Midtown Promenade
parking available for cars, scooters and dogsNestled between Midtown and Virginia Highlands, Midtown Promenade feels at times more chic district than strip mall. It consists primarily of restaurants and personal services. When it's nice outside, it's a place to congregate outdoors, when it's rainy, it's a place to catch a movie.
The strip mall's location has a serious impact on the flow of human activity. Grady High School, Piedmont Park, Poncey Highlands, Midtown are all adjacent bubbles of activity and people come to Midtown Promenade to grab a drink after work, ditch class, eat after a day in the park, etc.
I come here often to shop or just hangout, but I made several independent trips for the project. After three visits I came away with the observations detailed below in the field notes section.
Where in Atlanta…
An impression...
Field notes
Edged In
Atlanta landmarks stare down upon Midtown Promenade. City Hall East from the South, the skyline of Midtown to the West, Piedmont Park to the North. Yet the strip mall somehow feels distant. Ponce de Leon Avenue, just a couple hundred yards away by foot, is at least five minutes away by car.
Uneasy
Immediately juxtaposed with the very mundane Midtown Cleaners and Tuesday Morning, two doors away from where I buy my soy milk at Trader Joe's, The 3 Legged Cowboy sits uneasily. I'm not sure what happens in there from 6pm to 2:30am on a random Wednesday or Friday, but I have a feeling that I may never know. And I think I'm ok with that.
Amazement
The brass-work giraffes stretch their necks above the aisles at Richard's Variety Store overlooking an eclectic collection of goods: slippers, greeting cards, candles and incense, more brass-work animals, textiles... to name a few. This pastiche of goods is prefaced by carefully scrawled signs on the store's doors and windows. Taking it all in produces a mild feeling of the sublime.
Relaxed
The din of casual conversation on the various patios coupled with the embrace of the warm southern clime creates a lax atmosphere in many parts of Midtown Promenade.
Bawdy
As the alcohol flows and the sun goes down, the conversation that was once a subtle din finds a louder volume and is now mixed with loud music from the bars. When the bars let out at 2:30am the scene is markedly different than the Volvo filled parking lot during the day or the loafer wearing happy hour set.
Hooky
The kids at nearby Grady High School find ready refuge in Midtown Promenade from the stress of the classroom. They zip over Monroe Drive with stealth and find shelter in the Midtown Arts Cinema or the aisles at Trader Joe's. Perhaps they sit at Starbucks, sip on their coffee and think of their classmates as "suckers."
Yoga
Walking past Stillwater Yoga I happen to peer through a opening in the studio's curtains. A class is in session and I see bodies slicked with sweat and deeply exhaling. Something unsettles me as I watch these people so conscious in their own bodies. I quickly move on.
Dogs!
Dogs are everywhere. Parked in front of Trader Joe's, tied to patio rails at Apres Diem, F.R.O.G.S., or Mellow Mushroom. Dogs.
Obscured
Next to Mellow Mushroom and behind Starbucks, The UPS Store and Nam restaurant sit quiet and unmolested.
Panhandling
Throwing words like "brother man," "sir," "ma'am," and "hey," people bounce from person to person, from the parking lot to the sidewalk looking for spare change. Sometimes it's for "the bus," or "gas," or "food."
Purple Trim
Strips of purple peek out from between the ruddy red bricks of Midtown Promenade's facade. They lend a (very) subtle intimation of Carnival.
Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx's likeness stares at me as I walk to the bathroom in the Highlander. This painting boasts a hefty price tag and is totally awesome.
By the numbers
graphs as they relate to the quantative data gathered about stores
Empty – Occupied
Occupied: 25
100%Empty: 0
0%Independents – Chains
Independents: 17
68%Chains: 8
32%By Type (generic)
Services(food): 12
48%Services(personal): 7
28%Diversion: 4
16%Goods: 2
8%quantitative representations of data gathered by type and kind
Notes en sum
In this row you will find totals for the amount of qualitative meta tags identified in the space. They have been organized by category: Impressions, Observations and Activities, respectively.
Impressions
5
Amount of impressions noted in space.
Observations
7
Amount of observations(general) noted in space.
Activities
5
Amount of activities observed and noted in space.
Numbers as they relate to distances, travel and parking
MARTA
1
It's one mile to the Midtown MARTA station.
Bus Stops
2
There are two adjacent bus stops on Monroe Drive.
Parking
566
There are approximately 566 parking spaces. The lot is generally full on Friday and Saturday nights.
Bike Racks
3
There are three bike racks to park bikes. If each hold 5, that's 1 bike parking space for every 38 car parking spaces.
Numerical odds and ends
Skin Art
4
The number of servers with visible tattoos at the Highlander on Thursday, 02/19/09.
Men/Women
5/4
Male to female employees observed at Trader Joe's. Sunday, 02/07/09.
Couples
26
The number of couples dining on the various patios at Midtown Promenade on the evening of Thursday, 02/19/09.
Talk to me
0
The amount of times I was spoken to while in the field.