This week, we’re talking about Vine City. This neighborhood just west of downtown Atlanta has SO much history, I struggled to fit it all in; from quarries, early German immigrants, to the largest nursery operation in the city, Black amusement parks, so many historic homes, and a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement, and Dr. King - you do not want to miss this. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
May 03, 2024•18 min•Ep. 262
This week, I’m talking about Atlanta’s International Pop Festival, a concert held in July of 1969, the first of its kind in the South. And while it took place 20 miles south of Atlanta proper, everything about the festival was rooted in this city. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Apr 26, 2024•9 min•Ep. 261
This week, we’re talking about Italian artist Athos Menaboni. In 1950, Time Magazine declared Menaboni the heir of James Audubon, because of his bird paintings that spanned over 150 different species. But this isn’t just a story about art and animals - it’s also a love story, a story about finding your calling after the age of 40, and the unsung roles of spouses or partners in someone’s success. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twi...
Apr 19, 2024•13 min•Ep. 260
This week, we’re talking about Waffle House. Opened in 1955, in Avondale Estates, we’re covering the two men that started it, the first locations, franchising, expansions, controversies and legal issues and even the Waffle House Index. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Apr 12, 2024•15 min•Ep. 259
In 1911, Atlanta’s population was only 150,000 people and the idea of Commerce Schools was new - only two operated in the South; one at Louisiana State and the other at Washington and Lee. Georgia State was born from Georgia Tech’s idea of starting an evening school, was later part of UGA and fought hard to become an independent institution. In this episode we’re covering how that idea took shape, who was behind it, when did the names and locations change and how the school became what it is tod...
Apr 05, 2024•13 min•Ep. 258
This week, we’re talking about Piedmont Hospital. From its start as a small sanitarium in 1904, the doctor that started it, its numerous expansions, the move to Peachtree Street and the impact it had on Atlanta. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Mar 29, 2024•13 min•Ep. 257
Spring is here and if you’re in Atlanta, everything has just started to bloom. I decided it’s the perfect time to re-release my episode from 2021 about the history of the Dogwood Festival in Atlanta. This year’s festival is happening April 12-14th, and so you have time to listen in for a deep dive into this blooming tree, why it’s associated with Atlanta, why we celebrate it, when it was created, who came up with the idea and why? Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@...
Mar 22, 2024•14 min•Ep. 256
This week, we’re talking about Georgia’s only remaining velodrome - the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point. We're talking about what a velodrome is, Atlanta’s first velodrome, Dick Lane and the decade long efforts to open this velodrome in East Point. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Mar 15, 2024•11 min•Ep. 255
March is Women’s History Month, and researching women is my very favorite thing to do. So while I was brainstorming an episode idea, I realized I had this huge collection of women on my list whose stories were very short - in terms of research, not the length of their lives or quality of achievements. This week I have collected these shorter stories into one episode about three different women; educator Bazoline Usher, artist Kate Edwards, and cosmetologist Dale Boring Strebel. Want to support t...
Mar 08, 2024•10 min•Ep. 254
This week, I picked up the story of Coca-Cola after it’s sold in 1919 and took it through the Great Depression, World War II, Civil Rights, the Cola Wars, Diet Coke, New Coke and the World of Coca Cola. Book Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Mar 01, 2024•17 min•Ep. 253
This week, I am sharing my conversation with Antar Fierce, a graffiti historian, educator and archivist to learn about the history of graffiti, especially writing. Graffiti is loosely defined as words, drawings, or writings in public view - something that humans have created since the dawn of time. Writing developed first in the 1960s in Philadelphia and then New York City. We cover that early history, Antar’s start as a writer, his move to Atlanta, the early writing community here Atlanta’s fir...
Feb 23, 2024•50 min•Ep. 252
This week I am re-releasing an old episode from the archives, but I also wanted it to coincide with Black History Month. From the summer of 2021, this is about Lincoln Country Club and the fight for Golf Course Desegregation. Born at the start of the Great Depression, from the need and desire of middle and upper-class Black Atlantans to not only play golf, but to establish a recreation place where they could have parties, and social events and gather. From the 1924 fight to even establish a seco...
Feb 16, 2024•20 min•Ep. 251
This week, I had the honor to sit down with Dr. Rhana Gittens Wheeler to ask her about her research of Blandtown, a historically African American neighborhood on the westside of Atlanta that dates to the 1870s. We talked about the neighborhood’s history, the wrong history that had been out there, annexation, zoning and developers' efforts to rebrand the westside of Atlanta. Pre-order her book here and her email is [email protected] . Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevicto...
Feb 09, 2024•50 min•Ep. 250
This week, we’re talking about The Rap Map with Georgia State's Professor Brennan Collins and student Panther Lattimore. The map chronicles a decade’s worth of rap lyrics referencing different Atlanta locations, connecting popular culture with local history and pinpoints the lyrics of Atlanta hip hop artists to create a map of the city based on narratives from historically marginalized communities rather than the traditional maps created by those in positions of power. Back in October, I got a m...
Feb 02, 2024•37 min•Ep. 249
Atlanta is home to 242 different neighborhoods that each have their own names and history, but this week, we’re talking about the smallest - Just Us. Consisting of two streets sandwiched between the neighborhoods of Mozley Park, Ashview Heights, Hunter Hills and Washington Park, Just Us has a short but fascinating origin story that includes some of the most prestigious Black Atlantans, African Methodist Episcopal history, HBCU history, women's history and even a paranormal story. Want to support...
Jan 26, 2024•15 min•Ep. 248
This week’s mini episode is an Atlanta-adjacent topic but one still very intertwined with the city’s history. If you’re new here, Georgia is the peach state, but in this episode we’re going to delve into the history. Why peaches? Where were the peaches? And the most important question of all - why is it named Peachtree Street and why are there so many Peachtree-named streets in Atlanta? Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Jan 19, 2024•10 min•Ep. 247
If you’re listening in real time, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, and while many know about his birth home and church, there are so many other places in Atlanta connected to Dr. King and his family that I want to share. So this week I want to go through those sites, give you the addresses, a little history and hopefully allow everyone to do a little DIY tour of all the sites with a deep connection to Martin Luther King, Jr. Tomb With A View Episode Want to support this podcast? Visit here ...
Jan 12, 2024•16 min•Ep. 246
This week, I am tackling a giant of Atlanta history, the famed soft drink Coca-Cola. There is, understandably, a lot to cover so I am breaking this out into two parts and this week we’re talking about Pemberton, Candler, cocaine, caffeine and the only historic Coca Cola building that still stands. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Jan 05, 2024•17 min•Ep. 245
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. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Dec 29, 2023•13 min•Ep. 244
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. Want to support this podcast? V...
Dec 22, 2023•11 min•Ep. 243
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 Easte...
Dec 15, 2023•21 min•Ep. 242
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 Haro...
Dec 08, 2023•44 min•Ep. 241
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 ...
Dec 01, 2023•18 min•Ep. 240
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 wha...
Nov 17, 2023•10 min•Ep. 239
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 ...
Nov 10, 2023•40 min•Ep. 238
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. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Nov 03, 2023•19 min•Ep. 237
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 Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Oct 27, 2023•32 min•Ep. 236
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 Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: thevictorialemos@gmail....
Oct 20, 2023•16 min•Ep. 235
This week, I have collected the stories of Emily Battey, Isma Dooly and Mildred Seydell into Part II of my Women of Atlanta series. The three women we’re talking about today are all white, all upper class but they all share the same profession - albeit decades apart - and were writers and journalists and way ahead of their time. Leave your Atlanta Ghost Story: 404-829-4596 Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Oct 13, 2023•13 min•Ep. 234
The Atlanta Newspaper scene today is dominated by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, but even before their existence as two separate papers, there are several forgotten publications from Atlanta’s founding. Today we are going to cover those early papers, who ran them, what you could find in them and how long they lasted. Leave your Atlanta Ghost Story: 404-829-4596 Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email: [email protected] Facebook | Instagram | Twitter...
Oct 06, 2023•11 min•Ep. 233
