Q: How did the High Museum get its name and evolve to the museum we have today?
A: The Midtown museum's lofty namesake comes from the High family. Harriet Harwell Wilson High, in 1926, donated her family's home on Peachtree Street to be the High's first permanent home, and the Atlanta Art Association was renamed after her (her husband was Joseph M. High). The museum moved in 1955 to a new brick building next to that house. It took a community of art lovers to elevate the High to its next phase. A $7.5 million challenge grant offered by Coca-Cola's Robert W. Woodruff in 1979 kicked off a fundraising effort that brought in $20 million to triple the space, to 135,000 square feet. The porcelain-enameled building, designed by Richard Meier, opened in 1983. An expansion designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and completed in 2005 made even more room for its growing art collection of more than 11,000 pieces (in its permanent collection) displayed in 312,000 square feet.
Q: Will eating eggplant parmesan at Scalini’s Italian Restaurant in Cobb County put me into labor?
A: For more than 20 years, moms-to-be with bulging bellies and big appetites have headed to the Smyrna restaurant in hopes that the trademark dish will send them to the nearest delivery room. I've heard reports of people driving nearly two hours, hoping to join the thousands of women who give credit to Scalini's saucy eggplant parmesan for giving their baby added incentive to leave mommy's belly. They're miserable and hopeful, says Bob Bogino, general manager of the family owned eatery who holds the spot as the first eggplant bambino. In a labor of love, Scalini's puts photos of hundreds of eggplant babies on the walls of the restaurant.
Q: Does Georgia attract alternative energy businesses?
A: Georgia is hoping its economy will be energized by this buzz-generating industry, and U.S. and international companies have chosen spots as varied as Dublin, Atlanta, Waycross, Marietta and Gainesville to call home, often adding jobs. Georgia isn't the Sunshine State, but it still attracts solar companies, like Belgium-based Enfinity, which develops and finances solar and wind energy and produces products such as photovoltaic systems for businesses, municipalities and utility companies. In Dublin, MAGE Solar made news last year for its plans to invest $30 million and add 350 jobs to make solar panels. That's a ray of hope in this bleak economy. Also adding to the alternative energy industry in the state are ethanol factories, wood-pellet plants and battery makers, which probably make environmentalists like Ted Turner proud.
What do you want to know?
If you’re new in town or just have questions about this special place we call home, ask us! E-mail Lori Johnston at q&a@ajc.com.
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