Ah, The High Line. After years of following this project, from the fight to save it to the competition to the completion of part one, I FINALLY got to set foot on it! I’m so happy. This design is so genius, it might just be my favorite landscape architecture project of all time. In fact, at the moment, I can’t even remember what my old favorite was, isn’t that terrible?

What’s so great about The High Line? Where to begin? I loved looking down on it from the 16th floor of The Standard. I loved seeing it from the street and thinking “I have GOT to get up there pronto!” I loved experiencing the city from that level, at eye-level with billboards, elevated cars, seeing building facades from a different height. I loved that at first glance one might be fooled into thinking the plantings were wild, but then upon seeing them seeing that they were carefully curated and that unseen maintenance was occurring. I loved all the different options for seating – some amphitheater style, some bistro tables, some lovely benches, some in the middle of a small grove.

I loved the mix of materials and the overall railroad industrial aesthetic, and I especially loved the metal tracks that remained and reminded visitors what the history of this place was all about – better yet, I loved where the tracks veered off on little side exits into brick walls, which reminded me of the entire industrial system that used to exist – the rail cargo having a direct entrance into the factory buildings. When we all try to be greener, we should think of this true door-to-door delivery where a product could go from the source to the destination in one trip.

Another thing that’s so interesting is that at one point in urban planning, skywalks were installed everywhere. This move was later blamed for the demise of street life in these areas. Conversely, the elevated public space of The High Line has made the neighborhood even more desirable and drawn even more business down at the street level on up. I’m nuts for this project. If you are too, you should become a friend of The High Line.

I haven’t, but I’m dying to! What did you think?

I’m a huge fan of Bill Cunningham, and he has a charming video here about the fashions he’s seeing on The High Line.

Speaking of fashion, check out the High Line Merch here. I love the Trina Turk green and white print hat:

Keep up with High Line news over at The High Line Blog and the ever-growing Friends of The High Line flickr group pool. This shot is from flickr member ljpsf.

top two photos from thehighline.org

As I navigated my way throught the treacherous sidewalks of Candler Park (I’m talking tree roots messing up the concrete, not criminal danger!), I stumbled upon this charming little planter. Don’t you just love coming across something unexpected like this? It’s such a great representation of that neighborhood – full of funky, cute bungalows and cool, fun, diverse, creative people that live in them.

Wow, when you go to look at a $1.3 million dollar house, would this really grab you? I laughed so hard when I saw the sign go up by my worst nightmare, the latest McMansion on the block. At the time, the mud was still covered in hay and and the trash that the workers just tossed there every day – fast food wrappers and bottles blanketed the site. The kind of house that is ruining the Virginia-Highlands and all of its charm. The kind of house that calls itself “Craftsman” and actually represents the opposite of what the Arts and Crafts movement was all about. The kind of house that makes me wonder why there are such ridiculous zoning regulations in Atlanta and why there is not any sort of preservation ordinance in our historic neighborhoods. $1.3 million in this market? No one even got that when the market was good. Good luck with that!

Saturday I hit The East Atlanta Strut with a few friends and it was such a great festival. The temperature was below 100 degrees, it wasn’t too crowded, and most of the art was affordable. There was something for everyone, from Sweetwater Blueberry Beer to a Midway Sangria, which is basically a big glass of vodka with some berries in it. I walked out a little more poor after not being able to resist a painting from Athlone Clarke. I barely got away from snapping up items from LoveAlison, Yoshimi Hosoda, and Cuyler Hovey-King. Had some of them been able to take credit cards, the damage would have been much worse. I thought I’d share a few shots of the action with you:

I love that this artist drives his bottlecap-covered pickup to the show with the art in the back, and then uses it as his display area.

Mary’s is just so much fun – it’s a gay karaoke bar. Those two eight foot tall green dudes were ALL over the festival. Right after I took this shot, Green God #1′s aluminum bowl boob fell out onto the street.

Ah, it’s a major award, or something like that. Does a leg lamp ever go out of style?

East Atlanta is a great neighborhood chock full of 1920′s and 1930′s bungalows and sweet Victorian houses on postage stamp lots. It is a great example of “old urbanism,” because everything is walkable. The neighborhood is still somewhat affordable, has a good music scene and great bars and restaurants, and it even has a flatiron building of its very own. What’s not to like?

flatiron building photo by flickr member quincunx