One of my usual thoughts. I should have been, though. I love architecture. In fact, I’m contemplating taking some college courses on the subject. Free classes, online- of course. MIT has a few really good classes on Urban Design…

Unfortunately my current lifestyle does not allow the time to actually GO back to school and make a major career change…. besides; I just love the LOOK and FEEL of design. I don’t think I’d like it so much if I had to work on the gritty technical part. I’m not very analytical… just creative. I’m also not very detailed.

I think I’m in the best field that has both satisfied my appetite, and love of viewing different architecture and eventually will pay off monetarily: Real Estate.

Crazy that I still love the market even though it’s costing me a ton more than I have made. I guess when you love what you do- it doesn’t really matter. It may be easy for me to say this since I still recruit and staff consultants… I do have checks coming in…

I plan to dedicate this blog to my love for houses…architecture…design and what others simply may pass by, but I seem to see and could stare at for hours… Details… oh, didn’t I say I wasn’t detailed…. I’m not… but something in me is.

I hope my camera can capture the beauty in what I see, so that you too may see it. I’m starting right in my backyard, the West End- Atlanta.

For a bit of history, see these excerpts from Wikipedia:

The West End neighborhood of Atlanta is on the National Register of Historic Places and can be found southwest of Castleberry Hill and just north of Oakland City.It began as an inn called Whitehall and by the 1830s that structure became the area’s first post office and voting place. In 1845 when Marthasville, Georgia was renamed Atlanta, voting and postal functions were both moved from Whitehall.Following the American Civil War the area was home mainly to railway laborers driven out of Atlanta by the high cost of living and as late as 1876 there were only 150 households most of which were laborers (the only well-known name is Jonathan Norcross). By the 1880s many wealthy Atlantans built large estates here and when they came, the main street of Gordon Street became a bustling commercial district.

The biggest tourist spot here is The Wren’s Nest. (I don’t know how true this is because there are SO many small art galleries and shops!) The West End Mall houses small but neighborhood-centric items. It is served by the West End MARTA station and is home to the Atlanta University Center or (AUC) which consists of Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University among others.

I have to tell you, there is SOOO much more to the West End than is told. You must experience it. Not to mention we’re one of the few INTOWN locations still affordable!

I hope to bring you most of MY West End- we’re like a family, us residents. I’m sure you’ll feel right at home and soon will contact me, to make the Historic West End your home!

Stay tuned neighbor..

www.niaknowlesrealty.com