The Land Down Under

Down in Atlanta G. A.

Underneath the viaduct one day

Drinking corn and hollerin’ hoo-ray

Piano playin’ till the break of day

Bessie Smith, “Atlanta Blues”

Atlanta has a long history of moving forward. It’s not the kind of place to wring its hands about the past - and Atlanta’s past is always subject to re-writing.

It’s the kind of place where real estateurs, mixed drinks, and new ideas thrive.

Enter Steve Fuller.

Mr. Fuller has a voice - becoming ever more rare in the South - that sounds like he’s gargling asphalt. He’s also got a nose for good times and a jeweler’s eye for real estate deals.

He grew up in small south Georgia town and his senior quote in the 1953 Dublin High School yearbook was “The rule of my life is to make business a pleasure and pleasure my business.”

Steve got to Atlanta in the 60’s and soon started kicking up real estate deals. He discovered an overlooked four square block section of downtown - overlooked because it was underground.

Atlanta has always been a railroad town and by 1910 the rail traffic through downtown became so intense the city erected a series of bridges to bring pedestrian and automotive traffic above the rail lines.

Merchants moved their shops from the ground floor to the upper floors (the bridge level) of their buildings and by 1928, an entire five block area of downtown was underground.

The forgotten underground storefronts became speakeasies during Prohibition (when Bessie Smith sang about them), but by the 1940s “Underground” - as it became known - was again forgotten.

Steve Fuller, smelling an opportunity and lacking no ambition, cobbled together $10 million and in 1969 created a subterranean nightlife district that became one of the only places where Georgians could get a mixed drink.

Atlantans and alcohol mixed well and Underground Atlanta became a raging party like the South had never seen.

Muhlenbrink's Saloon, The Blarney Stone,  Scarlet O'Hara, The Bank Note, The Rustler's Den, The Front Page and the Pumphouse became sensations.

But it was Dante’s Down the Hatch that became the star of the show, with fondue, live jazz, and a wooden sailing ship surrounded by a moat of live crocodiles.

Underground’s good times were short lived because other Georgia cities relaxed their liquor laws when they saw the opportunity to create their own good times. '

It’s part of the human condition:

I've seen gluts not followed by shortages, but I've never seen a shortage not followed by a glut.

- Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Underground faltered, until The Rouse Company along with $123 million from the City of Atlanta renovated Underground in 1989 as a “festival marketplace” similar to what they’d done with Boston’s Faneuil Hall.

But the chain stores didn’t cut it and soon Underground became neither a festival nor a marketplace and again devolved into a sketchy basement.

Underground remained in hibernation, interrupted by a few half-hearted fits and starts, until local investment group Lalani Ventures bought it in 2020.

Now, over 50 years since the Steve Fuller era, Underground is finding its footing again. The Lalani team is leading with arts and music, and it’s working. They’ve hosted events with the street artist Banksy and the DJ Diplo but they’ve kept their focus on the local, authentic, and unique. They’re breathing life into the center of Atlanta and bringing new housing as well.

For their permanent spaces they’ve recruited storied Atlanta music clubs like The Masquerade,

and added a cabaret and burlesque theater, Pigalle.

Here’s a tame taste, from a recent rehearsal:

They teamed with Mike Stasny and his avant-garde gallery, Mom Said It’s Fine:

The most recent addition is a sound gallery, featuring tunes like Stan Getz’s Girl from Ipanema on 1980’s vintage Klipsch speakers, paired with a cat lounge.

It’s no Dante’s, but as a business of pleasure, The Frisky Whisker is something weird enough for Mr. Fuller to appreciate.

I’m overdue for a visit with him, but I’ll bet Steve admires how the new guys are rewriting Underground’s history.

It’s the Atlanta way.

If you’re reading this, you might be one of those “maniacs on a mission” working to create wonderful places.

Whether you’re a property owner looking to bring a property to life, or a retailer, designer, restaurateur, or hotelier who can make it happen, Automatic is the place for you.

Automatic creates relationships that fast-forward great real estate projects.

Join us on October 1 & 2 in Atlanta to find your people.

Learn more: www.automaticmeetup.com