Archive Atlanta

Katherine Geffcken was born in "the old Piedmont Hospital" in 1927 and lived on Myrtle and West Peachtree Streets, worshipped at All Saints Episcopal and attended Spring Street School, O'Keefe and Girl's High. She then went on to Agnes Scott, graduating in 1949, graduate school at Bryn Mawr and 30 years as a professor at Wellesley College. Hearing her stories of "old" Atlanta, riding the streetcar...

After three years and three months of weekly podcasts, I am changing up the format. A new episode will release every Friday morning, but they will alternate between ‘full length’ and minis. This keeps the podcast sustainable and more importantly, allows me to share even MORE Atlanta history. This week, we’re kicking off the first mini episode with the short story of ‘Moving Day’. What was Moving D...

This week, I am covering some of Atlanta's lesser-known amusement parks. From Walton Springs in the 1840s to the Funtown of 1961. Where were they? What amusements did they have? All those questions answered and so much more! Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook |  Instagram |  Twitter  

This week, I'm covering the "Peyton Wall" - TWO barricades erected in 1962, along Peyton and Harlan Roads. White neighbors had been fighting "Negro encroachment" for more than a decade, and when Ivan Allen became mayor in 1962, they inundated him with letters requesting that the roads be made dead-ends (among other things). By December, the city has blocked the roads and while they were only up fo...

Halloween is this weekend, and so I wanted to replay my episode from last year, with Liz Clappin from Tomb With A View . We talked about the history of grave robbing, from the earliest start in this country, to its start in the state of Georgia and then local incidents in Atlanta and Decatur.    Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook |  Instagram |  Tw...

In 1909, Asa Candler, Jr bought 290 acres of land south of Downtown, with the intention of building a racetrack. The Atlanta Speedway lasted only two years, and then the land was used as a small airfield by local pilots. In 1925, the City of Atlanta leased the land for a municipal airport, buying it in 1928. This week, I am covering all the things Atlanta airport - how did it expand, who was it na...

This week, I'm covering the earliest orphanages in Atlanta - who formed them, who funded them, where they were and what they are today. From 1866, when the state of Georgia established a lottery to fund a white orphanage, to the institutions for Black and Jewish children.  Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook |  Instagram |  Twitter

Fannie Springer was a Austrian-born, Jewish woman who moved to Atlanta with her husband shortly after getting married in 1889. After an incident with an Atlanta patrolman in 1900, she turned to dedicating her life to volunteering in prisons and then later obtaining pardons for 44 incarcerated people. This week, I am sharing the brief history of her life and work. Want to support this podcast? Visi...

The story of the "Miss Atlanta" pageant coincides with the growth of Atlantic City's "Miss America".  Like all things Atlanta in the 1920s, this contest and the choosing of a ‘representative’ of our city, was tied with the marketing of and push to sell the Gate City to the rest of the country. The first Miss Atlanta was crowned in 1923 and this week, I am telling the earliest stories of the winner...

This week, we’re talking about Fort McPherson. From its earliest days as the pasture of Charner Humphries, to local militia training ground, to a racetrack, to both Confederate and US Army bases, to prisoner of war camps - these two pieces of land have SO much history to tell.  Tomb with a View's episode on POWs Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook |...

Life has been SO busy, that I stole another mini episode from Patreon. The story of Riverbend Apartments starts only 55 years ago. In 1966, newspapers touted a huge new development that was going to bring over 1,000 new apartments. It was the costliest and biggest project of it’s kind - taking 4 years of planned development at a tune of $15 million. In 1972, Playboy Magazine dubbed it "ground zero...

This week I am sharing the story of John and Stella Abbott, Mary Powers and Louise Gilbert and how their lives tragically intertwined in the winter of 1919. On January 27, 1919, Johnny Abbott lay dead on the floor of his living room, one bullet through the heart, shot by his wife, Stella. Why? Listen in to find out. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebo...

This week, we’re talking about the early history of ice in the US, how and when it got to Atlanta, who sold it, how it was made, ice monopolies, shortages and storage.    Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook |  Instagram |  Twitter

This week we’re talking about cocaine. At the dawn of the 20th century, cities like Atlanta we’re grappling with recreational cocaine use, racializing it and trying to figure out how to allow the medical profession to continue to prescribe it. We're also talking about what it was used for, where you could buy it, how Coca Cola was involved and what pushed for it's illegalization. Want to support t...

The universe conspired against me this week, as my planned episode did not record correctly. Have no fear, I've pulled a Mini from my Patreon page! Orion Frazee was born in NJ in 1843, the son of a famous sculptor. He arrived in Atlanta in 1885, and while he time here was short-lived, his name lives on through his sculptural busts of famous men, including former president of the Confederacy, Jeffe...

Atlanta's obsession with the dogwoods dates back to the 1920s, but the Dogwood Festival was the brainchild of Lorraine Cooney, who launched the first festival in 1936, at the height of the Great Depression. This week we're talking about the tree, the city's initiatives, the first grand festival and how it progressed over the last 85 years.  Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevicto...

This week, we’re covering Cascade Heights, an expansive, 1920s development along Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta. Starting with the road’s native history, then it's role in the Civil War, early homesteads, official development and it’s racial integration.  Cascade Heights Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook |  Instagram |  Twitter

This week I had the pleasure of recording with Caitlin Mee and learning all about Briar Park Court. This one-street, 1950s, residential development was the brainchild of architect and resident, Andre Steiner. We talked about him, Dekalb County, white flight, mid century architecture, historic preservation and the homes in this incredible little time capsule community.  Follow Caitlin  Interview wi...

In the early 1890s, the Fulton County Street Railroad began it’s Nine Mile Circle route. Atlantans could hop on downtown then loop up through the beautiful, breezy farmland in the Northeast part of the city. Not soon after, well-to-do families, like the Adairs, began to build summer homes here. In 1904, the first neighborhood was platted and 13 more would be platted by 1935. Collectively, these ma...

This week, we’re talking about scouting in Atlanta - the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts. How the groups started, who started them and a few fun stories from history. Atlanta’s history of scouting is really a 4-part story - the story of white Girl Scouts and Black Girl Scouts and white Boy Scouts and Black Boy Scouts. Unsurprisingly, the year that these groups begin vary wildly, the latter often the r...

This week, we're talking about the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, or Municipal Market - a story of women, farming, war, race and revitalization. Atlanta is in the midst of a food hall craze, but this icon has been on Edgewood Avenue for almost a century, connecting Georgia's farmers and consumers and providing local vendors with booths to sell their wares. Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email...

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 second African American cemetery in Atlanta, to the 1930 opening of the country club, through the story of Black golfers and their...

This week I want to share a conversation I had with author Mark Pifer about his new book: Hidden History of Old Atlanta. While this new book covers so much, I asked him specifically about the period between the removal of the Creek and Muskogee and the formal establishment of Atlanta in 1847. We talked about the formation of the railroads, the moving of the Zero Mile Marker a mere 1200 feet, Wilso...

On the night of January 2nd, 1919, Carlisle Christy lay dead on Mathewson Place, just in front of the February home. A series of bullets from the gun of William Albright killed him. Albright would later claim self defense, but was it?  This week, I am sharing the story of this forgotten piece of history, the cast of characters, the trial, the motive and whether anyone was ever found guilty. Want t...

Listener Q&A - Vol. 3! This week, I am answering questions like: “How to find out what year your house was built?", "Who was Bessie Branham?”, “Will there be an episode about _____?” and "What are some of the coolest “behind the scenes” places you’ve got to visit recently?" (among many others). Want to support this podcast? Visit here Email:  thevictorialemos@gmail.com Facebook |  Instagram |  Twi...