digATL | The Digital Atlanta Portal

Historic District Information Form authored and submitted by GSU Case Studies in Historic Preservation students, Spring 2017. Located partially in the City of Atlanta, DeKalb County and in unincorporated DeKalb County, East Atlanta is a good example of an evolving suburb. In the late 19th and early 20th century the area was an urban neighborhood that relied on the streetcar system and by World War II had evolved into an automobile-reliant suburban. Development progressed from a densely gridded street pattern in the northern portion indicating a traditional urban neighborhood to a curvilinear street pattern in the southern section indicating an automobile-centric suburb. The area includes at least three commercial nodes, a variety of historic houses and community and commercial buildings, a cemetery, a park, a Civil War monument, and five state historic markers.

Design guidelines prepared by graduate students in the Preservation Planning Class of Georgia State University’s Heritage Preservation Program under the direction of Richard Laub and Mary Ann Eaddy, Spring 2011. These guidelines explain and interpret general design criteria in the local preservation ordinance for Decatur, serves as a tool to guide preliminary design decisions, preserves historic character of the area, protects and stabilizes property values, makes suggestions for design appropriateness and provides neighborhood continuity, stability and predictability in assessing future change. The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations that aid in the preservation of the unique architectural and historic character of the city. The recommendations incorporate and revise the Design Supplement to the Decatur Historic Preservation Resource Manual, developed in 1997, the McDonough-Adams-King the Guidelines for MAK district property owners, developed in 2008, and the Historic Resource Survey: Final Report, City of Decatur, Georgia, September 1, 2009, developed in 2009. Students consulted with the Historic Preservation Commission of Decatur to ensure that these revisions accurately reflect the intent of Decatur’s local historic designations and the design review process. We hope that consideration of these recommendations will aid in the preservation of the unique architectural and historic character of the city. The Historic Preservation Planning Class would like to extend its appreciation to Regina Brewer and the entire Decatur Historic Preservation Commission for their support. We would also like to grate fully acknowledge the express help of Laura Drummond, Ken Kocher, Andrew Kohr, and the staff of the DeKalb History Center and Decatur Branch of DeKalb Public Library.

Prepared by the Spring 2006 Preservation Planning Class. These Design Guidelines explain and interpret general design criteria in the local preservation ordinance in Old Decatur, serves as a tool to guide preliminary design decisions, preserves historic character of the area, protects and stabilizes property values, makes suggestions for design appropriateness and provides neighborhood continuity, stability and predictability in assessing future change. The purpose of this report is to provide recommendations that aid in the preservation of the unique architectural and historic character of the city.

Prepared by the Spring of 2013 Case Studies in Historic Preservation class. The Decatur Northwest Residential area is an outstanding representation of early to mid-twentieth century revival house styles. The district has remained consistent to its historic twentieth century layout and context. This Historic District Information Form (HIDF) has been compiled in anticipation of its submission to the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office Review Board. Following approval, it would be sent to the National Parks service for The National Register of Historic Places.

Information form for the historic district known as Kirkwood. Contains Sanborn maps, early plattings of the properties, interviews, as well as historic photographs and newspaper clippings.

Date created:
Spring 2002

The Judge Wilson House, dating from the mid-1850s, was one of six documented antebellum houses left in Atlanta as of 2015. Contains a historical overview of the house, and the existing conditions of the exterior, interior, attic, crawl space, utilities, cemetery and grounds of the home. The purpose of this report is to provide a current assessment of the condition of the structure and to provide recommendations for needed repairs and options for future consideration.

Date created
Fall 1991

Documents the history of radio broadcasting in the state of Georgia over a 50 year period from its inception in 1922 through the 1970s, including Atlanta stations WAOK, WAGA, WQXI, WSB, WKLS, and others. Content and materials included in this exhibit are from the Radio Broadcasting Collections housed in the GSU Library Special Collections and Archives and the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame collections. Originally created October 2013, coinciding with the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame’s 7th Annual Induction and Awards Ceremony.

Located in Midtown between Peachtree Street and Spring Street and constructed from September 1937 to June 1938, Rhodes Center was Atlanta’s first modern shopping center geared towards the automobile. This Historic Structure Report covers the historical significance of the property, conditions of the buildings, planning options for future use, stabilization of the property and on-going maintenance for the future. The purpose of this report is to provide a current assessment of the condition of the structures and to provide recommendations for needed repairs and options for future use.

Date created:
Fall 1990

National Register Nomination Proposal to preserve the neighborhood known as Pittsburgh, located south of Mechanicsville. This traditionally African American neighborhood is bordered by railroad tracks. This resource includes a large map as well as various smaller maps, photographs, and primary sources on the area.

Date created:
Spring 2004

The purpose of this tour is to have students explore some of the locations on or near GSU’s campus in Raymond Andrews’ memoir Once Upon a Time in Atlanta (Chattahoochee Review, v18, n2, 1998) and to provide some information about the Sweet Auburn District, the setting for most of the memoir. The tour is not meant to be an official tour of the Sweet Auburn District.

Raymond Andrews came to Atlanta in 1949, when he was 15 years old, to attend high school and work. While he went to school and worked outside of the neighborhood, Andrews lived in Sweet Auburn. This area was often considered the wealthiest African American business district in the U.S. for much of the early to mid-twentieth century. Andrews was here during the area’s heyday. Sweet Auburn developed after the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre as black businesses moved out of the more integrated downtown area to avoid growing racial tensions during the rise of the Jim Crow era. For decades, the area was a prosperous foundation for African American business, culture, and leadership. The neighborhood played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement, and is now home to many historic landmarks.

In the late twentieth century, the Sweet Auburn District faced many economic hardships after an interstate was built dividing the neighborhood, white flight to the suburbs, and the displacement of many African American neighborhoods by Urban Renewal. For the past few decades, the neighborhood has often been listed as one of the most endangered historic places in the country. As GSU grows, our campus has moved increasingly into Sweet Auburn.

Related resource
ATLMaps – https://atlmaps.org

Historic Structure Report provides historical context and physical condition of the women’s and men’s comfort stations at Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta’s largest historic cemetery.  The comfort stations were constructed in 1908, fifty-eight years after the opening of Oakland, in order to provide adequate public restroom facilities for the large crowds who visited the cemetery during its early history. A group effort has been made to research and document the history of the two comfort buildings, assess their current status, and make recommendations for treatment.

Photographic collection contains images of AT&T, Atlanta Gas Light Company, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Eastern Air Lines, Rich’s, Shriners Yaarab Temple, and the Southeastern Fair while other images illustrate the development of Atlanta’s transportation system. During World War II, the studio produced photographic documentation of the Works Progress Administration, the Office of Price Administration, the Office of Civilian Defense, and the United Service Organization. The collection depicts Atlanta’s social and political changes with images of preparation for World War II, African Americans registering to vote, Ku Klux Klan rallies at Stone Mountain, political campaigns, sports events, labor union activities, motion picture premiers (including Gone with the Wind), disasters, and individual portraits. Notable public figures include Ivan Allen, Ellis Arnall, William B. Hartsfield, Roy LeCraw, Lester Maddox, Margaret Mitchell, Franklin D. Roosevelt, E.D. Rivers, Carl Sanders, Eugene Talmadge, and Robert W. Woodruff.

Collection contains 258,100 (196,800 4×5 inch and 61,300 2 1/2 inch) acetate negatives which are housed in 43,486 envelopes. The collection spans the years 1920 to 1976 with the bulk of the negatives dating from 1939 to 1975. Some of the images are copy negatives of photographs which date as early as 1864.

The images are organized into six series (1) Corporate bodies, (2) Geographic places, (3) Events, (4) Portraits, (5) Things, and (6) Miscellaneous-sized negatives. The collection consists of photographic negatives and prints of the Lane Brothers Commercial Photographers (Atlanta, Ga.) and its predecessor the Lane Brothers Photo News Service from ca. 1920-1976. Early materials (1920’s-1939) include glass plate negatives and photographs taken by Jack Lane and his brother W.C. Lane as freelance photographers for the Atlanta News, other newspapers, and wire services. The bulk of the collection consists of images of the Atlanta, Georgia area documenting its economic growth, social changes, and political activities over the years.

Also included is an inventory of unscanned negatives in the Lane Brothers photographic collection.

Copyright to items in this collection is owned by Georgia State University Library. Items may be used for scholarship, educational, and personal use. Additional uses will require permission of the rights holder.