As a small business ourselves, the Upnetic mission to empower small business for success definitely resonated. We worked with them to develop the concept and refine the script. It seems to be true these days that if google doesn’t know who you are, do you even exist?
When it came time for production, we got the chance to film in some bright, shiny offices at Ponce City Market, a newer venue in Atlanta with a very interesting history. Named for Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León’s mythical search for the Fountain of Youth, Ponce de Leon Springs attracts Atlantans seeking rest and rejuvenation in the 1860s. By 1874, the horse-drawn Atlanta Street Railway begins bringing visitors to the area, with more arriving by the Nine-Mile Circle streetcar line in the 1890s. In 1903, the springs and the surrounding gardens are converted into the Ponce de Leon amusement park, which becomes one of the most popular destinations in the city. Visitors to the amusement park dub it “the Coney Island of Atlanta.” Then in 1907, the lake across from the Ponce de Leon amusement park is drained, filled in, and converted into the Ponce de Leon ballpark and bleachers that houses the minor league Atlanta Crackers team until their move in 1965 to Atlanta Stadium. The stadium also hosts the Black Crackers from 1919 to 1952. The Ponce de Leon amusement park closes in the early 1920s and Sears, Roebuck & Co of Chicago purchases 16 acres of land on Ponce de Leon Avenue for construction of a retail store and warehouse distribution center for the Southeastern US. As Atlanta’s metropolitan area spreads, many distribution centers relocate to suburban sites and the building’s role as a warehouse diminishes. The Sears showrooms close in 1989. In 1991, under Mayor Maynard Jackson, the City of Atlanta purchases the building from Sears and converts it into a center for city offices, renaming it City Hall East. After nearly two decades and at only approximately 10% occupancy, the City of Atlanta determines that they should sell City Hall East. Recognizing the potential in this historic structure at the crossroads of four established neighborhoods and on the future Atlanta BeltLine transit corridor, Jamestown inks a deal to purchase the building. Today, Ponce City Market is a thriving mix of business, retail, and residence, complete with a massive food hall and an amusement park on the roof. If you’re familiar with PCM, what locations do you recognize in the video?