolved loosely from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style, speaks to the growing desire in the mid-20th century to keep the cost of construction down .

On Wednesday, March 24th at noon, the DeKalb History Center will dedicate an entire Lunch & Learn on one of the most controversial, yet wide-spread house types/styles of the last century: the Ranch House.

All details after the jump!  So jump!

Photo of a “typical ranch house in Belvedere Park” courtesy of the DeKalb History Center

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OK, let’s do this thing!

In January, we first learned that the Brick Store Pub had been named the #2 beer bar by Beer Advocate, that Mayor Floyd was 1 of 100 most influential Georgians, that APD messed up the details in the Standard shooting, that the DeKalb Farmer’s Market was no longer accepting ANY returns (enjoy that smelly shrimp!), I worried about the end of newsprint, the city gave up on any large-scale annexation plans for at least 3 years, Daren Wang and friends launched Agnes Writes after cutbacks at Margaret Mitchell, and a fire destroyed Trackside and 5th Earl.

In February, Daren Wang proposed an auction of Leon’s first pint to help Trackside and 5th Earl fire victims and it went for a jaw-dropping $2,650, we celebrated Atlanta Time Machine, we worried about an armed robbery in Oakhurst, we worried about Atlanta’s economic future, we smirked as annexation brought neighborhoods outside Decatur together, we talked about how much trash we put out every week, we had our first of many zombie invasions, I implemented threaded comments on DM, we marvelled at 335 W. Ponce’s plastic bag art, Duany dissed Decatur, and Decatur’s Wi-Fi was “completed“.

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Due to its sheer size, it’s taking the city some time to get the recently completed Historic Resources Survey up on its website.  So until that time, I’m providing it here in full for your perusal. Just be aware, it’s a big ol’ PDF file.

Beyond the sections of wonk-ish methodology, the report also offers a lot of info that could be of interest to any city resident.  Like what?  Like parcel-level maps and summations of Decatur’s many existing and potential historic areas, (Is your home “historic”?  Check the maps!) along with a developmental history of Decatur and a list of the city’s “landmark buildings”.

The map above indicates all the districts in the city that – by the strict 50-year rule definition – could be deemed historic at the national or local level in bluish green.  Existing local and national historic districts are in red.  Decatur has so much historic residential, it’s actually easier to summarize the large non-historic areas:  the now urban-renewal showcase that was once “Beacon Hill”, the Decatur Cemetery, East Decatur Station and Decatur Heights.  See?

I’ve included full list of “landmark” buildings after the jump.  And because I’m such a nice guy, I’ve even provided direct links to visuals of every building on the list via Google Streetview.  (Make sure to check out 303 Fifth Ave.  I never knew that house even existed and it’s freakin’ awesome!)

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At last night’s city commission meeting, the commission accepted a detailed Historic Resources Survey of Decatur (page 15 of pdf), compiled by Keystone Preservation Associates and Morrison Design, LLC.

At a cost of $35,000, the months-long survey, which documented every single parcel within the city limits, was one of the outcomes of the ugly clash between residents, city boards, cats and dogs over a proposed Oakhurst Historic District in 2007.  Among the many aspects of the initiative that confused and angered all parties was a lack of information on historic inventory within the neighborhood.

So the city ponied up the dough and funded an extensive survey that documented the entire city.  According to a letter to the commission by Planning Director Amanda Thompson…

This report will help the city move forward with several long term preservation goals including awareness and appreciation of Decatur’s historic resources by making the survey results available online and determining a timeline and cost proposal for creation of National Register listings.  We will also use the report to explore the world of heritage tourism and if that is a market the city is interested in pursuing.

Missing from the city’s stated goals is any mention of the creation of any additional local historic districts, which is the only way to physically regulate design in a neighborhood. (National Register status mainly provides tax incentives to residents to rehab property and creates red-tape for federal government-funded development)

That said, a portion of the survey was included among last night’s meeting materials and identifies 13 neighborhoods inside the city limits that would be eligible for some form of historic designation.  They are… Read the rest of this entry »

Why does it sometimes seem like Pulitzer Prize-winning authors can slip in and out of Decatur without notice?

For instance, tonight one of the modern era’s greatest historians, Gordon Wood, will be at the Decatur Library discussing his new book “Empire of Liberty” and without the note from InDecatur I would have never known about it!

I guess that can be one of the unsolved problems with “niche media”.  Without a single source, it can be hard to stay on top of stuff you have a casual interest in…especially when you think you’re already on top of it!

But worry not.  I’ve learned my lesson and joined the Georgia Center for the Book’s email list.

The DeKalb History Center arranges it so you don’t have to engage in any breaking-and-entering to see the inside of one of Decatur’s most cherished downtown buildings.  However, you gotta make a reservation!

Have you always wanted to peek inside the Pythagoras Masonic Lodge in downtown Decatur? Here is your chance! Join the DeKalb History Center for a rare opportunity to tour the interior of this historic Lodge designed by architect William Sayward and learn about the building and the Mason’s history in Decatur.

Location: 108 E. Ponce de Leon Ave, Decatur, Georgia 30030.

November 18, 2009 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Members: Free / Non-Members: $5.00

Reservations Required

A bustling European city?  Nope.

Downtown Atlanta (Decatur St @ Peachtree) – April 12, 1948.

I was originally looking for some cool historic pics of Decatur (a la Next Stop), however this one was just too interesting to pass up!  (Look at all the folks out on the sidewalks!  Is that a diner in the lower-right corner?  Is Burger Beer made from fermented meat?!)

Photograph from GSU’s most excellent Lane Brothers and Tracy O’Neal Collections.  Definitely more of these to come.