who's who in the Portman family

[atlanta]

I see them mentioned a lot here and I know they are an Atlanta real estate/architecture family that designs tons of skyscrapers, but who is actually who? It seems like there is a zillion of them running around and their names mostly start with the letter J. Is the whole family involved in commercial real estate?

[ironchapman]

First of all, let me start off by saying that I LOVE your name!

The Portman that is the most famous (and the one we are usually talking about when we say the name "portman") is John Calvin Portman, Jr. For info on him, here is his Wikipedia Article: John Portman.

John Calvin Portman, Jr. (born December 4, 1924) is an American architect, sculptor, painter and developer known for creation of the multi-storied atrium hotel. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, home to much of his work, he graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1950.

He is, of course, supposedly the model for Charlie Croker, the protagonist in Tom Wolfe's "A Man In Full" novel.

[Hotlanta]

He likes to do round buildings for some reason. I always wondered why the Renaissance Building in Detroit looked so much like the Westin here in Atlanta. Now I know why.

[Mr.Marc]

He likes to do round buildings for some reason. I always wondered why the Renaissance Building in Detroit looked so much like the Westin here in Atlanta. Now I know why.

me too!

[Andrea]

He is, of course, supposedly the model for Charlie Croker, the protagonist in Tom Wolfe's "A Man In Full" novel.

Although some suspect the character is based on another fairly well known Atlanta developer. (There are parts of Charlie Croker that sound more like someone other than Portman). Wolfe of course implies that it's an amalgam of several people.

[atlanta]

Actually I was wanting to know more of the other Portmans. I know who papa Portman is but are all the kids involved in real estate?

[Andrea]

Actually I was wanting to know more of the other Portmans. I know who papa Portman is but are all the kids involved in real estate?

John Portman's son (John III) went into business with him but they're the only two I've heard of. It might help if you could specify who you're talking about.