Archive Atlanta

This week, we’re talking about Atlanta’s Veterans Hospitals. When I first put this topic on my list, I thought I’d be covering the 1960s-era hospital that is still operating over on Clairmont Road, but I was surprised to learn we had several other variations and the history of caring for veterans in Atlanta is over 130 years old.
 
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This week, we’re talking about Lustron Houses - prefabricated enameled steel houses developed in the post-World War II era in response to the shortage of homes for returning GIs. I’m going to cover the inventor, the Lustron Company, and more importantly, Lustrons in Atlanta - how many were built, who lived in them and how many remain?
https://lustronresearch.com/
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Happy 2025! I started this podcast in September of 2018 and if you told me then I would be here recording in 2025, I would never have believed it. Over six years and over 250 episodes later, I am finally making a material change to Archive Atlanta - and that’s format. 
We’re starting off 2025 with a new, bi-weekly format - that means twice a month - the first and third Fridays. So much has changed in 6 years that I also thought it’d be fun to record a new introduction. 
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My last episode of 2024 is a conversation I had inside Constellations, with the incomparable Gene Kansas, who just wrote a book called Civil Sights: Sweet Auburn, a Journey through Atlanta's National Treasure, which is being released in February of 2025.
Every time we get together, our shared love of historic preservation, Auburn Avenue and Atlanta come out and this is no different.
University of Georgia Press 50% off coupon code: 08HLDY24
 
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Today, I am sharing a conversation I had with Abra Lee, Director of Horticulture at Oakland and scholar in Black garden history from Reconstruction to Civil Rights.  
Black Flora
 
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To celebrate Halloween, my friends Liz and Cynthia joined me to discuss the mystery of the Atlanta Blood House. On September 8, 1987, Minnie Winston stepped out of the bath and into a pool of blood. But it wasn't her blood or her husbands...
The Blood House mystery has never been formally solved, but we discuss the neighborhood, the house, the people, the facts, debunk some theories, share out own theories and even discuss other famous "bleeding houses" like the Amityville Horror.
 
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This week, we’re talking about Atlanta’s first, official Playboy Club and the place it was located, the people who worked there, went there and when it closed.
 
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This week, we’re talking about one of Atlanta's most famous thoroughfares - and no, it’s not Peachtree Street - it’s Cheshire Bridge Road. Each time the city debuted a new thoroughfare, so began the promotion of its caliber and residents. Streets and avenues like Peachtree, Washington, Edgewood and so on would wage the battles of maintaining its status as an upper class section. As Cheshire Bridge Road has made the news recently because of the fight against adult businesses, it was interesting to see this same story play out over time. So today we’re covering its early pioneer history, first businesses, the start of its reputation and its significant LGBTQ history.
Night at the Sweet Gum Head
LGBTQ Context Study
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This week, I am checking off another Atlanta neighborhood off the list - Ormewood Park. From its start as a single large estate that bred jersey cows, to the 1890s development, annexation, through its current history and unique landmarks and homes.
 
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This week, I am sharing my interview with Peter Bahouth, talking about the Springlake neighborhood, and exploring his treehouse, which AirBnb named it’s #1 “Most Wished For” listing. While we talk about the history of  the Battle of Peachtree Creek, the Springlake neighborhood, its connection to the Klan and the efforts to form a park space that can be accessible to the public, the most impactful part of this conversation for me was Peter’s thoughts about nature and how important it is for all humans, especially now.    
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