Tuning in for Tuesday
Aug. 5 — This week brings news of the unanimous passing of a “senior zone” resolution from yesterday’s Atlanta City Council meeting. Read more below on what constitutes a “senior zone” and specifics on how plans are moving forward.
🎉 Friday marks the kickoff of the Essential Theatre Festival, which runs through Aug. 31. The centerpiece for 2025 is Matt Hoffman’s “A Very Special Hospital,” a surreal comedy inspired by Hoffman’s experience as a critical care physician.
And, for more goings on this weekend, take a peek at what’s in store for Brookhaven’s City Centre unveiling on Saturday.
We also have updates on the Edgewood Avenue building that will be demolished to make way for Georgia State University’s Fraternity and Sorority Life Plaza. While GSU said it would use bricks from the building in the new park, and a mural dedicated to 148 Edgewood would be painted on the adjacent Greek Housing townhomes, there remains a public outcry over the decision. Scroll down for more.
And now for a few headlines:
🤝 National Night Out, the nationwide effort to strengthen community and police partnerships, is happening this evening in Midtown, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Brookhaven.
🗣️ The City of Atlanta revealed a new safety plan for Edgewood Avenue following last week’s mass shooting, but some business owners aren’t happy with the city’s approach.
🎭 After a year of construction, the Alliance Theatre is unveiling its new Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families in 2026 with a trio of musicals.
🚉 Final recommendations from the Atlanta Beltline Transit Study will be shared publicly at an upcoming virtual meeting on Aug. 12.
🕓 Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter.
• ‘Senior zone’ resolution passes
• Essential Theatre Festival kickoff
• GSU to demolish historic building
AND
• Stories of Atlanta | Lance Russell
Enjoy!
Atlanta City Council addresses senior living, housing, and water infrastructure
🏡 After a two-week summer recess, the Atlanta City Council reconvened at city hall yesterday to pass improvements to senior livelihoods, watershed funding, and housing in Atlanta.
Legislation unanimously passed by the council on Monday included a resolution requesting the Department of City Planning develop a “senior zone” to promote age-friendly infrastructure, accessible housing, and safe communities for seniors in Atlanta.
According to the legislation, these senior zones would “serve to identify and support neighborhoods with high concentrations of senior residents or those at high risk of displacement, providing targeted support through zoning policy, city investments, and coordinated services.”
🏗️ Read the full update from Katie Burkholder here.
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Essential Theatre Festival returns Aug. 8 – 31
🏥 The Essential Theatre Festival returns to 7Stages Friday, and as it enters its second quarter-century, it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
The centerpiece of this year’s Festival will be the World Premiere of the 2025 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner, Matt Hoffman’s “A Very Special Hospital,” a surreal comedy inspired by Hoffman’s experience as a critical care physician. With a deeply emotional family story at its core, this show will surprise and entertain audiences with its absurd humor and poignant human connections.
The show opens Aug. 8 and will run for four weeks on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Readings, showcases, and presentations of Georgia playwrights’ work will round out the Festival on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday afternoons, showcasing new plays from no less than sixteen different Georgia playwrights during the month-long Festival.
🎭 Read more on the festival here.
GSU to demolish historic Edgewood Avenue building
🏛️ Despite outcry from preservationists and neighborhood leaders, Georgia State University will move forward with the demolition of a century-old building on Edgewood Avenue.
The former Georgia Power substation building at 148 Edgewood Ave. will be torn down to make way for a new park called the Fraternity and Sorority Life Plaza, providing students with “a larger dedicated greenspace for recreation and community-building while paying homage to Georgia State’s Greek life history as well as the history of the location.”
The move comes after a heated May 28 public hearing and letters sent to GSU from preservationists, local leaders, and alumni urging the school to preserve the structure, which sits in the Martin Luther King Jr. Landmark District. GSU told Axios that “after careful evaluation and public input,” it will tear down the “long-vacant” building.
‘Changing Atlanta’s Broadcast History’: Stories of Atlanta by Lance Russell
VIA SAPORTAREPORT
📻 This episode of Atlanta history begins in the 1970s – nearly a thousand miles from the City of Atlanta.
A struggling college radio station.
A government rule that couldn’t be broken.
And a wealthy businessman determined to bend the system.
What followed was a quiet deal, a clever donation, and a case of media mischief that stretched from the citadel of circuits and science to the land of grits and gumption.
This episode of Stories of Atlanta uncovers how one audacious move left a permanent mark on the city’s broadcasting landscape – without anyone breaking a single rule.
🎤 Check out the full episode here.
Explore more of our newsletters
💡 Did you know Silver Streak has other newsletters that go deeper into what’s happening across Metro Atlanta?
➡ Stacks: Our newest newsletter covering Atlanta’s literary scene, author profiles, book reviews, and more comes out the second Sunday of each month.
➡ Sketchbook: All about Atlanta’s art scene. Artist profiles, art openings, museum events. Wednesdays.
➡ Side Dish: News about the food scene. Beyond just openings and closings, Side Dish includes recipes and a regular feature on pop-ups. Thursdays.
➡ Scene: The only newsletter focused on the movie world. Reviews, interviews, podcasts. Fridays.
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🖋️ Today’s Silver Streak was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.