What am I thinking?

Got up early this morning, picked up Richard and headed to the Majestic for breakfast.

I explained to him about the Louise Taylor structure and that I needed his help in loading it into my truck to take to my house. That I wanted to keep it there until I could figure out what to do with it. He didn't say anything. He's known me 20 years and has learned to expect anything.

We headed over to Somerset Terrace then Angier Spring Road where there is still access to the Beltline.
Pulled my truck down close to where it was in the bushes and we loaded up the first load. There were several folks out this morning but no one seemed to care what we were doing...after all we were just hauling off debris. Took the first load over to my house and picked up the second load which included Louise's chair. I am so happy it is still intact. Most of the structure has been compromised but can be put back together with a few new supports. I just really didn't want anything to happen to this for whatever reason.

So much of my work for the past 20 years has dealt with death, loss and remembering so I feel compelled to keep this until I know more.

So much of Atlanta history has gone by the wayside. Just since I have been here, I remember Ponce de Leon Avenue quite differently than it is today. So if this does have some historical significance, I will try to preserve this relic.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. It just doesn't get much better than Atlanta in October. I can relax much easier now that I know the Louise Taylor structure is in my back yard.....in pieces.

This is unbelievable

This is unbelievable. Met with Alice this afternoon at the Majestic.

A very nice lady that has lived in the Poncy Highlands area off and on for 50 years.

She said that the structure had been nothing more than a curiosity to most folks for the last 40 years.

A lady named Louise Taylor from Alabama had built it in the spring of 1968 as a memorial to her friend, Mel Mann. Mel was hit by a car while crossing Ponce de Leon Avenue and died at Grady Hospital. 

She didn’t know that much about Louise but said that Mel was a local poet, civil rights activist, musician and all around mover and shaker with an infectious energy that attracted both women and men.  A varied cast of characters.

I told her I had moved here in 1980 and knew nothing of either of them.  She said she was not surprised as the whole event had been downplayed over the years. ..now I was really interested. She told me there were many variations on this story but she really wanted me to talk to one of Mel’s closest friends, Betty Jean Butler, that was now living in a home for the elderly here in Atlanta.  It would take a little time…but once she contacted “B. J.”  that she would let me know. 

I thanked her for her time. 

Walking back to my apartment through the crowds of people here for the Little Five Points Halloween Parade, I called my good friend Richard Crowe and asked him if he had anything to do tomorrow morning that I needed help with something around 8 am.  He said, “Fine”.

Didn't sleep

Didn't sleep very well last night thinking about the Louise Taylor structure.

Set down and called Alice Linn this morning and told her the structure had been pushed down. She said that one of her neighbors had mentioned that to her last week. She said that if I still felt the need to talk more about it that we could meet on Saturday around 2 pm at the Majestic Diner. Seemed to be a convenient location for both of us. I am excited and sad and am not sure why.

Walked back over to see what was left of the thing and did a quick sketch of it while it was still fresh in my mind.

                                       Memory sketch of the Louis Taylor structure by the railroad tracks.

Wow

Wow so much has obviously happened while I was away.

Took a walk down the newly opened Beltline East today and the "Lou Taylor" structure has been pushed down and is laying just off the Beltline. Yesterday this section of the Beltline opened and I guess they needed to remove it to spruce things up a bit.

I knew I should have photographed the structure before going to Russia.

It is now a pile of tin and wooden supports.
Not sure how long it will be before they haul it off and it is gone forever.

I must call the lady I met at the Inman Park Festival and find out some more information about this thing.
I would hate to see it disappear all together..

What a month

What a month.

I just got back from Russia. I did two installations while there in Nizhniy Novgorod and St. Petersburg. A magical experience. I am beat.

Yesterday I recharged my phone and there was call  that I had received while away. It was from Alice Linn. I had met her some months ago at the Inman Park Festival. She asked me to call her if I still wanted to talk further about the "Lou" Taylor structure. She said there had been some developments.

 How exciting. What wonderful news to come back to. I will give her a call tomorrow. Time to sleep.