Curbed has named The Phoenix Flies the “Best Celebration of the Historic Built Environment.” Curbed is a website that covers urban centers, reporting on real estate.

According to the blog post “The mission, thoughtful planning and incredible amount of work that goes into The Phoenix Flies- all for the benefit of the city and its people- makes it most deserving of a Curbed Award.”

Hope you will take a moment to read Curbed’s post.

Thank you to Curbed to their recognition of APC’s work!

Make sure to put this year’s Phoenix Flies on you calendar: March 10-25, 2012. APC is planning more than 175 events for this year! All events will be made public mid-February. APC Members will receive their celebration catalogue at the beginning of February.

The Atlanta Preservation Center, along with representatives from the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association and Keep Atlanta Beautiful, has been monitoring Atlanta Municipal Court’s activity with respect to the Medical Arts Building at 384 Peachtree Street NE.

At the latest hearing in November 2011, the Court established a schedule for the property’s owners to secure and bring the building into full compliance with the City’s boarding requirements.  Further, “…all boarding and other efforts to secure the building shall be reviewed by the Executive Director of the Atlanta Urban Design Commission….”

The schedule for boarding is as follows:

17th Day of January 2012 – Floors 1 thru 5
14th Day of February 2012 – Floors 6 & 7
13th Day of March 2012 – Floors 8 & 9
17th Day of April 2012 – Floors 10, 11, & 12

Additionally, the property owners will be required to remove graffiti.

The Medical Arts Building has appeared on APC’s Atlanta’s Most Endangered Historic Places list in 2001 and 2011.  The 12-story brick and limestone building by architect G. Lloyd Preacher, who also designed Atlanta’s City Hall, has been vacant since a four-alarm fire in 1995.

Further information is available via the Endangered Place Listing for the site.

You are invited by the Stacks to see there fantastic loft homes at the historic Fulton Bag & Cotton Mill. Browse and purchase the works of their talented artists.  As you stroll the grounds, hallways, and residences, enjoy fine food from local restaurants, wine tastings, and other treats. The holiday ambiance will be sure to warm your heart.

Proceeds of the tour will benefit Wilderness Works/City Camps and The Grant Park Co-operative Pre-School.

The Stacks are located at 170 Boulevard Avenue, SE. Enter from the gate at Boulevard, limited parking available on the premises. Follow luminaries to The Tour tables for tickets and registration, located in the entrances of both E and H Buildings. $5 guest entry fee (cash only).

The Stacks will also offer special guided tours of the Historic Fulton Bag & Cotton Mill complex lead by Bamby Ray, Historic Preservation Consultant along with a representative of the Atlanta Preservation Center. The guided tours will be offered on Saturday, December 3. This special bonus lasts approximately sixty minutes. The guided tours will be conducted at 12:30 and 2:00 and are free, but reservations are required. Please email interest along with preferred time and number of guests to stackshistorytour@gmail.com. Your reservation and time will be confirmed back to you by our historic tour coordinator, Virginia Harris. Reservations are limited to 25 per group and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

This great event has a website with a preview of the lofts and the artist.

Make sure you are ready to fly! The Atlanta Preservation Center will host its annual event, The Phoenix Flies, from Saturday, March 10, 2012, through Sunday, March 25, 2012. This city-wide celebration provides free access to more than 55 historic sites integral to Atlanta’s rich heritage.

The celebration was created in 2003 by The Atlanta Preservation Center as a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the dramatic rescue of the Fox Theatre, an event that changed Atlanta’s preservation outlook forever.  Since that time the celebration has won an Award of Excellence from the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, a Preservation Award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation presented over 1,100 events and provided a better understanding of Atlanta’s history to over 20,000 individuals.

This 9th annual celebration’s highlights include:
– A new Atlanta Preservation Center Guided Walking Tour of the Ponce de Leon corridor
– An increase in the number of performing and visual art events at historic venues, including a photography exhibit at the LP Grant Mansion, APC’s home
– A series guided bicycle tour of Atlanta’s Historic Districts
– The addition of Utoy Cemetery which dates from 1828
– A visit to Atlanta’s oldest working fire station, and
– A second look at two private properties undergoing renovation, The Castle and The Wrecking Bar Brewpub.

All events will be made public in February 2012.

The Atlanta Preservation Center in partnership with Piedmont Park and Oglethorpe University will complete the restoration of the Sidney Lanier Monument in February 2012. This monument has been a part of Atlanta’s premier park since 1914 and is meant to serve as a reminder of Georgia’s celebrated poet and musician Sidney Lanier.

Lanier was born in Macon, Georgia in 1842. He graduated from Oglethorpe University in 1860. He served in the Civil War where he contracted tuberculosis which eventually caused his death at age 39. In addition to his contributions as poet, critic and musician, he taught and practiced law. He is credited by his alma mater for bridging Southern romantic literature and 20th-century realism.

The Sidney Lanier Monument was given to Piedmont Park by Mrs. Livingston Mims in 1914. Mid-century, pinching the bust of Lanier from the monument became a regular prank of the college students of Atlanta. After many adventures the bust was taken to Oglethorpe University for safe keeping.

After two years of work, spearheaded by the Atlanta Preservation Center, a copy of the original bust has been made and will be installed in the monuments niche, restoring the monument to its original configuration.

The celebration of the restoration of this monument will include three events.

• An invitation-only black tie cocktail and dinner party will lead the weekend’s events on Thursday, February 2, 2012. To be held at the Piedmont Driving Club, this evening will include a petite performance of Lanier’s music and his poetry.

• Candice Keach, flautist, and Marty Willet, actor/educator, will present a recital of the music and poetry of Sidney Lanier preceded by commentary of Paul Hudson, historian and Oglethorpe alum. Coinciding with Lanier’s 170th birthday, the recital will take place at Oglethorpe University’s Lupton Hall on Friday, February 3, 2012 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for this recital are $15 and can be purchased at the door or in advance.

• Richard Guy Wilson noted architectural historian and Commonwealth Professor in Architectural History at the University of Virginia will give a lecture on Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. at Magnolia Hall in Piedmont Park. He will discuss the work of Carrère & Hastings (designers of the Lanier Monument), Edward Clark Potter (sculptor of the bust), and Lanier. The lecture will connect these elements giving a picture of the American Renaissance. Tickets for this lecture are $10 and can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 404-688-3353 ext. 11.

• The public unveiling of the restored monument will be held Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. The monument is located on the eastern side of the Active Oval. The unveiling will be officiated by Boyd Coons, Executive Director of the Atlanta Preservation Center and will include performance of Lanier’s Blackbirds on the flute by Candice Keach, a reading of Lanier’s Song of the Chattahoochee and The Centennial Meditation of Columbia by the Poet Lauriat of Georgia, David Bottoms.