I don’t understand “spacetime” any more than I do the argument that there is no such thing as time. It all makes about as much sense to me as the quantum theory of multiple universes where everything that can happen is happening and at the same time, which is odd because I thought there was no time. It’s all very confusing.
I guess, if it is true, then there is no past, present or future…things just are. But until bigger brains than mine figure all this out, the best we can say is that it sure seems like there was a past. I say that because I look at a lot of pictures of Atlanta that show buildings that don’t exist today but once did, somewhere in space or time.
There are so many buildings that have been built in Atlanta and then torn down that it makes one wonder if that is the real story of Atlanta. A city that is constantly rebuilding itself by getting rid of any trace of the previous city that existed. Time or no time, it’s kind of sad, wouldn’t you say? Some of the buildings that we got rid of were really nice.
And although we, as a city, do seem to favor keeping a few pieces of the buildings we tear down and creating public art out of them…that may not be enough. Take the case of the building that is the subject of this week’s Stories of Atlanta. Is what we have enough? You be the judge.
Makes me so sad to think of all the wonderful buildings that Atlantans have not appreciated. And it’s still happening — a wonderful Phillip Shutze house and Glenridge Hall (which really was a part of Atlanta history) were torn down just within the past 12 months.
Another great piece, Lance. The Carnegie Library was a classic, stately building. Why on Earth would we tear it down?
In the late 60’s we students had no internet for research, and so when I was assigned a term paper( Do kids still write term papers?) I did what many other Atlanta area kids did….I headed downtown to the Carnegie. Hopping aboard a bus ( that would The Atlanta Transit Co. – pre MARTA) from my south side suburban community, I would make it to the massive library in about 30 minutes or so. Pouring through the large collection of reference books, journals, and encyclopedias, I could usually mine enough info and data to get my project rolling. Many landmark structures have been razed over the years, but places like the old Rhodes-Haverty Building (1929), the Candler Building (1906) and the English-American Building (1897) (aka: “Flatiron”) are remaining reminders of the architectural greatness that has blessed the city.