Jerome Cooper, FAIA

Academy of Medicine / Photo courtesy of Jimmy Thomas/Creative Commons One Atlantic Center / Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Atlanta Botanical Garden / Photo courtesy of John Stavely/Creative Commons Stone Mountain Park / Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Rhodes Hall / Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Ansley Park Historic District / Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

 

 

Jerry Cooper established Cooper Carry in 1960 with Walter Carry.

Best Historic Architecture

Located on West Peachtree St at 7th Street, the Academy of Medicine is an outstanding piece of Beaux Arts Architecture designed by Philip Shutze. The Temple, at 1589 Peachtree Street, is another excellent example of Beaux Arts Design which reflects the character of its Jewish Congregation. This Temple was the one that was bombed when the Rabbi spoke out in favor of the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This bombing outraged the citizens of Atlanta, who came together to endorse the changes being put forth by the Civil Rights Movement.The Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church is another excellent example of Beaux Arts Design by Philip Shutze. It is at the gateway to the Emory University campus and follows the concept for the rest of the campus as set forth by Hornbostel at the original quadrangle.

Best Off-The Beaten Path Architecture

Located at West Peachtree and 14th Street, One Atlantic Center was originally the IBM Headquarters in Atlanta and is an excellent example of Post-Modern Architecture. Its attention to proportion and detail bespeak the work of Philip Johnson. It has long been considered one of the best pieces of architecture by the public in Atlanta.

CNN Center (190 Marietta Street) was one of the next major redevelopment projects of Downtown Atlanta. As a mixed-use development consisting of office, retail, and hotel uses, it represented a new way of looking at the city. Its design concept was focused around a handsome 8-story interior atrium, which turned the uses to the interior and away from the street.

Underground Atlanta - Located at Peachtree Street and Alabama Street was one of the first redevelopment projects of the historic city. Atlanta was a hub city of railroad lines being the first place south of the Mason-Dixon Line where the East/West Railroad Lines crossed the North/South Lines. Alabama Street was the location of many of the railroad lines that came into the city. As such, it essentially divided the city into two pieces, North and South. In the 1920s, a number of bridges were built to allow traffic to cross Alabama Street without interference from the railroads, which resulted in most of the buildings with retail on their ground floor to raise their main entrances from Lower Alabama Street to Upper Alabama. Underground Atlanta was conceived to revitalize the lower levels of these buildings as retail uses and in doing so, to entice the public to come downtown for recreation. On its opening, it enjoyed an early success as one of the most visited sites for tourists coming to the city. Over time that has waned.

New North Atlanta High School - Located on Northside Drive at Mount Paran Road, this 11-story high school is an adaptive reuse of an existing office building that was one of the headquarters of IBM. The building spans a lake and a forest and creates a ‘pride of place’ in the minds of the students, their parents, and their teachers. As cities continue to grow and vacant land becomes less and less available, adapting existing structures to new and different uses will be the ‘ preview of coming attractions’ for many if not most cities.

Best Museums and Galleries

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) - Located on Peachtree Street at 16th Street across from the High Museum, this museum focuses on contemporary art, architecture, electronics, toys, fashion, furniture, and more.

Atlanta Botanical Garden - Located on Piedmont Road in Piedmont Park this facility celebrates the ‘reverence for the land’ that the City of Atlanta has long held. It provides a venue for concerts within a garden setting.

Best Restaurants

Antica Posta - Located on Pharr Road near Piedmont Road in Buckhead, this restaurant is a bona fide Italian Restaurant that is owned by Marco Betti. He also operates a restaurant in Cortona, Italy. His collection of Italian wines is both broad and knowledgeable.

New York Prime - Located on Lenox Road Connector across from Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, this is one of the preeminent steak restaurants in the city.

La Pulchinella - Located on 12th Street between Peachtree and West Peachtree at Midtown Atlanta, this is an excellent moderately-priced venue restaurant with impeccable service.

Highland Tap - Located on Highland Avenue at 10th Street this basement restaurant and bar has fantastic hamburgers with plenty of beer as well all at a moderate price. One enters from the parking lot to the rear.

Babette’s - Located at 573 North Highland Avenue, this intimate restaurant serves continental food in an exquisite fashion.

Best Excursions

Located on Martin Luther King Drive, the Atlanta University Center is a complex of universities including Morehouse, Spellman, and Clark—some of the preeminent African-American universities. Founded after the Civil War and funded in part by the Rockefeller family, these universities have produced many of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the nation and they continue to produce graduates who become leaders within the city.

East of the city, Stone Mountain Park features one of the largest outcroppings of granite in the world. Carved into it are the images of some of the leaders of the Confederacy. The view of the city from the top is breathtaking.

Best Neighborhoods

West Paces Ferry/ Habersham in Buckhead is comprised of some of the most handsome traditional residences, many of which were designed by preeminent architects within the city. Residences such as the Rhodes Hall, the James Dickey House, the Goodrum House, and the Cherokee Town Club are but a few examples of these homes and the lifestyles of their inhabitants. Located between Peachtree Street and Piedmont Avenue at 15th Street in Midtown Atlanta, Ansley Park is one of the earliest master-planned neighborhoods by Frederick Law Olmstead.