Sunrise of Edgewood

Photo by me, November 2013

Walking along the streets of the Old Fourth Ward you can see any number of murals with a variety of styles and messages. This one called The Sunrise of Edgewood by Gaia and Nanook is the most vivid and eye catching. The mural arrests your attention and since it faces an open gravel lot you can easily see and admire it walking east on Edgewood. The mural was commissioned by Living Walls and was produced in 2012. The man's face in the mural is aptly round and has a warm orange and red tone mimicking that of the sunrise. The day I went to view it was a cloudy Fall day and it had the effect of brightening up the neighborhood.

Gaia is based in New York and has painted dozens of murals around the world. Nanook is based in Baltimore and has a portfolio of murals as unique and colorful in locations around the globe too.

The Grant Park Overlook

August 11, 2013

Left to decay on property leased to zoo Atlanta is this wonderful brick and granite overlook in Grant Park. It is a shame that the zoo is allowed to let this decay into the past with no maintenance as this structure belongs to the citizens of Atlanta. If the zoo is fencing the area off and leasing city owned property it should be required to care for this overlook and maintain it in the event that in the future the area is returned to the public. This was once the main entrance to the park from Cherokee Avenue and you could stand on the overlook and view what was Lake Abana. However today, you would hardly even know it exists underneath the vines, weeds and trees taking it over.

Photo by me, August 2013

As you can see the zoo it allowing nature to run wild over it with weeds and even trees are growing out of it. The overlook sits at the intersection of Cherokee Avenue and Ormond Street behind the Erskine Fountain which was moved to this entrance of the park in 1912. I see no reason for the public to not be allowed to walk out on the overlook even if the view is not the same. The zoo is not using it and only neglecting it so why not open it back up to the public? Visitors to the neighborhood and park could utilize the space and the city could maintain it.

Photo by me, August 2013

Before too long this piece of Atlanta's history will not be able to be saved. Grant Park, which is Atlanta's oldest park, seems to get neglected. It is odd that Piedmont Park gets so much attention and care but not so for Grant Park. In doing some reading it seems the overlook was sealed off from public use some time between 1988 to 1997. Since then it has been left abandoned and abused.

Grant Park Master Plan 2008

In a master plan that I found on the website for the Grant Park Neighborhood Association it calls for the re-opening and restoration of the overlook for public usage. It is nice to see that others are also interested in seeing this saved and opened back up for public use. Yet, that was five years ago and nothing has happened.

Finding Miss Daisy

Photo by me, November 2013

High on a hillside in Crest Lawn Cemetery in the Bolton neighborhood of Atlanta rests a woman who became posthumously famous. It's well known that Driving Miss Daisy is set and filmed in Atlanta and is based on a true story. The main female character is played by Jessica Tandy in the movie version based on the 1987 play by Alfred Uhry. That character is based on the grandmother of Uhry, Lena Fox. Other than what you see in the movie very little is known about Lena Fox, she lived in a time before the internet existed and she wasn't famous when she was alive so that is to be expected.

Photo by me, November 2013

She did live a long life, that much is known, she died five months before her 96th birthday. Her actual house, not the one used in the movie for filming, is at 1284 Fairview Road in Druid Hills and is for sale. The Lullwater Road house used for filming the movie also has been up for sale in 2013 for roughly two million dollars.

Photo by me, November 2013

She is buried alongside her husband, Alfred. He died at the young age of 55.

Nobody

Photo by me, November 2013

Of all the murals I've seen this year the Nobody mural in Castleberry Hill by Axel Void is my favorite. From looking through his other works he seems to do mostly a dark theme or style in his imagery. Nobody seems to go along with the darkness too, from his choice of colors to having the boy missing an eye. The boy could have his eye closed I suppose but for me it appears to be entirely missing. The mural was commissioned by Living Walls in 2013.