36 replies to this topic

[Hybrid0NE]

perimeter285, on Mar 27 2006, 01:52 PM, said:

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.

I better hurry up and get a copyright. 20% of future revenue from the expanded Kenny's Alley/World of Coke revitalization wouldn't be much to ask? Would it?  

[designspace]

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? To me that would be a better fit anyway.

Is a "club district" really a good idea?  Isn't this essentially what that section of Buckhead had become?  It seems the congregation in Buckhead contributed not only to increased disturbance but also to increased violence.  Just my opinion, but I think keeping clubs scattered about in more isolated areas could be better than creating another perfect storm...

[mhatl]

perimeter285, on Mar 27 2006, 01:52 PM, said:

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.

Underground has everything you'd want a club to have...except one thing! Look at underground. its not inviting. Bad lighting, bad decor...its awful. I tried going down there one night and was turned off. I never tired again. Then there was some drag show going on...that was too much for me. I have no problem with ppl who do that...but i dont want to come out of the club to that. You cant kick those ppl out of there. They wre their first. Honestly, atlanta club scene was sizzling in the late 90's early 2000's. Its cooled off a lot. Underground has gotta do a better job to attract better clubs. It starts with the decor

[AphroHippi]

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.

While Vision may cater to black folks most of the time, I don't think that the statements about Vision are based on that. Hell, my fiance and I live in midtown, we're black and we're young, but find it a hassle to navigate through the cruising traffic. Honestly, I don' think that Vision is the highest and best use for the site, so yes it need to go, but this is a sentiment that I had when I lived in the area in the late eighties, when the bldg was a  stinky grocery store. I've walked past Vision and 112 a few times when there was a long line and I felt funny. Why, I don't know, maybe I felt a little self conscious of the fact that though I'm black, I do look different (I think I was rocking a mohawk at the time) and I know from my experiences that many of these crowds are not open to too much of anything outside of what's seen on TV, so u have to hear stupid comments. So I can understand the comments about the Wetbar/Blakes patrons feeling uncomfortable.

Vibrancy to me is what I see in Va-Hi, L5P, downtown Decatur, not the area around Vision/ 112 they're probably NOT visiting any of the spots around the clubs, they're mostly interested in what's inside.

Sorry to be so longwinded and altering the subject a bit.....

[Andrea]

AphroHippi, on Mar 27 2006, 03:01 PM, said:

Why, I don't know, maybe I felt a little self conscious of the fact that though I'm black, I do look different (I think I was rocking a mohawk at the time) and I know from my experiences that many of these crowds are not open to too much of anything outside of what's seen on TV, so u have to hear stupid comments.

Too cool, AH.  

[ryanmckibben]

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.

I certainly do not want to start a race debate, but I take exception with your statement. What happened in B'Head was NOT a result of lack of security. If that were the only reason, Va-Hi would be one of the most dangerous places in the city. Large crowds do not equal illegal and disrespectful behavior.

Cultural norms do play a part in the friction between residents and club goers. However my objections to the patrons of these clubs have absolutely nothing to do with the race of their clientel. Unless of course your suggestion is that black=disrepectful. I do not believe that to be the case. As another poster has mentioned, it is not just a black thing. All races and nationalities are represented in the rolling nightclub that Peachtree becomes.

A perfect example is Bulldogs...a predominantly black club, yet I can not remember a single complaint against Bulldogs in the 4 years I have served on the board of the Midtown Neighbors Association. To imply that "we" are singling out Vision or Club 112 simply because they are "black" clubs shows a complete lack of understanding of the situation and serves only to bury the real issues under cries of racism, something that political leaders in this city seem to be good at.

At the end of the day, Vision and 112 are too large for their locations. The amount of traffic generated by these two establishments in such close proximity overwhelms Peachtree Street. Add the people who have no intention of going to the clubs, but just want to show off their cars and you end up with a public safety issue. Emergency vehicles can not get down Peachtree Street with that much traffic, and we have no hope of building a viable streetcar on Peachtree St under the current conditions.

While those clubs are not my style, I wholeheartedly defend their right to operate. However, clubs that large should have to go through something similar to the DRI process large developments must endure. If the infrastructure in the immediate area can not handle the expected traffic and crowds, they should not be allowed to open.

PS- I have taken a lot of criticism from the gay community for voting against the issuance of a liquer license for Backstreet and supporting the Old Fourth Ward in their drive to shut down the Phoenix. Now I am being called a racist for targeting Vision and 112. I volunteer my time to serve on the board of these orginizations in order to make Midtown a more welcoming place for ALL. I don't care what color, race, religion, or sexual orientation you are, as long as you show respect to those around you. Realize that you are a visitor to this area and that the people who live here should not be forced to put up with obnoxious behavior because you want to have a good time. Your good time should not come at the expense of the quality of life of those around you.

Edited by ryanmckibben, 27 March 2006 - 04:16 PM.

[foxmccleod]

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.

Sure, there are common problems associated with night clubs.  However, if we want Atlanta to be more of a 24 hour environment, we need to maintain spaces for those developments.  Underground is certainly not large enough to contain all the clubs that are in the downtown/midtown area.  Even if they wound up being smaller, it seems like it might be a good idea to provide some basement space within new developments for night clubs.  The upped enforcement of laws is a positive step, but I am not sure that squeezing them out would be a good idea.  It will be interesting to see how the desire for night clubs and the desire for more order, along with redevelopment of real estate come together in the next few years.

[Lady Celeste]

Okay, why don't we do this........

Continue the discussion about nightclubs in the midtown area in a thread started by HybirdOne. It's called "Hotlanta on Ice" or something like that. While I feel the discussion of clubs in downtown, midtown and Buckhead are important, this thread was specifically opened to discuss all the exciting news about the fresh and new highrise buildings proposed, under construction or newly completed.

It would make this thread a better reference tool if we could keep it devoted to that.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you guys would like for me to move the discussion there I would gladly oblige.

[Newnan]

that would be good

[mhatl]

thanks for the convo...no bad feelings toward anyone. I still love this site.

[Lady Celeste]

Thank you guys for being understanding. I went ahead and moved the club discussion here.

[perimeter285]

Thanks for the new thread Lady Celeste, and thanks mhatl for your candor and listening to the other points of view.

One more thing I did want to find out, and Ryan you may be able to answer this, what is this I hear about an ordinance that would require a bar of club to have a certain number of parking spaces based on the number of people that it can hold?  

I'm sorry but an ordinance that joins together people, their cars, and a bar is un-urban and common sensibly dangerous.

[socaguy]

Vision used to have a gay themed parties, usually T-dances on Sundays.  Not sure if they do that anymore...but that place was VERY nice.  
Does Wet have its days numbered too?  I was sad when Backstreet closed, although I wasnt too fond of it...but hell if they bulldoze the old Warehouse that is now called Wet ill be pissed!
I stated BEFORE Backstreet closed, (and 24 hour dancing)...on another forum, that lots of gay people would move out of Atlanta when it did...and low and behold...whenever I ask about someone I used to know it Atlanta, they say "Oh they moved to Ft. Lauderdale a few years ago....hmmmm".  Not reason enough for me to leave a city, but it did happen for many.
Never been to Compound but I heard it was voted Best New Club of the Year by some National competition.  Anyone been here?
I hear Metro in Midtown is now an after-hours spot.  Interesting...
Ive always Hotlanta was coined by truckers in the 1970's?  I know it was a HUGE circuit party that started in the 1970's.  First called Hotlanta River Expo, then changing just to Hotlanta.

[perimeter285]

socaguy, on Mar 27 2006, 08:31 PM, said:

Vision used to have a gay themed parties, usually T-dances on Sundays.  Not sure if they do that anymore...but that place was VERY nice.  
Does Wet have its days numbered too?  I was sad when Backstreet closed, although I wasnt too fond of it...but hell if they bulldoze the old Warehouse that is now called Wet ill be pissed!
I stated BEFORE Backstreet closed, (and 24 hour dancing)...on another forum, that lots of gay people would move out of Atlanta when it did...and low and behold...whenever I ask about someone I used to know it Atlanta, they say "Oh they moved to Ft. Lauderdale a few years ago....hmmmm".  Not reason enough for me to leave a city, but it did happen for many.
Never been to Compound but I heard it was voted Best New Club of the Year by some National competition.  Anyone been here?
I hear Metro in Midtown is now an after-hours spot.  Interesting...
Ive always Hotlanta was coined by truckers in the 1970's?  I know it was a HUGE circuit party that started in the 1970's.  First called Hotlanta River Expo, then changing just to Hotlanta.

Well I would say that given its recent multi-million $ renovation, I don't think it's going anywhere - but Vision was just redone too and they're going to close.  Who knows?  I would hope not though.  I think that, unlike Vision, WetBar is located in an area where it adds to the streetlife and character.  

However, I think when Plaza Midtown opens across the street, the new residents will not waste any time complaining about noise from WetBar's open air patio.  They'll have to close off the or not use the patio, which will be a shame because it offers an outdoor scene amidst the skyline unparalleled by any other Atlanta nightclub.  WetBar is the perfect size for Midtown though.

[Hybrid0NE]

Lady Celeste, on Mar 27 2006, 07:07 PM, said:

Thank you guys for being understanding. I went ahead and moved the club discussion here.

I was wondering why this topic blew up overnight. Thanks Celeste  

[Hybrid0NE]

bump

[bloomingdales]

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

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.

And its still the San Francisco of the soouth far as black gay pop goes. The Gay clubs i go to stay open till 6 in the morning. You have only been here a couple of months so you havent been here long enough to experience all of atlanta. there is alot to do Monday Thru Sunday.