Ground zero for unique backdrops, photographers have flocked to Cabbagetown’s Wylie Street for decades. While the Krog Tunnel remains the top choice for edgy urban fronting and provides anti-establishment contrast to lily white bridal gowns, it is the breadth and depth of Forward Warrior’s large scale murals that provide more introspective wallscapes, or most cohesive imagery for memorable family portraits, graduation victory dances, and quirky selfies.
Apart from a firm foothold in the hive mind imagination when it comes to a place you can “stand out”, Wylie street remains a shady haven for quotidian perambulation, cardiac stimulation, capsicum degustation, automotive circulation, and canine defecation.
People live here! Wave & say “Hi!” to the fun folks who have chosen to live on this vibrant thoroughfare, with a handful of exceptions, most of the structures are single family residential homes. There are some condos built in the early 2000’s (RIP Art Farm), and convenience store / strip mall on the East end towards Reynoldstown, and of course, the essential Krog watering hole, rowdy and irreverent as always, 97 Estoria.
What was here before?
Check out our gallery from the Green Buff days (circa 2008). There were some memorable works, but nothing incredibly groundbreaking. The old graffiti was mostly simple messaging and random thoughts. There were a few pieces around Krog, but it was mostly throw-ups. Boxcars remained the bigger prize (and Dekalb Avenue offered an easy access point for serious writers). The City handed out tickets when they could trap a kid in the tunnel. Then it all went blank, or more to the point: Insame Asylum [sic] Green. No other reason than Home Depot had a fire sale on institutional OOPS buckets.
Maybe it was gentrification, but honestly, everybody was cool with Toesucker and Goat Ravisher, early Catlanta’s, the stray Mr Fangs, and sundry late night drunk Lenny’s scrawls. There was a group of assholes on Gaskill that tweaked too hard and hit some mailboxes and cars. And the church. Somebody gotta ruin it for everyone, right?
Pre-2008, Wylie had become overgrown and the rapey rain forest vibe was more than a little disconcerting after 1am. There were too many dark corners and weed trees were launching a revolution. The Seaberg mosaics were hidden like temples waiting for Indiana Jones, kudzu and mulberry waged an epic battle, and the lighting was spooky. It was gorgeous on a crisp September evening, but totally utterly completely unsafe in every imaginable way. Something needed to change.