Atlanta’s Office of Housing & Community Development recently created a revised zoning plan and I got to interview director Josh Humphries to find out some history, the new plan's details and next governmental steps. By 2050 Atlanta expects our population to (more than) double and right now, we're the 316th densest city in the US...so there is room to grow and it’s up to Atlanta residents to decide how that growth is going to happen - will we continue to be the one of the most racially and ec...
Feb 05, 2021•24 min•Ep. 112
This week, we’re talking about the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition. Opened for over 100 days, from September through December of that year, it would attract around 800K visitors from across the US and 13 different countries. In 1895, Atlanta had 75,000 people, of which 40% were African American, there were 125 miles of electric trolley lines and you could feel the energy about the upcoming exposition - good and bad. Links: "Race and the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition of 1895" "...
Jan 29, 2021•17 min•Ep. 111
At the turn of the century, Georgia was one of three states that did not allow women to practice law. That changed in 1911, when Minnie Anderson Hale graduated from the Atlanta Law School and was denied admission to the bar because of her sex. A new bill was introduced but not signed until 1916, making her the first official woman lawyer in Georgia/Atlanta. It was not until 1943 that Rachel Pruden Herndon became the first Black woman to practice law in the city and state. She never went to law s...
Jan 22, 2021•14 min•Ep. 110
This week, I’m talking about volunteer militia formed by Black men in Atlanta from the 1870s thru 1903. These men, just years out of the slavery system and most of them Radical Republicans, pushed for the militia for two reasons - military service was the epitome of masculine, model citizen Victorian manhood and also for protection. The end of Reconstruction left African Americans in the South unprotected. There were five militias in Atlanta, led by prominent businessmen and community leaders an...
Jan 15, 2021•19 min•Ep. 109
Regardless of age, I bet you have a personal memory that involves a pair of roller skates - and almost every decade, from 1870 onward, had them too. Through this research I learned that the skating trend ebbs and flows, rinks come and go, but the activity has stood the test of time. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Jan 08, 2021•20 min•Ep. 108
Mark and his wife Melinda were inside Broad Street Antiques in Chamblee, when a certain watercolor caught their eye. It had faces, swirls, rhythms, colors, musical notes, keyboards, bits of instruments and books with poems. After trying to find information on the artist, Jewel Simon, they found almost nothing published. Mark dove head first into the archives and as her life unfolded, so did the story of this remarkable Black woman, artist, mother and Atlantan. If you know of any Jewel Simon piec...
Dec 18, 2020•32 min•Ep. 107
While women only made up 3% of prisoners, Black women made up 98% of that group. From grading the railroad ‘cuts’ in 1866, all way into running the Haven Home in 1959, women as young as 16 served their time in places like Chattahoochee Brick, Bolton Broom, the almshouse property and Camp Mattox. These are stories about childbirth, death, escape and what is left in Atlanta that connects us to these women. Books to read: Slavery by Another Name Chained in Silence Website Mentioned: www.savechattbr...
Dec 11, 2020•21 min•Ep. 106
As an outsider to the preservation world, I had a lot of questions: What is historic and who decides? Does that little National Register plaque do anything? Why do historic buildings still get demolished? Is historic preservation bad for low-income communities? This week, I interviewed Charles Lawrence, Board Chair of Historic Atlanta and got the answers to all the above, and more. You do NOT want to miss it. Support Historic Preservation in Atlanta here Want to support this podcast? Visit here ...
Dec 04, 2020•39 min•Ep. 105
So this week, we’re covering the Indigenous and Native American history of the Atlanta area. This is by no means the full story, but hopefully something that will implore to learn more, or at the very least think deeper about the land that you are on today. Podcasts to listen to: https://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/podcast https://www.npr.org/2020/10/06/920935570/a-treaty-right-for-cherokee-representation Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email...
Nov 27, 2020•15 min•Ep. 104
I couldn’t be more excited to share with week's episode - not only do you get to learn about Atlanta’s LGBTQ history (FINALLY) but we get to do it through the lens of the Atlanta Eagle, which in itself tells us the story of Ponce de Leon’s transition from grand residential street to commercial corridor. It was an honor to record this interview with Charlie inside the Eagle, inside the spaces that have held decades of stories - stories about vibrating mattresses, Italian restaurants, punk rock, R...
Nov 20, 2020•32 min•Ep. 103
President McKinley signed the Three Prisons Act in 1891, which authorized the building of the U.S. first three federal penitentiaries. Atlanta was chosen as the Southern site and the prison here opened it's gates in 1902. This week we're covering the early history, its reform programs, infamous inmates and successful escapes. Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Nov 13, 2020•22 min•Ep. 102
In the spirit of Halloween, I interviewed Liz Clappin, friend and host of the podcast Tomb With A View . We talk about the earliest history of body snatching in the United States (riots in NY), through the start of it here in Georgia (Augusta's medical college purchases an enslaved man to do that work) and some incidents of it here in Atlanta and Decatur. Follow Tomb With A View here: Instagram Facebook Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast and receive mini epis...
Oct 30, 2020•40 min•Ep. 101
100 EPISODES! To celebrate I did another Listener Q&A, with amazing questions, like: “What is your favorite repurposed historic space?”, “How do I research my house/building?” and "What do you think Atlanta's future looks like?" (among many others). Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook Instagram Twitter...
Oct 23, 2020•19 min•Ep. 100
The sudden release of government controlled industry during WWI cause sever inflation - 15% from 1919 to 1920. One of the most affected industries was clothing manufacturing and men's clothes especially were very expensive. In response, Overall Clubs began appearing across the nation, and Atlanta had one of the earliest. This week, we're learning about the overall garment, what is symbolized, where they were made in Atlanta and what Overall Clubs were. Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 ...
Oct 16, 2020•17 min•Ep. 99
With Election Day under a month away, and the recent 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, there is no better time to discover the history of women's suffrage in Atlanta. Things went a little differently down South, and Georgia women did not vote until 1922, two years after the constitutional amendment. We'll talk about why, and the groups that fought for the women's vote and those that fought against it. Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patr...
Oct 09, 2020•16 min•Ep. 98
This week we’re covering Atlanta’s Better Films Committee, it’s first un-official censor, (Zella Richardson), the later paid city position (Christine Smith) and the movies that they approved or denied. Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiveatlanta Email: [email protected] FB: www.facebook.com/archiveatlanta IG: www.instagram.com/archiveatlanta T: www.twitter.com/ArchiveAtlanta...
Oct 02, 2020•18 min•Ep. 97
Atlanta first attempted to codify racialized zoning in 1913 and the charge was led by 4th Ward City Councilman Claude L. Ashley. Today, we’re going to talk about what led to this ordinance, the man behind it and how the city and state reacted to it. Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiveatlanta Email: [email protected] FB: www.facebook.com/archiveatlanta IG: www.instagram.com/archiveatlanta T: www.twitter.com/ArchiveAtlant...
Sep 25, 2020•20 min•Ep. 96
The Candler name is all across Atlanta, even when not expressly spelled out, there are many places with Candler connections you may have never realized. The family’s generational wealth allowed Asa’s children to build their own respective mansions, and each is still around today - some public and some private. This week, we’re talking about all the remaining Candler homes in Atlanta, their origin stories, dramatic tales and how you can see them. www.asasbriarcliff.com Henry Heinz Murder Leave yo...
Sep 18, 2020•17 min•Ep. 95
This week I bring you the final installment of the epidemic disease series with stories about typhoid, pellagra and HIV/AIDS, and how each of these impacted Atlanta and it's citizens. Learn about how doctors begged residents to put lids on their trash cans to prevent typhoid, what killed the Zoo's porcupine and how Atlanta's gay community was the first to organize efforts in the AIDS epidemic. Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archive...
Sep 11, 2020•17 min•Ep. 94
Eugenics may seem like ancient history, but it was considered progressive reform at the turn of the 20th century, and women's groups across America prompted the theory and it's related propaganda. This week we're covering Georgia and Atlanta's role in eugenics, the Better Babies contest and forced sterilization of those deemed 'unfit'. Leave your Atlanta story: (678) 465-7161 Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiveatlanta Email: [email protected] FB: www.facebook....
Sep 04, 2020•19 min•Ep. 93
This week we're covering the Georgia Institute of Technology. Created as part of the 'New South' creed to fast-tract industrial education, it began as a school focused on teaching trades. Within a decade, it was changing toward the academic model. We'll talk football, traditions, campus size, Olympics and through today. https://space.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/images/histpresplan.pdf Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Aug 28, 2020•20 min•Ep. 92
This week I pulled an episode that my Patreon supporters heard back in July. The 1897 Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill strike is all about the racial division between the working poor of early Atlanta. Instead of banding together, to strengthen their union and fight for higher wages, the white poor of Cabbagetown would rather strike than be pegged as equal to Black factory workers. Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiveatlanta Email: [email protected] FB: www.facebook.co...
Aug 21, 2020•9 min•Ep. 91
If you go back far enough, Atlanta has dealt with an issue. It's fascinating to see how people living a century ago handled the same worries and fears, but reading about historical mistakes and missteps that are also happening today, at the very least, gives me comfort. This week, we’re covering two more epidemics that affected Atlanta - diphtheria and the Spanish Flu. Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiveatlanta Email: [email protected] FB: www.facebook.com/archi...
Aug 14, 2020•17 min•Ep. 90
Dr. Roderick Badger was Atlanta's first African American dentist - and that's all I ever knew about him. But his story - the son of an enslaved mother and white father, who was freed long before the Civil War - led me to learning about Atlanta's very small free-person population, why that was so, and then how and why Roderick was different and never counted among them. Roderick also had some very public, scandalous moments in this life. Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiv...
Aug 07, 2020•19 min•Ep. 89
The story of Macedonia Park (later called Bagley Park, and today renamed Frankie Allen Park), is vital to understanding how institutional and structural racism works and what the long-term effects are. On the heels of the Inman Park story, it highlights the dichotomy of life in Atlanta for those who were not white and not rich. How one neighborhood still exists today, beautifully restored, and how the other has been wiped from existence, with it’s only physical remnant in a state of disrepair. T...
Jul 31, 2020•18 min•Ep. 88
This week, we're covering the second half of Inman Park's story - from 1895, through the present day. A neighborhood that began for the wealthy, white, Atlanta elite, it's residents fought hard to keep it that way in the 1900's. By mid-century, the area was slated for demolition to build I-485, until new residents fought for it's revitalization. Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreon.com/archiveatlanta Email: [email protected] FB: www.facebook.com/archiveatlanta IG: www.instag...
Jul 24, 2020•22 min•Ep. 87
Built as the first planned suburb for Atlanta’s white elite, it spurred the creation of Edgewood Avenue, the first electric streetcar and sadly, demolished worker housing to do so. It also gave us some of the most iconic homes in the city was a who's who of Atlanta’s businessmen and influential families. In Part I, we're talking about the earliest land owners and the idea and inspiration behind it's development, stopping just before the Panic of 1893. https://www.instagram.com/glennhouserestorat...
Jul 17, 2020•21 min•Ep. 86
This week, we’re talking about interracial marriages, once more commonly referred to as miscegenation. While I always focus on Atlanta, there were also stories from cities across Georgia and even national events that impacted the lives of people in this city. Laws policing interracial relationships date back to colonial times and last through the 1960s, and it’s actually considered one of the longest lasting forms of legal discrimination in the US. Want to support this podcast? Visit: www.patreo...
Jul 10, 2020•21 min•Ep. 85
Podcast break is over! My first Listener Q&A episode includes amazing questions, like: “Why do you think Atlanta has such a hard time keeping its historic buildings?”, “How does Atlanta’s Civil Rights history factor into the BLM movement today?” and "How did Atlanta keep more tree coverage than any other city?" among many others. Links mentioned: https://www.instagram.com/zanathiavintage/ https://www.instagram.com/riverwalkatl/ https://www.instagram.com/mplusmride/ Want to support this podca...
Jul 03, 2020•20 min•Ep. 84
1880 Atlanta is a city of 40,000 people, 15 years out of the Civil War, and full force into Henry Grady's "New South". Fairs and expositions were important tools for bringing business and industry and the 1881 International Cotton Exposition would bring 200,000 visitors to the Gate City. To quote the Constitution, “no city in the south has ever before had such an opportunity to enlarge its business connections, display its advantages, and add to its reputation." Want to support this podcast? Vis...
May 29, 2020•16 min•Ep. 83
