The Scott Drive In Theatre . Decatur, GA.

First Drive-In Theatre in Decatur, GA. opened in Sept. 1951
The below picture of the entrance of the Scott Drive-In was located at the corner of Scott Blvd. & the Lawrenceville Hwy.
This is a newspaper article about the Grand opening of The Scott-Drive-In Theatre.
A new asset to Decatur's impressive list of modern business establishments has been added in the Scott Drive Theatre at the intersection of Scott Blvd and the Lawrenceville Hwy.
Set in a natural amphitheatre and partially enclosed by a cresent-shaped backdrop of trees, the new drive-in is one of the most beautiful anywhere in the south. It opened Monday.
With 550 automobile positions, the new outdoor movie has 12 parking ramps. Elevated and tilted to give the viewer just the right view of the screen, the ramps are close enough so that customers at the rear can get a clear picture.
Community Theatres Corporation who built the new drive-in have secured the very latest of equipment and designs for their movies.
Frederick G. Story, president of Community Pictures, says that the Scott's big concession stand is probably the best designed in this area.
We studied many oother drive-in concession stands and elimated all of their mistakes in ours he said.
Features of the concession house are the comfortable rest rooms, public telephones,cigarette machines and cafeteria style service.
The sound equipment the speakers which the drive-in customer hangs from his auto window is R C A which Mr. Story says is the best of it's kind. And he adds that the Scott's movie screen is the largest in the Metropolitan area.

The opening night had some 550 cars which is a full house.
1000 cars were turned away that first night.










click on youtube below.

THE DEKALB THEATRE

This is The Dekalb Theatre
it was located at:

130 East Ponce de Leon Avenue
Decatur, GA


photo circa 1940

Next Stop Decatur gets a hard hat tour of The New Decatur High School Stadium

Today I was able to take a hardhat tour of The New Decatur High Stadium. The following photos are from my tour Inside the fence and a behind the scene look.

The construction workers are working 7 days a week, they have 30 days to go , so they say.
Today they are preparing the field for the installation of the artificial turf.
They say the installation of the turf can take up to 7 to 10 days.

Special thanks to Don and Steve who arranged my hardhat tour.

Thanks guys.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Progressive Radio comes to Decatur

eLIFE Video

Scott Auto Repair Street Scene.

Street Scene.
in Decatur, GA.

Looking back at Decatur High School circa 1962

Funtown Friday Entertainment Presents Video No. 11...The New James Bond Movie

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: Turner Classic Movies

Turner Classic Movie Night with host Robert Osborne
Saturday, Aug 16, 2008 | 8:30PM

Experience Gone With The Wind, Dr. Zhivago, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more classics as never before in a blockbuster concert of glorious music and memorable film clips. Robert Osborne, the popular and enlightening host of Turner Classic Movies, provides back stories and anecdotes.

For ticket info click here.

Mingei raises over $2300 to open library in rural Mexico!

Mingei World Arts is thrilled to announce that we have raised more than $2300 to date -- more than enough to open the doors to the Library in La Union, Mexico!

Funds were raised through a benefit performance featuring Carmen Deedee and John McCutcheon at the Decatur Library on July 29 and from sales of hand-carved folk art reading figures from the carvers of the village. The event waws co-sponsored by the Georgia Center for the Book.

Ann VanSlyke, one of the owners of Mingei, is off to Mexico on Monday. The Library inauguration is scheduled for August 20th.

For this project, Mingei partnered with Libros Para Pueblos, an organization that creates libraries in rural villages in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Mingei continues to take donations and still has some of these wonderful reading figures, and more are on the way. 20% of sales of these figures will be sent to the library in perpetuity to support and maintain its programs. The collection, including the newest pieces, will be featured during the Decatur Book Festival.

Donations to Libros Para Pueblos are tax deductible. For more information, visit their website at http://www.librosparapueblos.com. To earmark your donation for the La Union library, please donate through Mingei World Arts. Make checks payable to The Oaxaca Lending Library Foundation, with Libros Para Pueblos, La Union in the subject line.
Ann VanSlyke
Mingei World Arts
427 Church Street
Decatur, GA 30030
404-371-0101

What’s the best dog-friendly restaurant in metro Atlanta?

By Phil Kloer |

Yappy Hour? Yup. Yappy Hour.

That’s the dog-friendly promotion being run by Iron Horse Tavern in Norcross.

Of course, pets are not allowed in bars or restaurants, except helping animals, but plenty of metro Atlanta restaurants set aside outdoor areas or porches for people with pets (on a leash).

There’s ParkGrounds in Reynoldstown, with bowls of water set out under a shade tree. Doggie Dining on the patio at Nancy G’s Cafe and Bistro. Even gelato for your pet at Paolo’s Gelato Italiano.

Those are but a few to get the conversation started. Which restaurant welcomes you and your dog? What do they do that’s so dog-gone great?

And for a prize, we have Season 4 of the TV series “House,” the whole thing, on DVD. There aren’t any dogs in “House,” but hey, it’s a prize, a random drawing among those who enter in the first 7 days.

post your comment here

Wordsmiths Books requests donations to remain in business

By HELENA OLIVIERO, DAVID MARKIEWICZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/06/08

In an effort to save his struggling independent bookstore, owner Zachary Steele is employing an unusual and humbling tactic.

He's asking for donations.
Wordsmiths Books, a for-profit Decatur bookstore, sent an e-mail newsletter Tuesday seeking contributions and placed a "Donate Now" button on its Web site.

Yellow "Help Save Our Bookstore" banners wrapped the glass storefront, and Steele announced plans for a three-day fund-raising event. He will not say how much he is hoping to raise.

"This is me taking my pride and setting it aside for the sake of the business," Steele said Tuesday.

Asking for donations is an unusual but not entirely unprecedented move for a for-profit business. It's legal, but it's not the same as doling out cash to a food pantry. Any donation to an organization without 501(c)(3) nonprofit status is not tax-deductible. And a for-profit business receiving donations would have to deal with the Internal Revenue Service over any related tax consequences of fund-raising.

"This is America, and if people want to give money, they can," said Steve Ring, owner of Taste in downtown Decatur. "I say let this work itself out. But you do have people saying, 'What about Rue de Leon and Square Roots and other Decatur businesses that went out of business? They didn't have fund-raisers.' "

Wordsmiths first opened in grand style a year ago inside the former Decatur post office. It covered 4,000 square feet and boasted marble floors, leather chairs and free coffee.

But the lagging book sales couldn't cover operating costs, and Steele moved the business to the desirable square in March to cut rent and get more foot traffic, he said. And while he said business improved after the move, he still faced mounting debt.

Steele says a big name the store paid for an appearance recently also fell short of expectations — leaving Steele with many books unsold. He declined to name the author.

Steele admits he dreamed big — maybe too big — and "reality can be harsh."

He will not be able to cover this month's operating expenses without help, he said.

The mass e-mail, with the subject line "We Need Your Help," says, "It doesn't matter how small your contribution is ..." and mentions a range of $25 to $200 or "anything at all."

Steele said he will use donations to pay debt.

inDECATUR Blog Celebrates 1 Year of Great Success

I want to say congratulations to David at the inDECATUR blog for his first year anniversary.
Some of you might not know this but David was on Decatur High Schools INDECATUR staff as managing editor. INDECATUR was the name of Decatur High's year book that they published each year, now remember putting out one of these year books is not an easy task, a lot of hard work goes into that, and the experience he got from this was carried over to his blogs of today, he even took the name INDECATUR and changed it to inDECATUR (which is a great name) for his Decatur blog. He puts a lot of work into this and it shows,
from his old Decatur High School blog, (which I gave some pictures to use) to his inDECATUR blog today. I have learned a ton of stuff from him on how he runs his blogs.
So David I say "SALUTE" to you.
Hope you have many more suscessful years.

Dennis Whitefield
Next Stop...Decatur.

Attached are some pictures I found of him at Decatur High when he was hard at work ( as usual) on the INDECATUR.

Collage Gift & Collectibles

Wordsmiths Books, in Decatur, GA announces“Saving Bookstores is AWESOME!!! Night of AWESOME!!!!” fundraiserweekend night 1, August 15, with Jack Penda

One day after launching their “Save OurBookstore” campaign, Wordsmiths Books in Decatur, GA announces plans forthe first night of their forthcoming full-weekend fundraiser, to take placeAugust 15-17th.



Kicking off said fundraising weekend of events on Friday,August 15, at 7:30 PM, Wordsmiths Books, in conjunction with PASTE Magazine andsouthern literary blog BabyGotBooks.com, is presenting a night they’vedubbed the “Saving Bookstores is AWESOME!!! Night of AWESOME!!!!”.Presenting from his first full-length novel titled Awesome, a hilarious and irreverent love story with a robotprotagonist (which serves as the thematic base for the evening’s events),will be local humorist author Jack Pendarvis. Fittingly, Pendarvis was one ofthe first authors to ever present on the Wordsmiths stage. FollowingPendarvis’s reading, Atlanta Indie-rock favorites Sealions will perform.To conclude the evening’s events, Wordsmiths will be hosting a“silent robot auction”, in which artisan robots of varying shapes,materials and forms, handcrafted by local businesses, entities, celebrities andindividuals will be silent auctioned to benefit Wordsmiths “Save OurBookstore” fund. Any individuals or groups wishing to create a robot ofany sort to donate to the silent auction are asked to contact Wordsmithsdirector of marketing, Russ Marshalek, at russ@wordsmithsbooks.com



Further details regarding the rest of the fundraisingweekend are forthcoming, and will be detailed both on Wordsmiths Books homepage, wordsmithsbooks.com, and the Wordsmiths blog, blog.wordsmithsbooks.com



For more information regarding Wordsmiths Books fundraisingweekend and the “Save Our Bookstore” campaign, visitwordsmithsbooks.com

Wordsmiths Books launches urgent“Save Our Bookstore” Campaign

Wordsmiths Books, in Decatur, GA, home of such literary andmusical powerhouse events as Amy Sedaris, Christopher Moore, Ani Difranco andFinal Fantasy, today launched a campaign to rally attention and funds deemed“vitally necessary’ to save and preserve the bookstore that has become a communitycenter of sorts for the literary arts in the city. In a post onWordsmiths’ always-highly-active blog, citing the store’s previousoff-the-beaten-path location’s momentous rent requirements and a recentbig-name author event requiring a massive up-front investment that didn’tpan out as catalysts for the store’s current financial peril, store ownerZachary Steele writes “We need your help to save our bookstore. Beginningtoday, August 4th, and leading through a weekend fundraising event August15th-August 17th, I am opening myself to your assistance. Itdoesn’t matter how small your contribution is–with enough help itwill all add up in the end. If you want to offer $25, $50, $100, $200,anything at all, it can help.”



“At our new location, business has been steady,walk-in traffic consistent, sales are up and costs are down”, Steelecontinues. “Everything you want out of a business and everything itneeds to be as long it’s not carting a debt that continually drains itsresources. Given the opportunity to grow in our new location, given theopportunity to balance things out, we will thrive and continue to provide theentertainment and service that you have all come to appreciate. But wecan’t get there without help. Your help in specific.” Wordsmiths Books Marketing Director Russ Marshalek is said to be inthe process of crafting a three-day benefit weekend August 15-17, and is“encouraging any with suggestions or a willingness to participate toemail him at russ@wordsmithsbooks.com”.However. Steele stresses “if you wish to help, if you can help, I ask youdo so immediately rather than waiting for the 15th to roll around.”



Potential donors of any amount are encouraged to eitherdonate online by using the ‘Donate Now” button atwordsmithsbooks.com, call the store at 404-378-7166 or simply stop in to thelocation at 545 N McDonough St, Decatur, GA 30030.



The complete text of Wordsmiths Books owner ZacharySteele’s note launching the “Save Our Bookstore” campaign canbe viewed on the Wordsmiths home page, at wordsmithsbooks.com

Screen on the Green at Agnes Scott College Quadrangle Friday Aug. 8th 7:30pm

click to enlarge.

Open Mic night Monday night Aug 4 at Eddie's Attic

EDDIE'S ATTIC
MONDAY, AUGUST 4th
SONGWRITERS OPEN MIC
Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 6:30 p.m.
Individual advanced tickets: $10 / At the door: $13 / Tables: $50

For over 16 years, we've hosted Atlanta's premiere OPEN MIC for the performing songwriter. National and local acts perform 2 songs each, with 3 finalists returning for a third song at the end of the evening for a chance to win a cash prize and a spot in our bi-annual, nationally acclaimed Open Mic Shootout. These Open Mics are well attended and are once again being hosted by Attic founder Eddie Owen. This is a great opportunity for up and coming talent to hone their skills and for listeners to see and meet tomorrow's stars. For more information on playing at our Open Mic, visit the "Artist Info" page of our website

Vintage Postcard Decatur's Athletic Club

Christian the Lion - the full story. A great YouTube.

Update on The Decatur High School Stadium

Press box is starting to look good.
workers are woring 7 days a week to get this place ready
for opening night Sept 19th

Score Board is going up soon, workers are installing the base frame as you can see.
Looks like they will have two score boards.

PIGGLY WIGGLY's in Decatur in the 1940's

Top photo is The Piggly Wiggly's that was located at 128 Clairemont Ave.

Bottom photo is The Watkin's building on E. Ponce de Leon Ave.

The Varsity celebrates it's 80th Anniversary tomorrow.

By Richard L. Eldredge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


On Aug. 2, the Varsity will celebrate its 80th anniversary at its main location downtown at 61 North Ave.

The city's fast-food fixture is throwing a big birthday bash on the upper deck of the parking lot from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring local bands the Cool Whips, the Hibbert Brothers and the Planet Rock Experience (featuring talented local school kids, ages 7 to 18). 97.1 FM the River will host a live radio remote from the Frosted Orange emporium. Coca-Cola, meanwhile, is hauling in the NASCAR Experience driving simulator for race fans and classic cars from the 1950s and 1960s will be parked outside.

The Varsity will be giving away free birthday cake, ice cream and balloons. And we strongly suspect they'll have a few chili dogs and onion rings available for purchase as well.

Oh, and Varsity fanatics also will get a sneak peek at a five-minute preview of the upcoming PBA 30 documentary tentatively titled, "What'll Ya Have? A History of the Varsity," set to air this fall.

Thankfully, producers taped two interviews with longtime Varsity counterman Erby Walker before the 70-year-old's death last month.

"We were really fortunate," the film's executive producer, Gregg Bauer, told Buzz Thursday. "Two weeks later, Erby was gone. It was quite a shock."

Brick Store Pub's (Decatur, GA) new beer cellaring program.

Funtown Friday Entertainment Presents Video No. 10 ... Born to be Wild

Coldplay on MTV Music Awards

The Decatur Bulldog Athletic Booster Club Video

FIVE QUESTIONS ... with Dave Kieffer, owner of Mellow Mushroom in Decatur

By Jon Waterhouse
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/31/08

Restaurateur Dave Kieffer incorporates his love for the pizza business and passion for B-movies into the downtown Decatur Mellow Mushroom location. As a franchisee for the pizza chain, he puts his own stamp on his store, decorating the tables with classic horror and sci-fi posters. And he uses artwork that places the Mellow Mushroom cartoon characters alongside creatures like Frankenstein, Godzilla and men from Mars.

How did you wind up opening your own Mellow Mushroom restaurant?

After high school I moved to New York with my family. But I was a wannabe rock star, so I moved back to Atlanta to play with my band. Since we never really made any money on the music front, I had to do something to make a living. I got a job with the Mellow Mushroom on Powers Ferry Road, which was the second store franchised ... I worked there on and off for around 11 years until I started working with my family selling and servicing sheet-fed printing presses. After my dad decided to retire, I hit him up to let me try to open my own Mellow Mushroom, as I had really grown to like the company. He finally gave in, and I opened this store in February 2001.

Why Decatur?

I decided on Decatur because I had grown up in Stone Mountain and had always liked the Decatur area. It seemed like Decatur was a really up-and-coming area with a small-town feel, which was right up my alley. So I was thrilled to get this spot.

Do you think downtown Decatur is reaching its peak of restaurant saturation?

There are quite a few restaurants in Decatur, but I'm not sure it's really reached the point of saturation. It's great for me as a Decatur resident to have so many choices, too. So I see it more as a plus.

Your restaurant's decor is heavy on the B-movie theme. Explain the fandom.

I consider myself a huge B-movie fan. As a kid in Ohio, I used to love watching Ghoulardi, a local horror host broadcast out of Cleveland, which is when I really started to love the old classic monster and sci-fi movies. The first movie my dad took me to at the drive-in was "Food of the Gods" based on the H.G. Wells story. It really terrified me as a kid, and I've been fascinated with the genre ever since.

As a horror and sci-fi fan, what's your idea of the perfect desert island DVD?

There are a lot of great ones to choose from, but I am really a sucker for all of Tobe Hooper's stuff. And I can watch "The Funhouse" over and over again. Traveling carnivals have a certain weirdness factor inherently, and that movie just really catches that whole feel for me.

> Mellow Mushroom Pizza, 265 Ponce De Leon Place, Suite Q, Decatur. 404-370-0008, www.mellowmushroompizza.

The Glenwood Drive-In

The Glenwood Drive-In
4421 Glenwood Road
Decatur, GA.
Circa 1969

Now I want to find a photo of The Scott Drive-In.
Which was located at the intersection of Scott Blvd & Lawrenceville Hwy.
Decatur, GA.


Does anyone have a photo of it.
I am still looking for one.

Black & White photo's
are from Grand Opening 1955

Looking back at Spencer's Tire Co.

Spencer's Tire Co.
402 E Howard Ave
Decatur, GA.






Photo circa 2000

Columbia Mall Sears.

Check out this photo of the Sears at Columbia Mall over at the inDECATUR site, looks like it was taken not long after it opened circa 1964 ot 1965

Decatur, Ga. circa 1964

The cars in this are 1950's cars, but this photo came out of Decatur High School yearbook of 1964, maybe they used an older photo they had saved.

Next Stop Decatur's Time Machine

The old Clark Music Store was one of many stores that thrived on Sycamore Street years ago. Today that same building is Birdi's.

Clark photo: Johnny Crawford/AJC
BiRDi's photo: Dennis Whitefield

Mingei World Arts present a Performance Benefit for LA Union Library

Don't forget!
Performance benefit for La Union Library
Carmen Deedy and John McCutheon!
Tuesday, July 29
7:15pm

Decatur Library
Come early! Doors open at 6:00pm.
Free, but donations for the library encouraged!

Browse and buy fabulous carvings from the artisans of La Union Tejalapan,
and bid for others in a silent auction!
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the library.

Carmen and John's books and CD's also for sale, and available for signing!

Post-performance tastes courtesy of El Tesoro.

Mingei World Arts, Inc.
427 Church Street
Decatur, GA 30030
404.371-0101
Fax 404.371-0131

Comment:
jd said:
Anything the women at Mingei do is worth a special trip. Ann and Ellen are the heart and soul of Church Street in downtown Decatur. Can't wait.

July 30, 2008 8:35 AM

~ Fleet Feet Decatur ~

431 W Ponce de Leon Ave
Decatur, GA 30030

At Fleet Feet Decatur, you will find a friendly environment where runners, walkers and fitness enthusiasts of all abilities receive unparalleled service and support. Fleet Feet's Fitlosophy helps you find the right ''FIT'' in every facet of your active lifestyle. With our "one customer at a time" approach, our knowledgeable staff will help guide you to the right products for your individual needs.

Store hours
Mon - Fri 10a.m. - 7p.m.
Sat 10a.m. - 6p.m.
Sun 12p.m. - 5p.m.

404.371.0208

I had the opportunity to meet the owners of this fine new store yesterday, very nice people.
Please check this store out, you will love it.
Special note: They have great advertising techniques
see photo of 3 mannequins out front of the Brick Store Pub.
Great job, I love it.
For more on Fleet Feet click here.

Comment:
decaturite said:

Thanks for the photos inside the store Dennis! Especially liked the BSP shot!

Keep up the good work!

July 30, 2008 1:30 PM

Memories of The Emory Theatre & Jones Pharmacy

Here are some great memories of someone who use to live in Decatur.
I just wanted to share it with you all.
Be sure to read comments.

I went to the Emory Theater, especially for Sat. morning cartoons, from when I was old enough (moved to the area in 1943) to when we moved to Decatur in the Fall of 1949. (We then moved to Tucson, Arizona, in 1950.) We lived near Druid Hills School, where I went from the first grade til the beginning of the 5th. Anyway, we generally walked down, except when we could persuade our parents to drive us. I remember, after paying my 12 cents on Sat. mornings, being reprimanded by theater staff for putting my legs over the back of the seat in front of me, as I watched Mighty Mouse, et al. The Decatur and DeKalb were more expensive--14 cents! :-0 We went there at other times of the week, but I mainly remember those great times on Saturdays. We (my brothers and sister and I) were down there some afternoons during the week, taking dance lessons at Mrs. Bagwell's, on the same side of the street. I remember walking by Jones Pharmacy on the way from home---great ice cream treats! I went into the other pharmacy, located at the corner of the Emory complex, near the gas station, as I remember, but I just mainly looked at magazines in there. Jones Pharmacy, by the firehouse, was my favorite. I'll have to let my older brother know about this site; he would remember more.

posted by William Carroll on Jul 26, 2008 at 7:07pm

William, those are some good memories you have, I grew up in Decatur but we always went to the Decatur Theatre, I was there all the time in the 60's, Saturdays were always fun. My brother worked at the concession stand so whenever I would go to the snack bar he would give me the box of popcorn that had the free pass to the theatre,
I worked there but I just handed out flyers of the movie playing or the ones coming soon.
I got paid with 2 free passes.
So I always went free most of the time.