Peachtree Center is a district located in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Most of the structures that make up the district were designed by Atlanta architect John C. Portman Jr. A defining feature of the Peachtree Center is a network of enclosed pedestrian sky bridges suspended above the street-level, which have garnered criticism for discouraging pedestrian street life.[1] The district is served by the Peachtree Center MARTA station, providing access to rapid transit.
History
editIntended to be the new downtown for Atlanta, Peachtree Center emerged as a distinct district in the early 1970s as a networked realm of convention hotels, shopping galleries, and office buildings a quarter-mile north of Five Points. Peachtree Center is notable for its uniform embodiment of the modern architectural style popular at the time. Yet the defining feature of Peachtree Center is its insular orientation, which allows patrons and workers to avoid interacting with the street level by traversing the area through sky bridges. By the mid-1980s, Peachtree Center had become the core of a dedicated hotel-convention district that lay at the heart of the Downtown economy, even as the remainder of Downtown Atlanta deteriorated markedly.[2]
While at the time Peachtree Center was considered the salvation of a decaying downtown Atlanta, contemporary city planning is highly critical of such insular environments that "turn their back" on the city streets.[3] Thus, as intown Atlanta began its post-1990 resurgence, Peachtree Center was increasingly criticized as an area that epitomized contemporary Atlanta's generic urbanity and sense of placelessness.[4] Other critics claim that Peachtree Center is disorienting, killed downtown street-life, and disregarded the existing urban context.[5]
The center was recognized for its architecture with listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.[6]
Architecture
edit| Name | Height | Floors | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peachtree Center Tower 230 Peachtree Street |
116 m (381 ft) | 31 floors | 1965 | [7][8] |
| Peachtree Center North (Gas Light Tower) 235 Peachtree Street |
101 m (331 ft) | 27 floors | 1968 | [9][10] |
| Peachtree Center South 225 Peachtree Street |
101 m (331 ft) | 27 floors | 1970 | [11][12] |
| Hyatt Regency Atlanta | 104 m (341 ft) | 24 floors | 1967 | [13][14] |
| Harris Tower 233 Peachtree Center NE |
116 m (381 ft) | 31 floors | 1974 | [15][16] |
| Peachtree Center International Tower (Cain Tower) 229 Peachtree Street NE |
115 m (377 ft) | 30 floors | 1976 | [17][18] |
| Marquis I 245 Peachtree Center NE |
115 m (377 ft) | 30 floors | 1985 | [19][20] |
| Marquis II 285 Peachtree Center NE |
115 m (377 ft) | 30 floors | 1989 | [21][22] |
| Peachtree Athletic Club 227 Courtland Street NE |
9 floors | 1985 | [23] | |
| Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel 210 Peachtree Street NW |
220.5 m (723 ft) | 73 floors | 1976 | |
| Atlanta Marriott Marquis 265 Peachtree Center Avenue NE |
169 m (554 ft) | 52 floors | 1985 | |
| AmericasMart Various Addresses |
Various Heights | 1961, 1979, 1992, 2008 | ||
| Truist Plaza 303 Peachtree Street NE |
265 m (869 ft) | 60 floors | 1992 | |
| American Cancer Society Center 250 Williams Street NW |
10 floors | 1989 |
Governmental Organisations
editThe U.S. Census Bureau has its Atlanta Regional Census Center in Suite 1000 in the Marquis Two Tower.[24] Several additional U.S. Government agencies have their southeast regional offices located in the Harris Tower, including the Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, Small Business Administration, and Internal Revenue Service.
The Consulate-General of Argentina is located in Suite 2101 in the Marquis One Tower.[25][26] The Consulate-General of Germany is located in Suite 901 of the Marquis Two Tower.[27] The Consulate-General of South Korea is located in Suite 500 in the International Tower.[28]
Gallery
edit-
Public art near Truist Plaza
-
Peachtree Center MARTA Station
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Lisa R. Schoolcraft (October 12, 2009). "New sky bridge will link Hyatt, Marriott hotels". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Low, Setha M. (1999). Theorizing the City: The New Urban Anthropology Reader. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. pp. 324-35. ISBN 9780813527192.
- ^ Robert M. Craig (August 14, 2009). "John Portman". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ The Postsouthern Sense Of Place In Contemporary Fiction, Page 6 By Martyn Bone
- ^ Mahbub Rashid (1997). Revisiting John Portman's Peachtree Center Complex in Atlanta (PDF). Space Syntax First International Symposium. Vol. 1. London. p. 17.1. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
- ^ "WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 3/14/2018 THROUGH 3/26/2018". National Park Service. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ "230 Peachtree Building". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "230 Peachtree Building". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Peachtree Center North". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Peachtree Center North". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Peachtree Center South". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Peachtree Center South". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Hyatt Regency Atlanta". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Hyatt Regency Atlanta". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Harris Tower". Emporis. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Harris Tower". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Peachtree Center International Tower". Emporis. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Peachtree Center International Tower". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Marquis I". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Marquis I". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Marquis II". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Marquis II". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ "Harris Tower". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The Atlanta Region." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 17, 2010.
- ^ "Contáctenos." Consulate-General of Argentina in Atlanta. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
- ^ "Peachtree Center[permanent dead link]" (Map). Peachtree Center. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
- ^ "Address, Contact and Office Hours Archived 2008-11-18 at the Wayback Machine." Consulate-General of Germany in Atlanta. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
- ^ "About the Mission". Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Atlanta. 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2013.