People in Places

Place: Baroni Casual Italian

Baroni Casual Italian is a quiet (at times) Italian restaurant located on the corner of a mixed use development in midtown Atlanta. The area is predominately Caucasian with a median household income of about $50,000 a year. 94% of residents in that area have a high school education or higher. 60% of residents work in management or a professional setting and the average age is 33 years old. In mid day Baroni is quiet. The servers and kitchen staff gather around the bar and converse, joking with one another quietly. Occasional bursts of laughter or a comment to a friend in the distance can be heard over the soft music. At the dinner rush Baroni is full of a variety of people. An older couple and their 30 something daughter and son-in-law sit at a booth deciding what to order. The server pulls up a chair and helps them decide what to eat. They nibble bread and look at the art work on the wall, all black and white photographs with pops of red being the only color. Their food comes and they enjoy it, ordering another bottle of wine for the table once they finish. As they leave they tell the server and hostess they will be back.

 

Place: The Norva

The Norva plays host to a variety of musical groups, from local bands to internationally known super stars. Its located in downtown Norfolk, Virginia just a few blocks from the waterfront. The surrounding properties are primarily businesses including the McArthur Center Mall. The inhabitants of the area are diverse. 66% of the population is Black and 30% is Caucasian. The area has a Median household income of $27,000 a year and the average age of inhabitants is 32 years old. But because of the caliber of talent performing at the Norva people come from all over the Hampton Roads area for performances. Tonight the Roots are performing and a young lady is going with her friends to celebrate her birthday. The band was amazing. The show seemed to last forever (in a good way). The air was full of a mixture of cigarette smoke and fog from the stage filled the air in the industrial concert hall. The night was perfect, until someone from the balcony dropped a beer and it landed directly on the group of girls. Thankfully no major damage was done. Afterward the girls grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant nearby on Granby Street. Despite smelling like beer, fun was had by all.

 

Place: The Fayette Pavilion

Located in a quiet suburb of Atlanta the Fayette Pavilion is an open air shopping facility that serves as the focal point of Fayetteville, Georgia. Fayette County has an average household income of nearly $68,000 a year and the average age of its residents is 41 years old. It is 76% Caucasian and 64% of its residents are married. Fayetteville does not have a public transportation system so it is a very car oriented community. A young man has planned a date for a girl he just met in the Fayetteville area. He decided they would eat at LaParilla, a Mexican restaurant in the Pavilion and then head over to Cinemark Tinseltown 17, the Pavilions movie theater. Before heading to LaParilla to meet his date the gentleman went and picked up 2 movie tickets for the 9:15 showing of a new release. He waited in the entry of the festive restaurant, each time the door opened his heart skipped a beat, but his date never came. After nearly 2 hours of waiting he took himself to the 9:15 movie. After leaving the movie he drove across to the Walmart in the Pavilion where he looked at his phone and read a text message from his date. She had been waiting at the LaParilla 20 miles away in McDonough!

 

Place: Eastwood Towne Centre

Eastwood Towne Centre is a newer open air shopping mall located in between Lansing and East Lansing Michigan. The area surrounding Eastwood Towne Centre, or Eastwood as the locals call it, has an average household income of around $35,000 and the median age of its residents is 32 and 84% of residents have a high school education or higher. A local college student needed to visit a few of stores in Eastwood on a picture perfect summer day. The first store that she needed to visit was DSW Shoe Warehouse. She parked her car in a space not too far from the door and walked inside. She finished making her purchases and returned to her car. How unfortunate, she thought to herself, on this perfect summer day it would be ideal to walk to another store but DSW was on the southern most side of the mall and to get to the other stores she would have to walk across a sea of parking lots which was out of the question. After deciding that driving was the only option she reached the other side of the mall only to find that all the parking near the stores she wanted to visit was full. She waited 12 minutes before finding a space, in that time she could have just walked from the other side of the mall.

 

Place: New Birth

Lithonia, Georgia is home to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Lithonia is a suburb of Atlanta with an average household income of $55,000 dollars and its population is 88% Black. 90% of its inhabitants have completed high school diploma or higher and the average age is 32 years old. Early Sunday morning a family piled into their car and made the 10 minute ride to New Births Campus. They pulled onto the lot along with a long line of cars. They walked into the building and filed into a seat in the middle of the sanctuary. As they waited for church to begin they looked around at all the people milling around, the massive sanctuary, some with important places to go other looking for a friendly face to speak to. Announcements played on the large screens and the lights on the stage illuminated the church logo in alternating colors. One couldn't help but feel small in a place this large. Once church began they found themselves looking at the large screens more than the actual stage; at that distance the screens are easier to see. The service was nice. It lifted everyone's spirits.

 

Place: Saint Peters Basilica

As a part of a tour of Rome a group of Architecture students are touring Saint Peters Basilica. Saint Peters Basilica is located in Vatican City, a land locked city state located in Rome, Italy. Vatican City has approximately 600 full time inhabitants 74% of which are clergy. The Vatican is a very popular destination for tourism and religious pilgrimages. After moving thru crowds of people and waiting in a long line the students finally made it into the Basilica, the afternoon sunlight streamed thru the high windows and shined like a spotlight on the marble floors. The students were amazed at the intricate details. They took 100's of pictures. They felt so small in under the high ceilings and ornate domes it was almost like experiencing the greatness of God. It was an experience that they will never forget.