Atlanta News

From the Atlanta Tribune:

BO DIDDLEY DECEMBER 25 1760—The first poem written by a Black person and published in America is published on Christmas day 1760. It was written by Jupiter Hammon—a slave in Long Island, N.Y., who was allowed to attend school. The poem was entitled “An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries.” Ham­mon also wrote […]

The post This Week In Black History December 25-31, 2024 appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

From the Atlanta Tribune:

By Donald James, Senior Writer Gone, but not forgotten. The year 2024 witnessed the passing of many notable and extraordinary people locally and nationally. As we reflect on their lives, achievements, and legacies, it is done so with the hope of inspiring future generations to excel. While it would be difficult to chronicle all the […]

The post Remembering the Lives Lost in 2024, Locally and Nationally appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

From WABE Arts and Culture News:

Kwanzaa has become a nationally recognized celebration of African culture and community in the United States since its founding in 1966 and also is celebrated in countries with large African […]

Here now, our top 10 most popular stories of 2024 Josh Green Thu, 12/26/2024 - 11:40 In a city and metro built on growth, there’s nary a dull year. From the boomtown that is Alpharetta and skies over Midtown to sleepy Senoia, 2024 hardly disappointed.

Closing out our fourth year of coverage, it's time to reflect on what Urbanize Atlanta readers found most interesting across the year that was. The results couldn't be more random, with topics ranging from interstate rail prospects, lofty skyscrapers, and celebrity architecture to indefatigable suburban growth. (A lot of interest in the state of Atlanta's ’burbs, this year, in fact.)

Without further ado, presented below are our most popular stories of 2024, based on overall number of reads in descending order:

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No. 10

Revisiting the awe-inspiring proposal for Atlanta's tallest building

A skyscraper taller than Bank of America Plaza, lording over Underground Atlanta? "I do think the project is still possible," the architect told us in January.

How the Union Tower building could have appeared from elevated MARTA tracks near Grant Park and Sweet Auburn. eightvillage

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No. 9

Avalon-style megaproject rebrands as groundwork barrels ahead

Proof that 1,500 proposed homes will move the needle anywhere.

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No. 8

Second metro Atlanta IKEA (sort of) on tap to open this week

August saw huge interest in this Alpharetta retail news—despite the lack of Swedish meatballs.

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No. 7

Developer sheds light on tallest Atlanta project in decades, now rising

Because 60 stories of new construction in Midtown by the Rockefeller Group can’t be boring.

A rough, in-house approximation of how the 730-foot building will stand out among other newer construction near West Peachtree Street. Urbanize Atlanta

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No. 6

Images: Centennial Yards unveils next phase for Atlanta's Gulch

The first glimpse at downtown’s new “center of gravity” as the 2026 FIFA World Cup nears.

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No. 5

Huge project pitched for town 'Walking Dead' made famous

Naysaying reader comment: “The charm of little Senoia is being butchered by developers.”

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No. 4

Outside Atlanta, 'Walking Dead' star's sweet modern estate for sale

Down in Serenbe, Norman Reedus’ Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired compound caught the eye of zombie enthusiasts in February. It’s still for sale today—but $600,000 cheaper.

Courtesy of Compass Greater Atlanta

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No. 3

Images: Suwanee is building a rather amazing new downtown park

Combine dazzling greenspace design with a buzzy city center in Georgia’s second most-populated county—and voila!

(Note: This project also had the year’s 10th most-read story, but we’re combing both here.)

A nighttime aerial over Suwanee's Town Center on Main and DeLay Nature Park.Courtesy of City of Suwanee

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No. 2

Amtrak ‘excited’ by potential of new Atlanta intercity rail hub

See, movers-and-shakers? Georgians do like trains.

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No. 1

Census: Georgia becomes rare state with 11M+ residents

Naturally, Peach State pride won the day in ’24.

United States Census Bureau

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• Best of Atlanta 2024 (Urbanize Atlanta) 

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Best of Atlanta 2024 1072 West Peachtree Serenbe Alpharetta IKEA Gwinnett County Amtrak Atlanta Skyscrapers Rockefeller Group The Rockefeller Group Norman Reedus Hall County Avalon Centennial Yards Centennial Yards Development Suwanee The Walking Dead Walking Dead Senoia Most Popular 2024 Atlanta Population Atlanta Population Growth State of Georgia

Subtitle Proof that Atlantans secretly care about the suburbs

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Arts Atlanta:

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was exceptionally popular with our readers. We’re resharing it with you now. Thank you for a wonderful 2024! The Decatur Book Festival went quiet for a year. With Stacey Abrams headlining children’s events, the Festival has come roaring back. :: The major difference between the original 2002 publication of the...

From WABE Politics News:

Republicans plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress to push […]

Arts Atlanta:

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was exceptionally popular with our readers. We’re resharing it with you now. Thank you for a wonderful 2024! Anton Chekhov was the first playwright to drastically bend the trajectory of art toward life. His lasting influence — not just on theater but on all the arts and on our everyday...

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Tyler Perry proudly stands with members of the cast and crew of his latest film, “The Six Triple Eight,” starring Oprah Winfrey, Kerry Washington and others. Perry wrote and directed the film. The true story is based on the U.S. military’s first and predominantly all-Black female unit deployed overseas during World War II from 1945 … Continued

The post Tyler Perry’s ‘Six Triple Eight’ Debuts on Netflix appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association America’s financial system is quietly reinforcing old inequities. Black American communities — historically denied access to wealth-building tools due to practices like redlining and restrictive banking — now face a new predatory financial hurdle: credit card swipe fees. For Black Americans, swipe … Continued

The post Credit Card Swipe Fees Are Financial Inequities for Black America appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Kwanzaa celebrations will kick-off today and several events will take place in Atlanta and nationwide. Established in 1966 by Maulana Ron Karenga, Kwanzaa celebrates Black culture, community, family, and history. Kwanzaa gets its name from the Swahili phrase, “matunda ya kwanza.” The colors of the Pan-African flag are also prominent. Red (the struggle), Black (the … Continued

The post Kwanzaa Celebrations Begin In Atlanta: Here’s What You Should Know appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the New York Times:

A brick house in Savannah, a converted schoolhouse in Salem and a colonial-revival house in Takoma Park.

Arts Atlanta:

Capturing the energy of a live theater, dance or music performance in a still photograph can be one of the great challenges of photography. Here are 20 images that beautifully conveyed the sense of color, life and movement that help great performances move audiences. :: Claudia Schreier’s new work Nighthawks for Atlanta Ballet was set...

Arts Atlanta:

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was exceptionally popular with our readers. We’re resharing it with you now. Thank you for a wonderful 2024! Helen Pickett’s new ballet for American Ballet Theatre is a multifaceted narrative work. Her assistant, Atlanta’s Sarah Hillmer, contributed to its creation in multiple ways. Sarah Hillmer’s latest work notebook is mauve....

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Getty Images I recently received this question in my inbox: I’ve been repeatedly talking to my 16-year-old child about being disre­spectful, poor grades, and just an over­all attitude of “whatever.” On her last report card there were 3 D’s. I stated then, if this wasn’t rectified, among oth­er things Christmas will be canceled. It wasn’t … Continued

The post The Carr Report: Mom canceled Christmas! Was she wrong? appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

BO DIDDLEY DECEMBER 25 1760—The first poem written by a Black person and published in America is published on Christmas day 1760. It was written by Jupiter Hammon—a slave in Long Island, N.Y., who was allowed to attend school. The poem was entitled “An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries.” Ham­mon also wrote … Continued

The post This Week In Black History December 25-31, 2024 appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Adolphe Duperly’s painting depicting the destruction of the Roehampton Estate in Jamaica during the Baptist War in January 1832. Wikimedia Commons by Ana Lucia Araujo, Howard University During the era of slavery in the Americas, enslaved men, women and children also enjoyed the holidays. Slave owners usually gave them bigger portions of food, gifted them … Continued

The post For enslaved people, the holiday season was a time for revelry – and a brief window to fight back appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2024, Elite Eight: Midtown vs. West End Josh Green Tue, 12/24/2024 - 14:35 As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2024 coverage, Urbanize’s fourth-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament kicked off last week with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest.

Now, for this Elite Eight contest, voting will be open until 3 p.m. Thursday, allowing anyone to chime in who's currently traveling or enduring family. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The quest to crown a champion resumes now!

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(1) Midtown

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

 

Like no other place right now—or across the past decade, for that matter—No. 1 seed Midtown exemplifies Atlanta’s roaring ’20s boom, as our aerial photo essays have relayed throughout the year. In just the past year, the district has packed on another 2,200 residences, as recently tabulated by Midtown Alliance. The tallest building to rise from Atlanta’s red dirt since Bill Clinton was president is currently climbing over Midtown’s West Peachtree Street. Lest we forget the leafy, stately Garden District in the shadow of glowing skyscrapers—and hands down one of the best urban parks in America.

Nonetheless, Midtown has a spotty track record in Neighborhood of the Year brackets, including a Round 1 knockout against 13-seed Adair Park in 2021 action. Surprisingly, Midtown has never won the non-existent trophy in these contests, either. Here’s a rundown of just a fraction of what’s happening in Midtown these days. But it begs the eternal question: Does all this activity make for the best actual neighborhood around? We'll see. 

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(8) West End

The most recent proposed redevelopment of parking lots at Oak and Dunn streets. Prusik Group/BRP Companies; One West End

As the only two-time Neighborhood of the Year champion in Atlanta history, West End notched a relatively seismic year as major development proposals go. The 800-pound gorilla in that room is, of course, the redevelopment of Mall West End. After three false starts, the mall’s extreme makeover appears to have finally found its footing (with city backing) to turn 12 acres of parking lots into about 900 units of mixed-income housing, 125,000 square feet of retail (with a grocery store), and much more, beginning as soon as next year.

Just around the corner, an eye-catching apartment proposal has emerged near West End’s MARTA stop, while a pickleball emporium and more is in the pipeline along a new (and needed) Beltline stretch now in planning. Bonus points to West End in ’24 for joyously welcoming Atlanta Streets Alive back to SW ATL—not once, but on three different occasions.

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Best of Atlanta 2024 Best Atlanta Neighborhood Best Atlanta Neighborhoods Neighborhood Tournament Urbanize Tournament Golden Urby Chalice of Champions Elite Eight West End Midtown

Subtitle Who should advance to the Final Four? Cast your vote now!

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Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2024, Elite Eight: Inman Park vs. Cabbagetown Josh Green Tue, 12/24/2024 - 12:42 As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2024 coverage, Urbanize’s fourth-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament kicked off last week with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest.

Now, for this Elite Eight contest, voting will be open until 3 p.m. Thursday, allowing anyone to chime in who's currently traveling or enduring family. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The quest to crown a champion resumes now!

…

(2) Inman Park

Courtesy of Painted Hospitality

Inarguably one of Atlanta’s most charming neighborhoods, the city’s “first planned suburb” remains a beautiful, fascinating amalgam of Victorian homes, useful greenspaces, transit/Beltline accessibility, and well-planned commercial hubs along North Highland Avenue, Krog Street, and elsewhere. For more than 50 years, Inman Park has also hosted one of the city’s best neighborhood festivals—no small feat in festival-happy ATL.

This year’s most splashy addition was the adaptive-reuse Painted Park, an expanded dining and entertainment concept borne of the old Parish space along the Eastside Trail. Elsewhere, the expansion of a 1950s complex promises to add vibrancy to Inman Park’s main commercial crossroads. Despite its attributes, Inman Park hasn’t taken the crown in one of these criteria-free contests since the very first one, way back in 2011. Can a strong ’24 change that?  

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(7) Cabbagetown

A typically quaint Cabbagetown street. Google Maps

As proven in its decisive Round 1 triumph over mighty Buckhead, Cabbagetown’s diminutive size shouldn’t be underestimated, because its sense of pride is so enormous. On the sensible urban-planning front, this year saw a two-way, protected cycle track added through Cabbagetown that provides a better connection to both the Beltline’s Eastside Trail and west toward downtown.

Otherwise, apart from infrastructure fixes in the Krog Street Tunnel, major changes in Cabbagetown were as few and far between as actual homes for sale. (Precisely two C-town houses are on the market right now, both of them priced north of $730,000.) That speaks to the charming neighborhood’s cachet—and locals’ unwillingness to leave.

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Best of Atlanta 2024 Best Atlanta Neighborhood Best Atlanta Neighborhoods Neighborhood Tournament Urbanize Tournament Golden Urby Chalice of Champions Elite Eight Inman Park Cabbagetown

Subtitle Who should advance to the Final Four? Cast your vote now!

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Hallelujah! As year ends, almost all Beltline is under construction or open Josh Green Tue, 12/24/2024 - 11:02 For anyone who’s been patronizing the Atlanta Beltline, reporting on it, or just generally following along for the past decade and a half (hand raised), a year-end statistic that’s being promoted by the Atlanta Beltline Partnership could be both shocking and deeply satisfying: 

Right now, 85 percent of the Beltline’s mainline trail—that storied 22-mile loop—is either open to the public or actively under construction.

Beltline leaders were saying as far back as fall 2023, if not earlier, those progress statistics would be reality come the end of 2024. They were correct, at least by their own estimates.

How’d this come to be?

Like every year from the pandemic on, the Beltline opened key sections of trail in 2024, such as almost half of Westside Trail Segment 4 and the immediate hit among walkers, joggers, and cyclists that was the Northeast Trail’s full connection through Piedmont Park.

The latest Beltline Northeast Trail section to open, in relation to Piedmont Park's dog park. Photo by LoKnows Drones; courtesy of Atlanta Beltline Inc.

Meanwhile, significant groundbreakings in 2024 included the first Beltline segment between Lindbergh and Peachtree Street (with a sweet suspension bridge) and the Southside Trail’s final, nearly 2-mile section to see construction. The latter will be a crucial link between eastern and western sections of the city south of Interstate 20.

Looking ahead to the new year, 2025 is scheduled to see:

• The full opening of Westside Trail Segment 4 (springtime);
• The debut of Southside Trail Segments 4 and 5 between Glenwood Park/Grant Park and Boulevard (sometime next fall—delayed by “underground utility challenges”);
• Opening of Northwest Trail Segment 5, a .7-mile section extending toward Buckhead from Marietta Boulevard and Huff Road (next fall);
• Groundbreaking for the proposed “jewel” that Westview’s versatile, 8-acre Enota Park project could become (first quarter 2025).

What else, dear Atlantans, are you looking forward to as the calendar flips to a fresh year?

Progress on the 22-mile, multipurpose trail corridor and related projects as of November. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

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• Before/after: Atlanta BeltLine's famous Eastside Trail turns 10 (Urbanize Atlanta)

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Progress on the 22-mile, multipurpose trail corridor and related projects as of November. Atlanta BeltLine Inc.

Subtitle Just 15 percent of Beltline loop remains idle as 2025 nears, project leaders report

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From the Atlanta Tribune:

Tyler Perry proudly stands with members of the cast and crew of his latest film, “The Six Triple Eight,” starring Oprah Winfrey, Kerry Washington and others. Perry wrote and directed the film. The true story is based on the U.S. military’s first and predominantly all-Black female unit deployed overseas during World War II from 1945 […]

The post Tyler Perry’s ‘Six Triple Eight’ Debuts on Netflix appeared first on Atlanta Tribune.

Arts Atlanta:

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article was exceptionally popular with our readers. We’re resharing it with you now. Thank you for a wonderful 2024! Actor Jeff Daniels accepted the role of Charlie Croker in Netflix’s new series A Man in Full. Here, Daniels talks about changes in culture and racial relations since the novel’s 1990s publication....

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Quavo and the team at Quavo Cares hosted their second annual Huncho Farms in partnership with the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Atlanta City Council. Supporting seniors who are raising their grandchildren, Quavo Cares continues to pursue its mission to support communities facing food scarcity. The vibrant marketplace offered live music and holiday-themed activities for their 500 families in addition to … Continued

The post Quavo Teams Up With Atlanta Community Food Bank, Atlanta City Council To Support Communities Facing Food Scarcity appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced sentences for 37 of 40 individuals on federal death row were commuted from execution to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) President and CEO Shavon Arline-Bradley issued the following statement: “We commend President Joe Biden for commuting the sentences of majority of individuals … Continued

The post NCNW Issues Statement on Biden-Harris Administration Commutations appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

By Donald James, Senior Writer Gone, but not forgotten. The year 2024 witnessed the passing of many notable and extraordinary people locally and nationally. As we reflect on their lives, achievements, and legacies, it is done so with the hope of inspiring future generations to excel. While it would be difficult to chronicle all the … Continued

The post Remembering the Lives Lost in 2024, Locally and Nationally appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

From the Atlanta Daily World:

21 Savage and his Leading By Example Foundation hosted their sixth annual holiday toy drive at The Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center in partnership with Dekalb County of Atlanta.  At this year’s lively annual giveback 21 Savage and the Leading By Example foundation provide over 3,000 toys, clothes, food, bikes and additional Christmas gifts to over 1,000 families … Continued

The post 21 Savage, Dekalb County Of Atlanta Hosts 6th Annual Holiday Toy Drive appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.