36 replies to this topic

[Hybrid0NE]

I've only been here for a couple of months but I got to say that the whole HOTLANTA image people would tell me about is virtually non-existant. Granted, Atlanta does have better nightlife than the majority of it's Southeast peers (minus Miami) but it's not anything to go on an ego trip with; and possibly it's a good thing. I had a friend tell me about an episode of COPS filmed here during a past Spring Break event, "Freaknic" that one year left Downtown almost in ruins. I asked some people at work about it and found out that at it's height the freeways would come to a standstill ( ) and Piedmont Park was made a haven of many lewd acts  . I also got an earfull on Buckhead and it's wild-child antics and Midtown life before it went suit-and-tie. If those things were around now, I may not have moved here since most of that stuff is pretty unattractive. So do you think things such as communities/groups coming together to end Freknic, the city enacting a last-call at 2:30am, Sandy Springs restricting it's adult clubs and the Sunday "Blue Law" have been good for Atlanta or have we hurt our city's quality of life/vibrancy by freezing Hotlanta?

I agree, somewhat with most of the things that have been done. Midtown and Buckhead are still hot-spots for residential and business growth, while the city has a more friendly positive image as an end result. Then, I look at things like the "Blue Laws", Bar closings at 3am, nightclubs having nowhere (that includes the Underground) to go as communties evolve and feel it's a big loss. I guess at some point Atlanta will find more of a working balance that'll be benifitual to everyone.

[Newnan_Eric]

Well, let me add a few comments:

The "Blue Laws" have been around the South for a long, long time. Chalk that up to being in the Bible Belt. Things are slowly easing up in regards to these laws, but some places are further along than others. Outside of Atlanta things move very slowly on these issues. Bulloch County (home of party school Georgia Southern) is actually a "dry" county. You can buy alcohol by the drink, but there are no package sales. In Coweta County, there are beer and wine sales, but not liquor. In fact, when Newnan wanted to approve liquor buy the drink sales (they alreay had beer & wine by the drink) the mayor had to strike a deal with local church leaders - basically saying that the city would not pursue Sunday afternoon sales if the churches would not oppose the measure.

So, you have to understand this mind-set when considering the relationship between the South's Southern Baptist heritage and alcohol. Atlanta is more progressive on this, but it still underscores many of the decisions that get made.

As far as the bar closing hour and the lack of a nightclub area destination - these relate to several incidents a few years ago that motivated the business community to push the city for a crack-down. The result is the decline of the Buckhead party rep. On the upside, this crack-down, along with infrastructure improvements, has paved the way for the explosion of development we're now seeing in Buckhead.

I personnaly feel that things like this are cyclical. The city may eventually relax these restrictions a little bit. And eventually, a new nightclub district will arise. Maybe there is still hope for Underground. With GSU's growth and a resurging downtown, there will be more round-the-clock residents in the area. It could happen.

[Hybrid0NE]

Newnan_Eric, on Mar 16 2006, 09:41 AM, said:

I personnaly feel that things like this are cyclical. The city may eventually relax these restrictions a little bit. And eventually, a new nightclub district will arise. Maybe there is still hope for Underground. With GSU's growth and a resurging downtown, there will be more round-the-clock residents in the area. It could happen.

I agree with these kind of changes being cyclical, but one thing you mentioned (GSU's growth) might stall nightlife at Underground. Buckhead and Midtown have taken off with nightclubs becoming less common, but the GSU/Underground dynamic is geared moreso towards the college-age crowd.

[Hybrid0NE]

[monsoon]

I never really understood the need for people to characterize the worth of a city by the number of places to get drunk at 2-6 am in the morning.    i.e. nightlife.  

Hotlanta is a late 70's term that came from the Southern Gay & Lesbian community due to the large number of bars that were located there at the time.  Atlanta was considered the San Francisco of the South.  If people knew the true meaning behind the term (which I won't state here)  they would not be so ready to use it to describe Atlanta.    

[Andrea]

monsoon, on Mar 23 2006, 07:05 AM, said:

Hotlanta is a late 70's term that came from the Southern Gay & Lesbian community due to the large number of bars that were located there at the time.

I always thought it just came from Atlanta's reputation for rollicking night life in general, not just the G/L community.  Remember, we've had Underground (I mean the old Underground, not the mall), we've been the strip club capital, the hooker capital, the hippie capital, we've had Buckhead, the Limelight, Backstreet, moonshiners, big conventions, big time rasslin', Mike Thevis, pro sports and all kinds of other scandalous things that you didn't find anywhere else in the South except maybe New Orleans or Miami.  

Quote

Atlanta was considered the San Francisco of the South.  If people knew the true meaning behind the term (which I won't state here)  they would not be so ready to use it to describe Atlanta.    

  

Well, I'm not sure the term came from the G/L community but even if it did why would people be unwilling to use it?

Edited by Andrea, 23 March 2006 - 11:36 AM.

[monsoon]

Well very true.   Thanks for reminding me of this.    The term Hotlanta could be as old as the city itself.   I am thinking that it could be used by northerners to describe the city in pre-airconditioner days.  (not that long ago).   And maybe in pre-Civil war days, to describe the city in terms of politics in terms of the confederacy.  

I do know that Hotlanta was used quite often in the 80s as a place to go and have a party.

[HAMMETTM]

What is the real meaning of the term Metro?

I like the term Hotlanta. I thought its origin came from the hot weather Atlanta is known for combined with it being one of the most popular "it" places in the south.

I hate the term ATL, even though its just an abbreviation for Atlanta.

[teshadoh]

If anyone wishes to purchase an image from the AJC archives - 'Hotlanta' was supposedly reffered to in a 1874 newspaper advertisement.  Otherwise it was never mentioned through 1925, until the archives were again available starting in 1985.

Display Ad 4 -- No Title
The Atlanta Constitution (1869-1875); Nov 29, 1874; 4;  

http://pqasb.pqarchi...a&search=Search

Edited by teshadoh, 24 March 2006 - 11:42 AM.

[Andrea]

That's great, Brad!

[perimeter285]

chasedodge, on Mar 26 2006, 01:04 PM, said:

where is the club 112 lot?

It's across from Vision I think.

Vision is a whole other story.  I don't understand the deal.  They close it, do some multi-million $ renovation, and now it's going to close again for condos?  What's the deal.  
(just a side note on Vision as it is now - it's a sure sign that the crap that made Buckhead turn to bad will happen to Midtown before too long)

[ryanmckibben]

perimeter285, on Mar 26 2006, 03:54 PM, said:

(just a side note on Vision as it is now - it's a sure sign that the crap that made Buckhead turn to bad will happen to Midtown before too long)

Well, Vision has been given their notice to vacate and Club 112 will follow sometime in the next year or so. Both the Midtown Neighbors Association and NPU-E are firmly against allowing any more super large nightclubs to open. Even if they do get a license to open, there isn't much real estate that can accomodate those types of clubs anymore. Plus the Midtown Blue has FINALLY made enforcement of the city's noise ordinances a priority. I can tell you from first hand experience (I live on Peachtree) that the crap  that went on any given Fri or Sat night has subsided dramatically. I honestly don't think that Midtown will degenerate into what Buckhead became, if anything, I think we have turned the corner and things are actually improving in.

[Lady Celeste]

Maybe they should make a club district in Atlanta........wait, is that what Underground is for? I wonder will Vision and or Club 112 move to Underground? To me that would be a better fit anyway.

[jhelinski]

ryanmckibben, on Mar 26 2006, 08:00 PM, said:

Well, Vision has been given their notice to vacate and Club 112 will follow sometime in the next year or so. Both the Midtown Neighbors Association and NPU-E are firmly against allowing any more super large nightclubs to open. Even if they do get a license to open, there isn't much real estate that can accomodate those types of clubs anymore. Plus the Midtown Blue has FINALLY made enforcement of the city's noise ordinances a priority. I can tell you from first hand experience (I live on Peachtree) that the crap  that went on any given Fri or Sat night has subsided dramatically. I honestly don't think that Midtown will degenerate into what Buckhead became, if anything, I think we have turned the corner and things are actually improving in.

Ryan,

So how long do you think it will be before we see Vision close the doors? I heard that the Vision owner was moving into the Velvet Room across the street...doesn't seem to smart if they are going to knock it down too!

[perimeter285]

jhelinski, on Mar 27 2006, 06:59 AM, said:

Ryan,

So how long do you think it will be before we see Vision close the doors? I heard that the Vision owner was moving into the Velvet Room across the street...doesn't seem to smart if they are going to knock it down too!

It doesn't seem smart to me that they did that huge recent renovation if they knew the future of the site was in question.  Very strange.  Waste of money.

[Hybrid0NE]

Lady Celeste, on Mar 26 2006, 08:59 PM, said:

Maybe they should make a club district in Atlanta........wait, is that what Underground is for? I wonder will Vision and or Club 112 move to Underground?

Well... if those clubs do move to the Underground area, it could answer the question of "What to do with the old World of Coca-Cola site?" The city could tear it down and expand Kenny's Alley. Then downtown could be active round-the-clock.

[mhatl]

I dont get it. Everybody on here claims to want a vibrant city. Visions is a great night club. It happens to be a black club...and all of sudden its a terrible club. Yes traffic is bad, but what the hell do you expect? What happen in Buckhead is due to lack of security. Midtown has never had that problem. Visions had been going on for years...i dont recall any stabbings occuring. Im getting so tired of reading the racial overtoned comments. I love this forum, but gee...what has visions ever done but provide a outlet for ppl to party legally.

[perimeter285]

mhatl, on Mar 27 2006, 12:28 PM, said:

I dont get it. Everybody on here claims to want a vibrant city. Visions is a great night club. It happens to be a black club...and all of sudden its a terrible club. Yes traffic is bad, but what the hell do you expect? What happen in Buckhead is due to lack of security. Midtown has never had that problem. Visions had been going on for years...i dont recall any stabbings occuring. Im getting so tired of reading the racial overtoned comments. I love this forum, but gee...what has visions ever done but provide a outlet for ppl to party legally.

Vision is a beautiful club, absolutely.  And there is nothing wrong with the club per se.  It is the area around Vision that the potential problems that I am observing as a frequent Midtown-goer occur.  Examples:

1) The crowd that frequents Vision does not mesh too well with the WetBar/Blakes gay crowd that Midtown was known for in the beginnings of its resurgency.  The walk from Blakes to WetBar can be quite uncomfortable at times.
2) The cruising along Peachtree, essentially turning it into a slow-rolling parking lot, is just obnoxious.  It'd be one thing if it was just traffic, but the blocking of intersections, the blaring of bass 'music', and hooting and hollaring out the windows of the cars is embarrassing (and just obnoxious).  It's not a race thing - there are all races that participate in this.
3) Quite frankly, the scene in Midtown around that area just does not give the impression of vibrancy that we need for Atlanta.  We need more of a mix of ALL races of people filling the sidewalks (not in their loud cars on Peachtree Street).  Granted, Peachtree Street needs to be a little more pedestrian friendly, but I think that will happen with time.  The fabric of the city should allow for more mingling, and not require that one club attract so many people from all over town who go out of their way to cruise one street and patronize one establishment.

[perimeter285]

Hybrid0NE, on Mar 27 2006, 12:14 PM, said:

Well... if those clubs do move to the Underground area, it could answer the question of "What to do with the old World of Coca-Cola site?" The city could tear it down and expand Kenny's Alley. Then downtown could be active round-the-clock.

Perfect idea.  Super clubs like Vision at Underground and let Midtown fill in with neighborhood bars and smaller clubs.  

Underground is the perfect place for a collection of different genres of nightclubs and bars.  A couple things could be done that aren't in place now and I think the Coke museum moving could help.
1) With the Kenny's Alley expansion into the Coke space, try to give Kenny's Alley more of a street orientation.  The current configuration has it so closed off and isolated to the rest of downtown.  I don't see MLK becoming a big spot for cruising.
2) The hours of Marta should coincide with the hours of our potential party district.  

It's going to take a lot of good marketing, but I think with downtown's residential population coming along nicely, the potential of Underground is more of a reality now than ever.

[Martinman]

mhatl, on Mar 27 2006, 12:28 PM, said:

I dont get it. Everybody on here claims to want a vibrant city. Visions is a great night club. It happens to be a black club...and all of sudden its a terrible club. Yes traffic is bad, but what the hell do you expect? What happen in Buckhead is due to lack of security. Midtown has never had that problem. Visions had been going on for years...i dont recall any stabbings occuring. Im getting so tired of reading the racial overtoned comments. I love this forum, but gee...what has visions ever done but provide a outlet for ppl to party legally.

When did Vision become a black club.  I thought they had different themes on different nights which attract different clientel.  And it has nothing to do with race.    Complaints from Midtown residents is the reason Backstreet got shutdown.  Midtown is a city neighborhood with a lot of residential and thats just not the best place for large clubs.