Underground trying to rise up again

Things to Do

Photos: Underground trying to rise up again

Underground Atlanta, the city's landmark downtown entertainment district, is planning to remake itself again. Once Atlanta's version of the French Quarter devoted to nightlife, the area became a shopping mall with nightclubs, and now planners want to put casinos there. One problem: casinos are not legal in Georgia.

Lower Alabama Street in Underground Atlanta on Thursday, March 12, 2009. Along this Bourbon Street wannabe, Atlantans have cheered announcement of the Olympics, partied -- and nearly rioted -- during Freaknik, rung in many a New Year beside the dropping Peach, and, long ago, learned to eat fondu there at Dante's Down the Hatch.

A remnant of the first incarnation of Underground as party place is this sign from Dante's Down the Hatch. Dante Stephensen was one of Underground's first merchants and biggest advocates, and he brought a branch of his Buckhead restaurant back to Underground when it was revived, but soon left again.

A sign of the tough economic times and Underground's lingering woes is this unused postal box. The latest plan to slap Underground back to life is a $450 million proposal to gut the venue and build a video gambling center with hotels. And maybe change the name.

Lower Alabama Street through the heart of Underground Atlanta still shows sign of shopping and partying life. The reasons for Underground's troubles are many, critics and would-be saviors tend to agree.

Underground Atlanta security officer Bernard Merricks watches as the lunch-time crowd enters Lower Alabama Street. An Atlanta Constitution editorial writer in the 1970s suggested Underground take advantage of its danger-zone reputation and cater to the sex trade with strip joints and porn shops. The idea never got much political support.

Victoria Thomson probably knows better than most what the future holds for Underground Atlanta. She is by profession an astrologer and tarot card reader. She told our photographer that things were looking good for Underground and "today is a good vibration day."

Some of the vibration comes from a nearby MARTA rail line. Some Underground watchers say the arrival of MARTA, with its need for big chunks of the historic grounds, delivered a mortal wound to the complex. Others contend it brought important public access.

The Five Points MARTA station across Peachtree Street from Underground Atlanta is part of what some Undergound analysts describe as a no-man's land of vagrants, loiterers, panhandlers and street vendors. It is also the transfer point for smart folks riding the rail to the airport.

Steps to a downstairs Jamacian restaurant. Despite its ups and downs, Underground has continued to have a significant lunchtime crowd.

This Coca-Cola sign was in place before the renovation years ago. In the 1980s, Underground suffered double physical blows with heavy MARTA construction and a mysterious fire.

Thirty-year-old Brent Smith hands out samples of bourbon chicken during lunchtime in Underground. The restaurant he works for, Kempan, has been in the food court for 9 months.

In its second incarnation, Underground Atlanta went from being mostly a nightclub/party strip to being a shopping mall. Although nightclubs continue to operate in Underground, it remains priimarily a shopping area.

This store is, presumably, the Best of Atlanta, or maybe it's just trying to keep hope alive.

Before being turned into a tourist attraction in 1969, Underground was something of a lost city, having been hidden from notice by the viaducts and elevated rail lines built after the Civil War. By the time this photo was taken in 1979, Underground had a steady stream of tourists -- and worries.

The second incarnation may have been cleaner and safer, but it never seemed to re-capture the charm and feel of history of the gas-lit Underground captured in this 1975 photo. By one account, the civil war hospital depicted in 'Gone with the Wind' had been located in what became a storage room of Dante's

One of the odder chapters in modern Underground Atlanta history was when former segregationist Gov. Lester Maddox set up shop there in the mid-1970s. He is pictured outside his shop in 1978.

Fire and MARTA took their toll on Underground in the 1980s before construction began on a virtually all-new Underground. This construction site photo was taken in 1987.

Part of the new vision for Underground is this artist's rendering of a would-be Underground Atlanta casino.

1/18

Lower Alabama Street in Underground Atlanta on Thursday, March 12, 2009. Along this Bourbon Street wannabe, Atlantans have cheered announcement of the Olympics, partied -- and nearly rioted -- during Freaknik, rung in many a New Year beside the dropping Peach, and, long ago, learned to eat fondu there at Dante's Down the Hatch.

Today's Gallery Headlines

Alerts

PHOTOS: An early look at CNN Center's redevelopment in downtown Atlanta

PHOTOS: Wayfair opens first Atlanta store

PHOTOS: Hawks defeat Celtics in key East battle

PHOTOS: 'No Kings' rally at Bishop Park in Athens, Ga.

PHOTOS: The Weeknd electrifies the crowd at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz stadium

PHOTOS: Beyoncé fans arrive for 4-night Atlanta Cowboy Carter Tour stop

PHOTOS: Juneteenth Parade held in College Park

PHOTOS: Rapper Rick Ross holds 4th annual car show in Fayetteville