digATL | The Digital Atlanta Portal

Originally Atlanta’s first modern parking garage, Kell Hall began as a 1920s “automobile hotel” and later became Georgia State’s first permanent building, illustrating urban ambition, cost effective development, and adaptive reuse. A testament to the resourceful and inventive spirit of GSU’s early leaders, Kell Hall endured through more than seven decades of growth and innovation as Georgia State evolved from the University System of Georgia’s “Atlanta Extension Center” to a world-class urban research university.

GSU student 3D Atlanta visualization project. Here, including a demo of a “future-peeking” device allowing users to see downtown Atlanta streets in 2017, and as they were in the 1920s, including many historically accurate buildings modeled from photos taken at the time. The virtual environment introduces users to many of the historically significant buildings that stood before parking lots came to dominate Atlanta’s downtown.

During the 1970s, Georgia State University archaeologists conducted systematic excavations associated with the construction of the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail lines. This project recovered the material remains of Atlanta’s past, and these materials represent the single most comprehensive archaeological collection of Atlanta’s history. In addition, the excavations themselves are among the pioneering projects of urban archaeology in the then nascent field of CRM (Cultural Resource Management). Thus, just the excavation archive, which is part of the collection, is invaluable for the history of archaeology in the US, especially the burgeoning new field of urban archaeology. The entire collection (440 medium-sized “banker” boxes housing over 100,000 artifacts and all the accompanying documentation and excavation archive) has recently been returned to GSU. Showcasing significant “moments” in the life of the city, including several Civil War sites associated with the Battle of Atlanta, the majority of the collection corresponds to the late 19th and early 20th century, the time of Atlanta’s rebirth as a major metropolitan area, the collection opens immense opportunities for faculty and student research and public education and outreach. Furthermore, it will facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations within GSU, as well as with other universities in the Atlanta-area for the curation, conservation, study, and exhibition of the artifacts and archive.

Archived by the Wayback Machine.

Exhibit revised in 2026 as “GSU Ramps Up: Kell Hall and the Rise of an Urban Campus.” Originally one of the first parking garages in the city, the Ivy Street Garage was renovated and opened to students in 1946. In 1964, it was renamed Kell Hall to honor Wayne S. Kell, the original director of the school. Kell Hall was demolished and replaced with a campus greenway in 2021. On this archived website, you can browse the collections of digital items gathered, read about Kell Hall’s history, and take a virtual tour of the building. 

This student project allows users to experience Atlanta as it was in the 1920s, including many historically accurate buildings modeled from photos taken at the time. The virtual environment introduces users to many of the historically significant buildings that stood before parking lots came to dominate Atlanta’s downtown.