Archive Atlanta

It’s my last episode of 2023 and I thought why not take you along on a highly specific, random rabbit hole that I’ve recently fallen into. I loved the story of the Alkahest Magazine, because it includes the history of magazines, Lyceum lectures, Chautauqua, the American enlightenment and so much more.
 
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This week’s episode is about the Junior League, specifically its origins in Atlanta. Who started it, who were members and what did they accomplish in their history? Starting with the Butterfly Ball in 1916, the Junior would open a domestic science school, a speech school, two tearooms, fund a ward at the children's hospital, volunteer at Grady, step in for drafted bank workers during WWII and host two movie premiere balls. And that's only a fraction of their work. 
 
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This week, I am re-releasing an episode from April of 2022, covering the fascinating history of the Atlanta Humane Society, from the formation of the Atlanta Branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1871, to its reorganization as the Atlanta Humane Society in 1890. The early AHS fought for the better treatment of hack and dray horses and mules, banishment of rooster and dog fighting, care for chickens being sold in markets, ending the practice of gifting chicks for Easter, humane euthanasia methods for dogs, and ended the sale of chameleons, which were a fashionable hair accessory in the 1920s.
 
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This week I am sharing a conversation with Eli Dickerson about trees; what kind of trees we have in Georgia/Atlanta, the oldest trees in the city, the largest, and historic. We also cover counting tree rings, Champion Trees, old growth forests and Eli shares the story of a very special beech tree that connected him to history.
 
NOAA Tree Ring Database: 
Atlanta Champion Tree 
Georgia's State Champion Tree 
National Champion Tree List
Georgia Landmark and Historic Tree Registry
PBS interview of Harold Dye
Old Growth Forest Network  
 
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This week we’re talking about two pieces of Atlanta history - one, a neighborhood wiped out by urban renewal and the other, the showpiece Atlanta Civic Center that was built in its place. 
By the turn of the 20th century, the name “Buttermilk Bottom” was used to describe the area bordered by Piedmont Avenue on the West, North Avenue on the North, Boulevard along the East and Forrest (today Ralph McGill) on the South. This African American community dealt with constant flooding issues, as well as racial terror.
The City of Atlanta established an Urban Renewal Department in 1957 and by 1959, created the Housing and Slum Clearance Code. This new department identified five urban renewal areas, one being the 160 acre Buttermilk Bottoms tract, with 1,543 houses targeted for demolition.
By December of 1963, the City of Atlanta formed the Citizens Auditorium Advisory Committee, who’s stated purpose was to advise on architect, engineer and design and recommend a “proper” site of the new municipal auditorium. They chose the 70-acre tract on the fringe of the Buttermilk Bottom site and Robert & Co as architects.
 
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Way, way back in Episode 3 I talked about two downtown hotels. And looking back, I think it was a mistake to bury the story of the Heart of Atlanta Motel, because it is so important and historic and shows Atlanta’s impact on the nation, but it also has one of the best divine retribution endings of any history I have researched in my 5 years of podcasting. So this week, we’re talking about the Heart of Atlanta Motel, who opened it, what it was, how it factored into America’s legal history and what became of its infamous owner.
 
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This week’s interview episode with Will Edmonds, who produces Anecdotal ATL is all about with moonshine history of the pre-Civil War era, through the illegal liquor trade, how and why it centers in Dawsonville, GA and then we get into the colorful characters of Raymond Parks, Walter Day, Carl Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall, and Red Vogt.
Many people know the basic history of NASCAR and how it came from moonshiners of the Prohibition Era, but what will shock you is that Atlanta could have been the home of NASCAR and the two men that prevented that from happening were two of Atlanta biggest names from history - a mayor and a journalist.
 
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Adaptive reuse is defined as the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. This week, I am diving into eight (8) of Atlanta’s former school buildings that have been adaptively-reused into residential units, from the oldest to the newest school building. 
 
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For Halloween, Liz Clappin (Tomb With A View) and I are talking about the history of cremation and why Atlanta did not get its first crematorium until the 1980s, which is  a century behind the rest of the United States. It’s a story of race, religion, class and tradition and you don’t want to miss it.
Follow Tomb With A View on IG
 
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In 1934, W.A. Scott was a hugely successful entrepreneur, with a publishing empire and a brand-new 4th marriage. As he pulled his car into his garage one late night, he is shot by an unknown assailant. One week later he'd be dead. We may never know who killed W.A. Scott, but this week we're talking about his life, why someone would want him dead and who was charged with the crime. 
 
Leave your Atlanta Ghost Story: 404-829-4596
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