Georgia State University, located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, is an anomaly with respect to other American colleges and universities. The large, federally funded research university boasts over 50,000 students and ranges over 120 million square feet of Atlanta’s downtown sector. The university’s campus is a unique setting in which there are no clear boundaries of where the school ends and Atlanta begins, which differs greatly from its Midtown counterpart, Georgia Tech. The lack of a closed-off campus is often a troubling topic for most Georgia State parents as they fear for the safety of their children. What most parents fail to see is that the way in which the campus is interwoven into the city is far from a drawback. In fact, the university has become such a crucial part in making the downtown area a safer, cleaner space. With its vibrant diversity, expanding campus, and close proximity to Atlanta attractions, Georgia State University is very much responsible for redefining the rhetoric of the built environment of downtown Atlanta.
Past the Pencil Factory buildings, right across the street looms a large, ultilitarian-looking concrete building. Out front, there is a large metal sculpture that hides a massive staircase behind. The station is extremely large in nature, and the architecture looks like it was built in the 1950s. On the opposite end of the station is a large, colorful mural. At the time I went there was no one present (besides my roommate and myself). The emptiness and the dated look of the building contributed to a very eerie, abandoned feeling.
Sitting on the corner of Decatur Street and Ellis is a small store with a red and white striped dome on the exterior, sporting the name “Walter’s”. The store sits on campus, and has been a famous little spot in Atlanta for decades. In the window, you can see tacky tourist tshirts and an extremely extensive collection of shoes. The store inside is packed with clothing, shoes, and hats on every available surface. It has a very crowded, cramped feeling, but it makes it almost homey in a way. The mom and pop appeal of the store is one unique to the downtown region.
Walking along a busy road in downtown Atlanta, you see and hear a lot of interesting things; mostly cars whizzing by, but here and there you find pockets of activity. Unlike most streets in the downtown area, Decatur Street is almost always active with plenty of new, clean buildings to gaze at. Even with the mass exodus of most of downtown’s businesses, Decatur Street has managed to stay alive and well as it has for over 100 years. As early as the turn of the century, this street was part of a relatively wealthy black neighborhood. Sincce then, the area has seen various ups and downs, and it is currently in one of its highs. Being one of the original seven streets in Terminus, Decatur runs throughout many neighborhoods in the downtown region. It’s most heavily congested area, though, runs through our very own Georgia State. Flanked by Classroom South, Willy’s, and the library on one side, and Urban Life, Langdale Hall, and Walter’s on the other. The street cuts directly through the heart of campus. Anywhere along this street near main campus, you can find flocks of students migrating from one end of campus to another. Even the pedestrian bridge overhead is packed with students moving between buildings. On the way to and from the Honors College, I pass over a very different part of Decatur Street as I walk down Hill Street to my apartment. I walk right past the Pencil Factory Shops and Flats, with Bada Bings bar directly across the street from me. While this area is becoming a cleaner, more residential area of the city, you can’t help but acknowledge the very distinct smell of homeless people as you walk past these shops. Right as you cross Decatur Street, there is a tunnel where you can find at least three or four homeless people laying on the ground at any given point. In the city’s efforts to repurpose abandoned parts of the city, the old Pencil Factory was converted into shops and apartments. Along the street on ground level, the storefronts are heavily populated with restaurants, bars, pubs, and grocery stores. As you walk past on weekend nights, the many bars and pubs are packed to capacity with people cheering on their teams and booing the refs. Other nights, the street is quieter, where you can find people sitting in any of the various restaurants, of which Bento Hut is my personal favorite. A little farther down the road in the opposite direction of campus, looms a massive concrete structure adorned with colorful paint on the sides of it. This part is the King Memorial MARTA Station. This section of Decatur Street is much quieter. I’ve passed by, both driving and walking at various times of day, and I have never seen anyone enter or exit the station. Overall, it is hard to come up with just a few ways to describe Decatur Street. Because of how much of the city it spreads across, each individual section of the famous street has its own environment, vibes, and characteristics. It truly is one of Atlanta’s treasures.
The old pencil factory on Decatur street has transformed into an active residential and commercial area. Shops and restaurants line the streetfronts, offering everything from Indian food to small boutiques. Located on top of these shops are five stories of apartments and flats, vacated by a lot of students and young adults. The renovation of the factory allowed for a once nearly abandoned area to become active once again.
A shot of Decatur Street as it passes through Georgia State University. The pedestrian bridge crosses over the busy street to allow students to get from class to class safely. Students can be found using the bridge at any given point of the day, given that it connects all the major classroom buildings to one another via the Plaza.
This sign shows where Decatur Street and Peachtree Center Avenue intersect. This intersection is right in the middle of Georgia State University campus where thousands of students cross everyday. The street is often busy with both vehicle and foot traffic. Around the corner here are the Arts and Humanities building, Kell Hall, and Langdale Hall. Surprisingly, many people frequent these street that do not necessarily belong to the Georgia State community. Much of the vehicle traffic consists of people simply passing through the campus to or from work.
Around the early 1900s, people in the United States were becoming more and more educated. With the demanding nature of the working class job, most Americans found it difficult to further their education. As a result the Georgia Institute of Technology decided to open a branch of its university in the downtown area as an evening school. The downtown sector very quickly became a popular college of choice for many Atlantans. To accomodate such a rapid increase in enrollment, the school had to undergo many renovations and relocations in order to increase its potential capacity. The unexpected success of the school forever changed the landscape and the built environment of downtown. Previously a place with a less than perfect reputation, the area was now an urban hub once again. Students of all ages roamed the streets as the night school transitioned in to a day school in the 1930s and 1940s. Increasing foot traffic led to a new influx of restaurants, shops, and bars in the nearby area, many of which were located on Broad Street, which is still a popular spot for students today. Noting its success, the Univeristy of Georgia bought the rights to claim this flourishing institution in 1952. This merger brought an entirely new range of programs and majors offered in the downtown campus. As a result of its vast success, the school eventually fought for its independence as a university. In 1969, the fought was won, and Georgia State officially became a soveriegn university.
The expansion of Georgia State throughout the city is clear when walking around the downtown sector. The open-style campus extends from MLK Jr. Drive, across from the capitol, all the way down to Broad Street, going as wide to Bell Street and Underground Atlanta on either side. Back in 1949, when the university was under the title of the University of Georgia, Atlanta Division, the school took up one small building between Decatur Street and Hurt Park. This building still stands today, known by current students and staff as Kell Hall.
From this small building, Georgia State has expanded outward in all directions. Classroom South and the Petit Science Center stand as the farthest points in the westward direction, the title of which will have to be given to Turner Field within the next year. Southward, across I-75 and I-85, lies the practice fields, making the border between Georgia State and the Grant Park neighborhood. The creation of the Aderhold Learning Center pushed the boundary northward to the corner of Luckie Street and Forsyth Street. And to the east, the University Commons housing ends the campus right before hitting the interstate. The entire campus encompasses about 518 acres of land, covering the majority of downtown. The inclusion of Aderhold into the campus has made the Fairlie-Poplar area a major part of campus. The historic district features a plethora of international foods where students often go for food between classes. The cobblestone streets add a quaint, historic element to the campus, and it also serves as a place that is filled with not only students, but Atlanta residents and businessmen alike.
Having such close proximity to larger businesses, especially Georgia Pacific, the downtown sector has not been completely dominated by student life. One of the best qualities about Georgia State is the inclusive campus style that allows for contact with everyday people, not just students, faculty, and staff. In this manor, Georgia State is able to accurately capture what life in the downtown sector is like. Many other urban campuses claim to offer this effect, but when they are closed off, such as Georgia Tech, there is not much room for interaction between all walks of life.
In the years leading up to the financial crisis of 2008, many large corporations decided to leave their longstanding homes in downtown Atlanta. Moving to midtown, they sought taller, newer, and more attractive buildings, surrounded by an area of town that was equally as posh. Upon this mass exodus to midtown, the downtown sector suffered immensely. Dozens of buildings were left vacated, as most of these old offices were never able to be sold. Soon after, the financial crisis of 2008 doomed the city in a way in which it appeared as if downtown was doomed to become a sea of abandoned buildings, overgrown vines, and empty streets.
Vacant Building in the Fairlie Poplar District Credit: http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/lt/lt_cache/thumbnail/728/img/photos/2016/10/12/1c/90/iconic-ba46.jpg
Old-style vacant homes right next to Centennial Hall on Auburn Avenue Credit: http://atlanta.curbed.com/2013/10/23/10184320/glimpses-of-atls-most-annoyingly-vacant-spaces
The year 2009, however, brought forth a renewed sense of hope for the survival of downtown. Sitting in the heart of downtown is Georgia State University, an incredibly successful institution; so much so, that its growth and expansion were not very well accounted for. The abundance of vacant buildings provided the university with the perfect way to expand its campus. President Mark Becker took his place as the leader of Georgia State in 2009. Becker had a vision for downtown that included incorporating the school into most of the downtown area. Many of the things that previously circled Becker’s mind have now come to fruition. By doing so, Becker effectively saved both Georgia State and downtown Atlanta from what could’ve been extreme economic catastrophe.
For those new to Georgia State, it is difficult to imagine a time when the campus did not extend down Piedmont Avenue, when Centennial Hall did not exist, and there was no Willy’s to curb appetites between classes. However, that time did exist, and it was only six or seven years ago that the campus was surrounded by abandoned, crumbling buildings. Piedmont Avenue was previously one of the worst in terms of the level of decay. Now, however, Piedmont is lively, its streets flanked by apartments, dorms, and student amenities, such as the Rec Center. Below is a list of projects done within the last 16 years at Georgia State:
GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENTIn the past 16 years, GSU completed the following projects, many after Mark Becker became the school’s president in January 2009:
Student Center — 124,000 square feet, opened fall 1998
North Metro Center — 49,720 square feet, opened 2000
Student Recreation Center — 174,000 square feet, opened 2001
Aderhold Learning Center — 160,000 square feet, opened fall 2002
University Lofts (435 beds) — opened summer 2001
University Commons (2,000 beds with 786-space parking deck) — opened fall 2007
Library renovation and expansion — completed in 2008
Patton Hall — 79,777 square feet, opened fall 2009
Decatur Street pedestrian improvements — completed in 2010
Piedmont Avenue pedestrian improvements — completed in 2011
Piedmont North Student Housing (943 beds with 315-space parking area) — opened fall 2010
Parker H. Petit Science Center — 360,000 square feet, completed July 2010
Piedmont North Dining Hall — completed fall 2011
Alpharetta Academic Facility — 45,000 square feet, completed fall 2011
Outdoor student recreation facility — football and intramurals practice fields, completed in 2012
25 Park Place Tower Renovation (five floors) — completed December 2012
Campus master plan update — completed December 2012
Sand volleyball courts — completed in 2012
100 Auburn Avenue renovation — completed August 2013
Indian Creek Lodge — 4,900 square feet, completed December 2013
Humanities Law Building — 200,000 square feet, scheduled completion by July 2015
Map of Georgia State University today Credit: https://wdanielanderson.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/downtown-atlantas-georgia-state-university/
This chart from 2014 and the map above do not include the current major project underway: the Turner Field renovation. In 2015, the Atlanta Braves announced their planned move to Cobb County after the city of Atlanta refused to fund the construction of a new stadium. Since the team announced its departure, downtown has been in a state of panic, as the Braves offer the city with an abundance of tourism and as a result, an influx of money. In the fall of 2016, President Becker announced that Georgia State would be buying Turner Field, making it into a new football stadium, baseball stadium, and possibly even some new classroom buildings among the massive expanse of land. Because of the work Becker has done in downtown, Georgia State is often looked to when the threat of a messy real estate issue turns up. So far, the university has avoided many real estate disasters by picking up various buildings when vacated. This had benefitted Georgia State greatly in that the previously small campus was no longer able to hold such a rapidly growing student body. Now, however, the university easily accomodates all 50,000 students with relative ease.
