Archive Atlanta

Possibly Atlanta most famous park, we've all visited at least once. Whether it's the Dogwood Festival, Music Midtown or the finish-line of the Peachtree Road Race...these are just some of the hundreds of reason to visit Piedmont Park. Today I'm telling you about the early history of the land, two important expositions, as well history that will make you notice and appreciate the park in a new way.
Links:
www.piedmontpark.org/things-to-do/sightseeing-and-tours/
Benjamin Walker's House/Piedmont Driving Club:
Stairs + Urns:
Site of the Negro Building:
Visitor's Center:
 
 
 

Summerhill is the neighborhood almost all of us have visited at least once, but probably had no idea. It holds stories of African American and Jewish settlement in Atlanta, one of the first schools for black children, destruction by highways, urban renewal and two stadiums...oh, and a riot. Listen in for a look at all that, but also what the future holds in store for this rapidly changing neighborhood.
Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Challenging-U-S-Apartheid-Struggles-1960-1977/dp/0822337916
https://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/36610/browse?value=H.+W.+Lochner+and+Company&type=author
 

Atlanta and alcohol have a long, sordid history. From the colony of Georgia banning ardent spirits in 1735, to Fulton County taking 5 extra years to actually celebrate Repeal Day, the story of temperance and Atlanta is a great one. Listen this week to hear the stories - well known and unknown - about the Prohibition in Atlanta.
Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Prohibition-Atlanta-Temperance-Lightning-American/dp/1626196060
https://www.amazon.com/Liquor-Land-Lost-Cause-Evangelicals/dp/0813124719
https://www.backstoryradio.org/shows/cheers-and-jeers-rebroadcast/
 

The Atlanta Public School system would be established by the City Council in 1869 and opening day would be in 1872. The first two high schools in the city were named Boys High and Girls High. This week, I'll talk about the history of both, how you can still see them today and a little personal tidbit about my vintage yearbook collection.

Today, I finally get to tell one of the most important histories of Atlanta. In 1913, Atlanta is only 50 years out of the Civil War, but there are still huge resentments between the North and South. Georgia’s child labor standards were the nation’s worst, with children as young as ten years old working. Populist, Tom Watson, was lighting the fire underneath the anti-Catholic, anti-black and anti-Jew rhetoric. 
In this climate, Leo Frank is charged with Mary Phagan's murder, tried, sentenced and then has his sentence commuted...only to be lynched in Marietta by the 'Knights of Mary Phagan'. If you don't know this story, you need to hear this episode!
Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Shall-Rise-Murder-Lynching/dp/0679764232
http://bittersoutherner.com/from-the-southern-perspective/miscellany/a-hole-in-the-oheart-of-georgia-state-prison-farm-demolition
Map of all the Leo Frank-related sites:
https://www.bing.com/maps?v=2&encType=1&cid=B381A84E094A8587!217
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Happy Thanksgiving! This week, I am bringing you a quick episode on two Sweet Auburn churches - Big Bethel AME and Wheat Street Baptist. Learn about fires, famous plays and how the pastor of Wheat Street helped desegregate Atlanta's buses.
Big Bethel AME:
Wheat Street Baptist:

The Atlanta Women's Club is one of the oldest non-profit organizations in Georgia. Listen to this week's episode to learn about their organizer, Rebecca Douglas Lowe, the lasting legacy of the club in Atlanta's history and their headquarters, the Wimbish House.
Links:
https://people.umass.edu/mchangam/Files/Black%20Women's%20Club%20Movement.pdf
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1059&context=eps_diss
https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3625&context=gradschool_dissertations
Photos:
Rebecca Douglas Lowe
(courtesy of GFWC)
Wimbish House
 

In 1881, Jacob Elsas built the Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill and the neighboring mill worker neighborhood, now called Cabbagetown. The two are intrinsically link and have great histories.
Links:
https://www.allofitp.xyz/
https://www.amazon.com/Contesting-New-South-Order-1914-1915/dp/0807849731/ref=mp_s_a_1_3/139-1043212-8837558?ie=UTF8&qid=1541771234&sr=1-3&refinements=p_27%3AClifford+Kuhn&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&dpPl=1&dpID=51n4sD-r7pL&ref=plSrch
https://www.gofundme.com/help-the-patch-works-save-history
Jacob Elsas:
 
(Breman Museum)
Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill:
Elsas Mausoleum:

We're back with two more downtown Atlanta hotels! First up? Hotel Row, the city's most intact row of commercial structures in the oldest business district. Second, the Imperial Hotel, home of the seeing Domino Lounge and currently a preservation win.
Links:
http://www.atlantatimemachine.com/downtown/imperial_list.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQjf_gC0TrU
Terminal Station:
Terminal Hotel:
Hotel Row:
Imperial Hotel:
 
 
 

Reynoldstown is a Atlanta neighborhood from the 'other side of the tracks', founded by newly-freed slaves in the 1860s. Just like all of Atlanta, the area is changing so rapidly, that the history of this incredible community is in jeopardy. Join me this week as a I share why I love Reynoldstown and learn the unique stories it has to share.
 1892 Aerial:
IP Reynolds building:
John F. Faith Elementary:
IP Reynolds Elementary: