Bobby Dodd Renovation in the NE Stands

[Ramble1885]

Is the '67 ND game attendance a typo? Should that be 59xxx or 60xxx?

59. My bad

 

[Towaliga]

I would love if they razed the parking deck there. I was remarking to another alum recently how crazy pedestrian-friendly Tech’s campus has become. I started in 2011 but if you look at Google Street Views of the middle of campus from before then, it doesn’t even look like the same place.

I would also love to see the deck razed, but then all the lower east season ticket holders that don’t come to games would b*tch and moan that they been kicked out of their parking spots they don’t ever use. If you’ve ever walked through Peters Deck before a game, 25-50% (depending on the game) of the spaces are empty yet they’re sold out every year.

I know the top area is supposed to be used by students for recreation, but I’m not there during the week to see if it is ever used. That would make a great green space for tailgating.

 

[Tommy_Taylor_1972]

I would love if they razed the parking deck there. I was remarking to another alum recently how crazy pedestrian-friendly Tech’s campus has become. I started in 2011 but if you look at Google Street Views of the middle of campus from before then, it doesn’t even look like the same place.

I see the plan is to make it like it was in 1884 when the Peters Land Development company was trying to develop Peters Park as an Atlanta suburb. Peters actually built a baseball park there which was home of the first Atlanta baseball team and where the Tech baseball team practiced and played in 1889, the same year that Peters Park the baseball reokaced by a new park for the Atlanta team. Peters donated 4 acres for the initial Tech campus in 1887 and then sold another 3 and a half acres for $3,2000 per acre, equal to $100,000 an acre to the state to start GT. Some around the state did not like that high price, especially in Macon, a site under consideration for the Georgia School of Technology. The original donated 4 acres acres were for the admin and classroom buildings and the sold acres were for the athletic fields (baseball, football, track, plus the first basketball outdoor court. A valuable piece of property back then. Peters appears to be a clever businessman, knowing that 4 acres would not be enough to expand the school, so he sold additional land through the years. Peters Park the suburb began selling building lots in the early 11915 time frame, covering the area north of Bobby Dodd Way (then 3rd ST) on up through 4th and 5th streets. Over time, Georgia Tech (the state) bought out those acres for school expansion up to 14th Street and expanded east and west. Techwood Drive., the original the east boundary of GT, was paved in 1916. So Peters Park becomes returned to a green space again, and a good tailgating location .

 

[Tommy_Taylor_1972]

I see the plan is to make it like it was in 1884 when the Peters Land Development company was trying to develop Peters Park as an Atlanta suburb. Peters actually built a baseball park there which was home of the first Atlanta baseball team and where the Tech baseball team practiced and played in 1889, the same year that Peters Park the baseball reokaced by a new park for the Atlanta team. Peters donated 4 acres for the initial Tech campus in 1887 and then sold another 3 and a half acres for $3,2000 per acre, equal to $100,000 an acre to the state to start GT. Some around the state did not like that high price, especially in Macon, a site under consideration for the Georgia School of Technology. The original donated 4 acres acres were for the admin and classroom buildings and the sold acres were for the athletic fields (baseball, football, track, plus the first basketball outdoor court. A valuable piece of property back then. Peters appears to be a clever businessman, knowing that 4 acres would not be enough to expand the school, so he sold additional land through the years. Peters Park the suburb began selling building lots in the early 11915 time frame, covering the area north of Bobby Dodd Way (then 3rd ST) on up through 4th and 5th streets. Over time, Georgia Tech (the state) bought out those acres for school expansion up to 14th Street and expanded east and west. Techwood Drive., the original the east boundary of GT, was paved in 1916. So Peters Park becomes returned to a green space again, and a good tailgating location .
View attachment 16058

The Peters Park Development Company continued to sell lots north through the early 1900's in the attempt to populate the area with houses. The state of Georgia continued to buy land from the Peters company to expand the school as it grew, stopping at 10th street. In 1929, Coach Alexander, with money earned from the Rose Bowl win for the national championship, designed and built what we know as Rose Bowl field that included the baseball field moved from the football stadium, plus a football practice field. In 1956, Alexander Memorial Coliseum opened which is now McCamish Pavilion. The O'Keefe junior High School and later high school built in Peters Park the community was later purchased for Georgia Tech's use. Over a period of the first 70 years since 1887, Georgia Tech occupied pretty much OF what originated as Peters Park IN 1885, intended to be an Atlanta suburban community. Without a Peters Park existing, there would not be a Georgia Tech where it is today, but it could have been at Grant Park in South Atlanta or even in Macon.

 

[Towaliga]

I see the plan is to make it like it was in 1884 when the Peters Land Development company was trying to develop Peters Park as an Atlanta suburb. Peters actually built a baseball park there which was home of the first Atlanta baseball team and where the Tech baseball team practiced and played in 1889, the same year that Peters Park the baseball reokaced by a new park for the Atlanta team. Peters donated 4 acres for the initial Tech campus in 1887 and then sold another 3 and a half acres for $3,2000 per acre, equal to $100,000 an acre to the state to start GT. Some around the state did not like that high price, especially in Macon, a site under consideration for the Georgia School of Technology. The original donated 4 acres acres were for the admin and classroom buildings and the sold acres were for the athletic fields (baseball, football, track, plus the first basketball outdoor court. A valuable piece of property back then. Peters appears to be a clever businessman, knowing that 4 acres would not be enough to expand the school, so he sold additional land through the years. Peters Park the suburb began selling building lots in the early 11915 time frame, covering the area north of Bobby Dodd Way (then 3rd ST) on up through 4th and 5th streets. Over time, Georgia Tech (the state) bought out those acres for school expansion up to 14th Street and expanded east and west. Techwood Drive., the original the east boundary of GT, was paved in 1916. So Peters Park becomes returned to a green space again, and a good tailgating location .
View attachment 16058

I did not know that about Macon being in consideration. It would be interesting to speculate what Georgia Tech would be like if it had been located there instead of Atlanta. Would it have become the leading academic institution that it is or would being in a smaller city like that have hurt the growth of the Institute? Also, what would the football team have looked like over the years. Being in Macon would’ve given us better access to some of the south Georgia boys who didn’t want to go to the big city.

 

[g0lftime]

I would also love to see the deck razed, but then all the lower east season ticket holders that don’t come to games would b*tch and moan that they been kicked out of their parking spots they don’t ever use. If you’ve ever walked through Peters Deck before a game, 25-50% (depending on the game) of the spaces are empty yet they’re sold out every year.

I know the top area is supposed to be used by students for recreation, but I’m not there during the week to see if it is ever used. That would make a great green space for tailgating.

I played a lot of basketball on the Peter's Park courts when in Glenn dorm. There was a large solid concrete wall that a lot of football players used to play a form of paddleball. Tennis courts were on the end toward the SAE house. No parking deck back then. My volleyball PE class also used Peter's park.

 

[stinger78]

I played a lot of basketball on the Peter's Park courts when in Glenn dorm. There was a large solid concrete wall that a lot of football players used to play a form of paddleball. Tennis courts were on the end toward the SAE house. No parking deck back then. My volleyball PE class also used Peter's park.

I used to play tennis there.

 

[GTLorenzo]

It already is a great tailgating spot. I’ve been tailgating in Peters for 30 years. Met my wife there. Don’t take my tailgating spot please.

I see the plan is to make it like it was in 1884 when the Peters Land Development company was trying to develop Peters Park as an Atlanta suburb. Peters actually built a baseball park there which was home of the first Atlanta baseball team and where the Tech baseball team practiced and played in 1889, the same year that Peters Park the baseball reokaced by a new park for the Atlanta team. Peters donated 4 acres for the initial Tech campus in 1887 and then sold another 3 and a half acres for $3,2000 per acre, equal to $100,000 an acre to the state to start GT. Some around the state did not like that high price, especially in Macon, a site under consideration for the Georgia School of Technology. The original donated 4 acres acres were for the admin and classroom buildings and the sold acres were for the athletic fields (baseball, football, track, plus the first basketball outdoor court. A valuable piece of property back then. Peters appears to be a clever businessman, knowing that 4 acres would not be enough to expand the school, so he sold additional land through the years. Peters Park the suburb began selling building lots in the early 11915 time frame, covering the area north of Bobby Dodd Way (then 3rd ST) on up through 4th and 5th streets. Over time, Georgia Tech (the state) bought out those acres for school expansion up to 14th Street and expanded east and west. Techwood Drive., the original the east boundary of GT, was paved in 1916. So Peters Park becomes returned to a green space again, and a good tailgating location .
View attachment 16058

 

[Tommy_Taylor_1972]

I did not know that about Macon being in consideration. It would be interesting to speculate what Georgia Tech would be like if it had been located there instead of Atlanta. Would it have become the leading academic institution that it is or would being in a smaller city like that have hurt the growth of the Institute? Also, what would the football team have looked like over the years. Being in Macon would’ve given us better access to some of the south Georgia boys who didn’t want to go to the big city.

Atlanta was in the country back then, and became the state capitol in 1881. There were many cities competing for teh Tech site, and even after it was selected as Atlanta, there were two other locations considered higher than Peters Park. The deal was sealed after the appropriations were approved in 1887 and Mr. Peters gave the state 4 acres of land. Then the state bought another 3.75 acres as their first expenditure of $9,500 for the land where Bobby Dodd Stadium sits, land still owned by the state. Newspaper clippings show the political nature of the technological school competition. I would venture to say that Georgia Tech was a big part in the development of Atlanta.

 

[SandySpringsJacket]

It already is a great tailgating spot. I’ve been tailgating in Peters for 30 years. Met my wife there. Don’t take my tailgating spot please.

Thanks for that great history lesson. It is fascinating to look back and see how things developed in the early days.

 

[Towaliga]

It already is a great tailgating spot. I’ve been tailgating in Peters for 30 years. Met my wife there. Don’t take my tailgating spot please.

I would believe that if Techs Architecture and Environmental Science schools were to come together, they could devise a plan to save the 2 levels of parking but develop a green/park space above. Past administrations would have probably subbed the work out to graduates of u(sic)GA’s engineering graduates and we’d see the whole area razed and a Dollar General store put in (they would prefer Walmart, but not enough space).

 

[apatriot1776]

Peters Parking Deck is a terrible use of a valuable piece of GT real estate. That area was earmarked for a park to begin with and the tennis/basketball courts were a way to "technically" continue that purpose while generating revenue. And since it's a low-rise deck, it's not even setup to generate revenue efficiently. And as a recent student I can confirm the park on top is barely used - maybe at any given time there's a single pickup basketball game going on which is basically empty for an area the size of Tech Green. Maybe it was the best use of the area 40 years ago but campus is just too damn crowded these days for it to function well as parking or as a "park".

Turning that area back into a park full-stop is the right choice, and it's a great opportunity to turn into a "front lawn" type area for Bobby Dodd a la Alabama's stadium (sorry in advance for all the red). I know the rest of campus is tight but I'm sure we can find space elsewhere for a taller deck.

 

[AUFC]

It already is a great tailgating spot. I’ve been tailgating in Peters for 30 years. Met my wife there. Don’t take my tailgating spot please.

It would be an even better tailgating spot as an open grass field with plenty of trees and flowers of course. The big question is: would GTAA suck the life out of it by moving the corporate tailgates currently on Tech Lawn to the new Peters Park? It could easily become our version of The Grove at Ole Miss which was easily the coolest tailgating experience I've ever had.

 

[boger2337]

It would be an even better tailgating spot as an open grass field with plenty of trees and flowers of course. The big question is: would GTAA suck the life out of it by moving the corporate tailgates currently on Tech Lawn to the new Peters Park? It could easily become our version of The Grove at Ole Miss which was easily the coolest tailgating experience I've ever had.

Agree 100%

 

[GTLorenzo]

It would be an even better tailgating spot as an open grass field with plenty of trees and flowers of course. The big question is: would GTAA suck the life out of it by moving the corporate tailgates currently on Tech Lawn to the new Peters Park? It could easily become our version of The Grove at Ole Miss which was easily the coolest tailgating experience I've ever had.

And where are you going to replace all of those parking spaces? Must be, what, spaces in Peters? That's a lot of parking spots that would need to be replaced for the other 360 days of the year.

 

[Tommy_Taylor_1972]

View attachment 16057

To me it looks like the new Peters Park connects directly to the north end of Bobby Dodd Stadium. I assume the red bridk building on the far left is the Fanning building. I guess there are no more streets for cars like Bobby Dodd Way. Makes you wonder about the parking situation on campus for athletic events.

 

[jgtengineer]

And where are you going to replace all of those parking spaces? Must be, what, spaces in Peters? That's a lot of parking spots that would need to be replaced for the other 360 days of the year.

Our dorms could use an update. A large mixed-use dorm with a parking deck on floors 1-5 might make sense.

 

[Ramble1885]

 

[apatriot1776]

And where are you going to replace all of those parking spaces? Must be, what, spaces in Peters? That's a lot of parking spots that would need to be replaced for the other 360 days of the year.

Google says about 1300 spaces in Peters, I can say from experience that it's never full when school is in session so actual utilization probably 1000. I personally think they should build a big 4-5 story deck behind McCamish, that lot is nearly the same size as Peters and could be converted from 200ish spaces into 1000+. Not sure who owns it but the vacant lot on the corner of North Ave/Centennial, adjacent to North Ave Apts/Alumni House/BDS would make a great space for a deck - we're unlikely to expand any more that direction anyway.

 

[danny daniel]

I ran on that cinder track for my track PE class in fall qtr1964. I also have a wooden seat cut from the horse shoe bleachers when it was changed. It's on the wall in my downstairs office. I have been to games that were sold out in the 60's. The upper east was already in place by fall 1964.

I took track in the summer of 62 when the track circled under the north stands. We had class on the south west sideline of BD, sometimes in the grass on the field and sometimes on the track. Class was 1 PM in June and you had to compete against the clock for a grade. Typical GT at the time to make it as hard as possible.