History

Here are three superior spots for a little aviation observation.

The reimagined Polaris opens to the public June 10. The iconic revolving restaurant that first opened in 1967 now houses two living room spaces, a bar, and a small restaurant. There's a definite emphasis on cocktails and socializing over dining.

For decades, as the lights dimmed before every Fashionata runway show, Rich’s fashion director Sol Kent would position himself in the wings backstage and whisper to each of his anxious models, “Be Divine!” Kent’s words ended up inspiring “Be Divine: A Tribute to Fashionata,” Thursday night’s sold-out tribute to the city’s long-running Rich’s-hosted style extravaganza at The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Midtown. The evening served as a benefit for the Breman.

Nestled amid apartment complexes on Seventeenth Street, the seven-story, 100-foot Millennium Gate is hard to miss but easy to whiz by. Many Atlantans assume the Roman-inspired arch, erected in 2008, is just another decorative element of Atlantic Station, the mini-city built on the site of an old steel mill. But the monumental structure houses a 12,000-square-foot museum that pays tribute to Georgia history and Atlanta’s founding families.

At one o’clock today, Atlanta city councilman Michael Julian Bond will honor Dante’s Down the Hatch owner Dante Stephensen at city hall with a City of Atlanta proclamation in honor of the restaurateur and jazz promoter’s “contributions to Atlanta’s cultural and business life.” Bond, a regular at the now-shuttered Buckhead nightspot, followed in the footsteps of his civil rights icon father Julian Bond, who was a regular at the original Dante’s Underground Atlanta location in the 1970s. “Dante’s was an Atlanta tradition,” explains Bond. “Locals and tourists alike flocked this unique establishment to experience a taste of the city in a communal fashion. This proclamation is our small gesture to Mr. Stephensen for four decades of service to Atlanta.”

The beleaguered but beloved red brick mansion on Peachtree Road at Lindbergh Drive has finally found a savior. This summer, NewTown Partners, an Atlanta-based economic development consulting firm specializing in historic preservation, will move the home to 78 Peachtree Circle, an empty lot in Ansley Park, where it will become the private home of company founders Christopher Jones and Roger Smith.

A century or so ago, if a black resident of Atlanta wanted to stop for a drink after work, he’d have to go to the basement of a saloon, or sit behind a curtain or screen in the rear of a bar. Jim Crow laws, which controlled everything from what African Americans could wear (no capes) and how they got to upper floors of the Candler Building (the freight elevator), kept the races from sharing a cold beer or shot of rye side by side.

As someone who writes history books and drinks bourbon with enthusiasm, I’ve naturally added Comedy Central’s Drunk History to my must-watch list. While DH might be sophomoric it certainly delivers laughs, and, occasionally, a little bit of learning.

When word got out that downtown Atlanta’s Hyatt Regency was working to reopen the Polaris—the blue-dome saucer that was immediately a skyline hallmark when it opened in 1967—the city buzzed with excitement. Details on the redesign have been kept under wraps since, and so I was excited when I got to meet the designers at The Johnson Studio and see the space last week.