Archive for July, 2008
Midtown’s Crum and Forster Building: Demolition Update
Today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an extensive roundup of the controversy surrounding the proposed demolition of the Crum and Forster building in Midtown Atlanta.
The bad news is that the demolition permit has not been revoked.
The good news is that the Georgia Tech Foundation, they of the demolition permit and the “interest” in “serving” the “community”, has actually taken a step toward exploring alternatives other than demolishing the Crum and Forster building.
The Foundation has enlisted Surber, Barber, Choate, and Hertlein, a prominent architecture firm with a solid record in historic preservation. I’m no architect, but I can attest that they’ve helped us out plenty here at the Wren’s Nest.
Hopefully the good folks at SBCH can convince the Georgia Tech Foundation that tearing down this building is a stupid idea. No doubt the Foundation mostly cares about the bottom line; the irony is that keeping this building will make their development much more valuable in the long run.
If you’re interested in signing the petition to save the Crum and Forster building, go here. If you’re looking to write a letter to the powers that be (probably the most effective route), go here.
Related:
- Community Urges Tech to Save Building (Maria Saporta @ the AJC)
- Crum and Forster: the Appearance of Progress (Terminal Station)
- Dear Atlanta, Please Don’t Tear Down Four Historic Buildings. Love, The Wren’s Nest
Categories: Atlanta, Historic Preservation, Really? |
Baby Wrens Inside The Wren’s Nest!
As documented last week and 120 years ago, wrens have made a nest in our mailbox. Well folks, their eggs somehow magically turned into babies.
There are about three very hungry baby birds in there, being small and opening their mouths.
Between my mysterious baby-bird-proximity-induced whispers and Lain’s overwhelming fear that the mama bird would disown the babies if we looked at them too long, we only got one quick snapshot.
Previously:
Categories: Baby Pictures, Birds of a feather |
Atlanta Cyclorama Is Now Online
Just 122 years after its completion, Atlanta’s Cyclorama now has its very own web site.
The Cyclorama is my favorite attraction in Atlanta. For those of you who haven’t been, it’s an enormous painting / diorama that depicts the Battle of Atlanta.
Now, I know it may not sound too exciting, but it’s like the biggest painting in the world, and it’s totally bizarre. The combination of history, kitsch, and awesomeness (the Old Testament kind) make it an absolute must-see. I think the web site does it justice, too.
I still think we should team up with the Cyclorama along with Oakland Cemetery, the Herndon Home, the Margaret Mitchell House and the King Center to create a “Civil War to Civil Rights” trail. Now we could even make outlandish statements like, “See website for details”!
Categories: Atlanta, Historic Preservation, Technological Advances |
Survey Says: The Wren’s Nest is Completely Awesome
Several months ago, in an effort to enact “legitimate” and “professional” nonprofit practices, we began asking our visitors to fill out a brief survey at the end of their tour.
Basic stuff to be sure, but we hoped that it would allow us to improve our visitors’ experiences and then totally benefit us when we’re asking for money. You know who loves assessment? Foundations, that’s who.
So a great idea, right?
Well, kinda.
Plenty of people have filled out our survey… and so far we have received zero negative comments. Not only has no one said anything negative, but NO ONE has chosen anything other than the most positive options.
For example, here are a few direct quotes in response to the question, “Is there any way we could have improved your visit to The Wren’s Nest?”:
- “It was delightful just as it was!”
- “It was perfect!”
- “Don’t change a thing!”
In fact, the closest thing we’ve received to a criticism is a request that we put in more lighting. You know, to a historically preserved home. Nothing like a few renovations to make the place more modern!
Anyhow, this puts us in an odd position. We have an assessment tool, but it is producing nothing but reasons to pat ourselves on the back.
All survey evidence to the contrary, we know we’re not perfect. But how can we know what to fix if everyone who visits is delighted?! Man, it is SO hard to be us.
Wren’s Nest Visitor Survey (.pdf)
Categories: Big Money No Whammies, Good Questions, Nonprofit Management |
Joel Chandler Harris Died 100 Years Ago Today
Joel Chandler Harris passed away on July 3, 1908. He was probably 62.
This was the next day’s paper. Somehow I don’t think tomorrow’s headline will read much like it did 100 years ago.
Harris is buried in Westview Cemetery, not too far down the road.
His gravestone reads–
“I seem to see before me the smiling faces of thousands of children some young and fresh and some wearing the friendly marks of age. But all children at heart and not an unfriendly face among them. And while I’m trying hard to speak the right word, I seem to hear a voice lifted above the rest saying you have made some of us happy. And so I feel my heart fluttering and my lips trembling, and I have to bow silently and turn away and hurry back into the obscurity that fits me best.”
Categories: Joel Chandler Harris |
Wren’s Nest Publishing Co. Visits the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Welp, the title pretty much says it all.
Let’s do it this way:
- Who: five of our six student editors from the Wren’s Nest Publishing Co., hangers-on.
- What: a tour of the AJC, followed by a brief tutorial in inDesign.
(Nancy, our lovely tour guide.)
- Where: the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, dummy.
- When: why, just yesterday.
- Why: um, because field trips are awesome, obviously.
- How: We’ve got connections you wouldn’t believe. Actually, you probably would. Tom did it.
So all in all, a great day for our little program.
Though we have set a new goal for the Editors as result of our adventures: when asked things like “Where are you all from?”, ideal answers include things like “The Wren’s Nest Publishing Co.” or “A publishing program that’s a partnership between the Decatur Book Festival and The Wren’s Nest House Museum”.
Yesterday’s choice, looking at feet, was only okay.
Reminder: know any writers or artists between the ages of 12 and 18?
Get them to submit their work to submissions@wrensnestonline.com before July 20th! Man alive, they could be published by summer’s end!
Categories: Atlanta, Decatur Book Festival, High School Hijinx, Storytelling, Wren's Nest Publishing Co. |
120 Years Later, Wrens Still Make Nests in Wren’s Nest Mailbox
Our museum gets its name from our mailbox.
A family of wrens made a nest inside the mailbox for 214 Gordon Street in the 1880s while Joel Chandler Harris lived here.
Harris didn’t want to disturb the wrens, so he put up another mailbox next to it. When wrens took over that one too, that’s where he drew the line.
We’ve got a replica mailbox outside now. Last year I opened the mail one day and nearly fell over when I saw freshly laid eggs just chilling inside the mailbox.
This past month we’ve seen a wren going in and out of the mailbox. One of our visitors caught her on film after she flew from the mailbox to a nearby tree.
I’m guessing it’s a girl. What should we name it?
Categories: Birds of a feather, Good Questions, Joel Chandler Harris, What Would JCH Do? |