#22... The Smith Plantation

Why We Love It..

The Smith Plantation is an excellent example of adaptive reuse.  It was built around 1845 and was an actual home until 1994.  The city bought the property in 1985 and allowed the final owner to live there until her death in 1994.  Tours began in 1992.  The conversion to a public asset helps preserve the history of our city for all and reminds everyone of a bygone time in this area.  It's really a beautiful example of a southern plantation house.

What We Don't Love..

There's not much not to like.  If we had to say anything, it would be that it's really difficult to see.  I guess you have to get out of your car or off the sidewalk but there really isn't any good way to get a glimpse of the front of the building without entering from the City Hall parking lot or from the sidewalk on Atlanta Street. 

#23... Oak Street

Why We Love It..  

Well, we didn't like it as much until just recently.  The streetscape improvements have really made a big difference in the appeal of the area.  We can't wait to see the area grow.  The new trimmings will help businesses by creating a more attractive environment for visitors.  We are fans of the unique businesses along the street and love the Oak Street Cafe.  The Teal Art Gallery just opened recently and Street Dance Studio was a good addition a little over a year ago.

The city has plans for this area to eventually be an arts village with arts centric businesses and residential buildings to help give life to the area.  We support this vision and think it would be a great way to bring additional life to the historic district.

What We Would Change..

Well, we'd obviously like to upgrade the entire street but that will come over time.  It would be nice to see something besides a parking lot at the western end of the street but hopefully that will be addressed sometime in the future as well. 

The biggest thing we would do is figure out a way to get the wires out of the air.  Our historic district is overrun with utility lines and poles that were poorly placed and ultimately contribute negatively to the overall quality of the environment.  There were some improvements along Oak Street but the cost kept the city from making the full improvements that were needed.

#24... Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Shop

Why We Love It...

Well, it's not Starbucks.  What it is, is a fantastic use of a historic building along South Atlanta Street that helps make the neighborhood a little cooler.  The Coffee Shop oozes charm and personality.  The staff is always great and there is atmosphere with live music on the weekends.  

Up until the opening of Roswell Provisions, there wasn't really a good, local option for Coffee in the historic district aside from LOATH.  

They also buy their coffee exclusively from growers in Rwanda and pay higher than fair trade prices for it.  You can learn more about those efforts at their website, www.drinkcoffeedogood.com. 

What We Would Change...

There's not much we would change about the coffee house itself or the business.  However, it is a little difficult to get to on foot and it's at the southern end of the historic district.  If I could do anything, I'd move the entire house to somewhere on the square.  But, since that's not possible, we'll keep it just the way it is.

image: DrinkCoffeeDoGoodRoswell.com

#25... The Farmer's Market

Why We Love It..

We are huge proponents of healthy eating and shopping at the Farmer's Market is definitely something we love to do.  Unfortunately, we don't make it out nearly enough.  Competing demands on Saturday mornings.  

The music is a nice touch and there are always friendly vendors with good, tasty food.

What We Would Change..

The Location.  Sure it's cheap for the city to have it at City Hall and yes there is plenty of Parking.  However, it just doesn't get the visibility.  If you want to attract the casual shopper, it has to be visible.  The move from Riverside Park was a step in the right direction but it's still not quite where it needs to be.  If it were me, I'd figure out a way to have it right at the intersection of Canton St and Hwy 9.  That's where the life is and there's not a better place to catch the eye of a driver passing by.  If that's not doable, the square would probably do nicely as well.

Compare our Farmer's Market to the Alpharetta Farmer's Market and you quickly see that we have been one-upped by our neighbor to the north.  Although they do have it in a parking lot, it is in a highly visible location and they now have a fantastic sign there to advertise to all passers by that the Farmer's Market is there.  It gives it a feel of permanence that ours doesn't have.  

Also, I could be a little behind on this but I think ours is still called the Riverside Farmer's Market.  We should probably change that.  Maybe the Roswell Farmer's Market.

#26... The Midtown Streetscape Project

Why We Love It...

The project extended/improved sidewalks, historic lighting and a textured brick median almost all the way up to Holcomb Bridge.  This really helped create more of a historic feel on one of the main gateways into the historic district.  The city had the right intentions when they approved this project.  Not only does it immediately improve the functionality, safety and aesthetics of the corridor but it also will, over time, encourage better development.  

The current mish-mash of strip centers, muffler shops and closed fast food joints is unsightly at best and blight at worst.  The good thing is that we are heading in the right direction.  Some good new businesses have opened up in the last couple of years and the streetscape will gradually improve.

What We Would Change...

In a perfect world, there are several things we would do differently on this one.  First and foremost, the power lines and 1960's style highway lighting should have come down.  It's hideous and the improvements are almost overwhelmed by the power lines and lights.  Unfortunately, the budget just wasn't there to do it.

We would have done the median differently by putting in brick pavers in the median rather than the stamped asphalt and there would have been more median islands to both act as pedestrian refuge areas and to create friction with the auto flow to naturally slow the traffic down.  

There are no bike lanes and that's a shame but it makes sense because the traffic is still too fast along the corridor.  The aforementioned median modifications would have helped slow down the traffic a bit and 5-10mph is really all that's needed to make bike lanes a logical and usable option.  

Right now, we are still left with what our friends at Strong Towns call a STROAD.  A street/road hybrid that moves traffic too slow to be efficient and too fast to provide a platform for value.  If you want to create a great street for people, the speeds need to come down to the 30-35 mph range.  If you want to create an efficient road for traffic flow, they need to go up to the 55 mph range and eliminate a lot of the curb-cuts that are there now.

So, all in all, we've made huge progress but there's still a lot of work to be done in many areas along Alpharetta Hwy.

image: City of Roswell

#28... Our Churches

What We Love...

Churches and religious institutions help bind the social fabric of most communities.  Historic Roswell is no different.  There are no less than seven churches in the historic district and one synagogue  Most of which are historic themselves with several of the ones along Mimosa Street dating back to the 1830's.  The older buildings have given way to much larger chapels to house the congregations that have grown over the past ~170 years.  

For the most part, the churches are picturesque (especially the First Baptist and Presbyterian churches on Mimosa) and contribute well to the historic district making it an interesting place to be.

What We Don't Love...

The parking lots..  Especially the Presbyterian church with its parking lot along Atlanta Street.  That's a huge missing tooth in the historic district that contributes to the gap between the square and Canton Street.

The sheer size.  These days, churches have gotten on the economies of scale bandwagon and really have found the need to get bigger to stay relevant.  This isn't a problem with our Historic Roswell churches per se... as it is happening everywhere and there are some pretty small churches here as well.  We feel that large churches really take away from the small town feel and end up contributing to worship becoming more like an entertainment experience.  I'm not ranting on that form of worship (to each his own) but it doesn't contribute to a small town feel as much as smaller less regional churches do. At least there's nothing as large as the North Point Community Church in our little neighborhood.

image: BM Masonry 

#27... Historic Roswell Fire Station

Why We Love It..

You might not pay too much attention to this fire station but we sure do.  There are three primary reasons that we love our fire station.  First, the location is fantastic.  It is situated right next to a number of our city's most important cultural assets which ensures that they are as safe as they can be from a response time perspective.  It is also positioned along the main artery of the historic district ensuring that most people who drive by get a glimpse of it.  Which leads us to our next reason.  

The design of this station is great.  It blends in well with the historic district and does not scream "HEY I'M A FIRE STATION" at you as you walk, ride or drive by. There is a reason for that.. It was originally a Chevrolet dealership.  Which brings us to the last reason we love it...

The adaptive reuse of an older building is not only inherently environmentally friendly but it enabled a mix of uses for the building.  The old showroom for the Chevy dealership now serves as a small fire museum.  

What We Would Change...

There's not much to change.  The FD is great and the building works well with the surrounding built environment.  We might make it a little more well known that there is a small Fire Museum in the building.

image: Google StreetView

#29... Soda Salon

Why We Love It...

This one's for the ladies..  Soda Salon is one of the truly great salons in Roswell. The atmosphere inside and out is excellent.  The staff seems to be rock solid.  Sure there are other great salons in Roswell but none really help contribute to the overall built environment as well.  Located in the original commercial center of Roswell across the street from the historic town square, the building is a great example of what we need more of in Roswell and the rest of the burbs.

The picture says a lot.  The interior is top notch combining the salon atmosphere with a quality art gallery as well.  Then looking out, you see the square across the street.  This pic just happened to be during Christmas so the square had all the lights up.  

What We Don't Love It...

Wow it's expensive! But, I'm a guy and don't understand these things and I do believe that you get what you pay for. Beyond that, there isn't much not to like.

image: Atlanta.CitySearch.com

#31... Our Brick Sidewalks

Why we love them...

The red bricks that you see in many parts of the historic area enhance the visual appeal of the city, make for an interesting pedestrian experience and help create a a sense of place.  The brick sidewalks are most notable on Canton Street which is one of the truly great streets in Georgia.  Without them, our historic district would definitely lose some of it's charm.

What we would do next...

First, any new sidewalks should be required to be the same brick anywhere in the district regardless of whether they are paid for by a private developer or by the city.  Why did we not put them in on the Midtown Streetscape project???

Second, Mimosa Street should get them ASAP.

Third, a real focus should be put on completing our sidewalk network.  It's very fragmented in areas and creates an environment that isn't conducive to walking everywhere.