Peachtree Center

Street scene in Peachtree Center

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

Skywalks are a defining feature of Peachtree Center

Intended 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]

Architecture

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, located on Peachtree Center Avenue

The beige buildings of Peachtree Center

Name	Height	Floors	Year	Notes
Peachtree Center Tower 230 Peachtree Street	116 m (381 ft)	31 floors	1965	[6][7]
Peachtree Center North (Gas Light Tower) 235 Peachtree Street	101 m (331 ft)	27 floors	1968	[8][9]
Peachtree Center South 225 Peachtree Street	101 m (331 ft)	27 floors	1970	[10][11]
Hyatt Regency Atlanta	104 m (341 ft)	24 floors	1967	[12][13]
Harris Tower 233 Peachtree Center NE	116 m (381 ft)	31 floors	1974	[14][15]
Peachtree Center International Tower (Cain Tower) 229 Peachtree Street NE	115 m (377 ft)	30 floors	1976	[16][17]
Marquis One 245 Peachtree Center NE	115 m (377 ft)	30 floors	1985	[18][19]
Marquis Two 285 Peachtree Center NE	115 m (377 ft)	30 floors	1989	[20][21]
Peachtree Athletic Club 227 Courtland Street NE		9 floors	1985	[22]
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
SunTrust Plaza 303 Peachtree Street NE	265 m (869 ft)	60 floors	1992
American Cancer Society Center 250 Williams Street NW		10 floors	1989

Economy

The U.S. Census Bureau has its Atlanta Regional Census Center in Suite 1000 in the Marquis Two Tower.^[23] 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.^[24][25] The Consulate-General of Germany is located in Suite 901 of the Marquis Two Tower.^[26] The Consulate-General of South Korea is located in Suite 500 in the International Tower.^[27]

Gallery

Public art near SunTrust Plaza  Peachtree Center MARTA Station

See also

• Embarcadero Center

References

1. Lisa R. Schoolcraft (October 12, 2009). "New sky bridge will link Hyatt, Marriott hotels". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
2. Low, Setha M. (1999). Theorizing the City: The New Urban Anthropology Reader. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. pp. 324–35. ISBN 9780813527192.
3. Robert M. Craig (14 August 2009). "John Portman". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
4. The Postsouthern Sense Of Place In Contemporary Fiction, Page 6 By Martyn Bone
5. Mahbub Rashid (1997). Revisiting John Portman's Peachtree Center Complex in Atlanta (PDF). Space Syntax First International Symposium. 1. London. p. 17.1. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
6. 230 Peachtree Building at Emporis
7. "230 Peachtree Building". SkyscraperPage.
8. Peachtree Center North at Emporis
9. "Peachtree Center North". SkyscraperPage.
10. Peachtree Center South at Emporis
11. "Peachtree Center South". SkyscraperPage.
12. Hyatt Regency Atlanta at Emporis
13. "Hyatt Regency Atlanta". SkyscraperPage.
14. Harris Tower at Emporis
15. "Harris Tower". SkyscraperPage.
16. Peachtree Center International Tower at Emporis
17. "Peachtree Center International Tower". SkyscraperPage.
18. Marquis I at Emporis
19. "Marquis I". SkyscraperPage.
20. Marquis II at Emporis
21. "Marquis II". SkyscraperPage.
22. Harris Tower at Emporis
23. "The Atlanta Region." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 17, 2010.
24. "Contáctenos." Consulate-General of Argentina in Atlanta. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
25. "Peachtree Center" (Map). Peachtree Center. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
26. "Address, Contact and Office Hours." Consulate-General of Germany in Atlanta. Retrieved on July 28, 2009.
27. "About the Mission". Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Atlanta. 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.

External links

• Peachtree Center official website

Coordinates: 33°45′37″N 84°23′16″W / 33.7604°N 84.3877°W