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Stories of Atlanta

It’s probably not what he had in mind

by Lance Russell January 8, 2018 9:07 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:35 pm

Atlanta’s history is intertwined with Atlanta’s religion. Houses of worship have not just been a presence in Atlanta, they have been one of the forces that helped shape and support our community.

This week, we tell the tale of Leonard Broughton who came to Atlanta to lead a church and ended up building one of Atlanta’s still-standing historical structures. Each year Broughton’s church hosts thousands of visitors of all denominations and beliefs. If you haven’t attended, there’s a good chance you have, at least, heard of Broughton’s church as you will see in this week’s Stories of Atlanta.

Stories of Atlanta

Seek and ye shall find, right?

by Lance Russell December 18, 2017 2:43 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:34 pm

The flood of movie stars visiting Atlanta in recent years not withstanding, Atlanta has had a long history of entertaining visiting luminaries, dignitaries, politicians and a host of other individuals who Atlantans generally wanted to be seen with.
The late 1800s was a banner year for visitors to the Gate City, not the least of whom was the President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison.

Apparently, while at Fort Mac, he had some time on his hands

by Lance Russell December 11, 2017 3:49 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:34 pm

Leonard Wood was what some people would describe as an overachiever. Born in 1860, he lived for 67 years and, from the evidence of his life, it is clear that he was, at the very least, a motivated man. Wood began his adult life as a Harvard educated surgeon and he put that education to […]

It’s all in how you deliver the message

by Lance Russell November 20, 2017 4:31 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:34 pm

They say that when you die, whether you’re going to heaven or hell, you have to go through Atlanta first. Though made popular by Atlanta’s very busy airport, that saying actually originated back in the day when Atlanta was a major railroad junction. At its peak, over 300 trains a day came and went through Atlanta and, for a while, it seemed that train travel was the wave of the future. That is until the Wright Brothers made their famous flight in 1903 and from that moment on, everything changed.

Of course, Atlantans didn’t embrace air travel overnight.

Stories of Atlanta

Worth a thousand words

by Lance Russell November 13, 2017 4:46 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:33 pm

In the fall of 1864, photographer George Barnard positioned his camera in the coupola of a woman’s school located on what is now Courtland Street. He took a series of three photographs that, when combined, show a panoramic view of Atlanta. A view that is remarkable for what it doesn’t show. A view, that is this week’s Stories of Atlanta.

Stories of Atlanta

A pressing need to learn about business

by Lance Russell October 23, 2017 9:10 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:34 pm

Reconstruction was the term given to the period following the Civil War during which the United States set conditions under which the rebellious Southern States would be allowed back into the Union. Coming out of Reconstruction, the City of Atlanta was experiencing growing pains but one of the more positive results of Atlanta’s emergence as an up and coming city was the founding of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Georgia Tech had been founded in 1885 as part of a plan to build a Southern industrial economy. At its inception, the only degree it offered was one in mechanical engineering but, in the decades to come, other engineering degrees were offered.

Stories of Atlanta

For Underground Atlanta the beginning was almost the end

by Lance Russell October 9, 2017 3:10 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:33 pm

Looking at photographs of downtown Atlanta in the late 1800’s one cannot help but be impressed with the number of railroad tracks that populated the area we now call The Gulch. By some accounts, at the height of Atlanta’s railroad history there were over 350 trains a day that traveled through the city

Atlanta was indeed a “railroad town.” But for pedestrians and horse drawn carts, all those railroad tracks that meant so much to the economy and the growth of Atlanta presented major challenges for transportation around the city.

Stories of Atlanta

It never returned

by Lance Russell October 2, 2017 11:05 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:33 pm

When the 1895 Cotton States Exposition opened in Atlanta 120 years ago as of this writing, it represented the culmination of years of planning and fund raising on the part of the exposition’s organizers. It was a big time undertaking costing over $2 million dollars, which, by today’s currency standards, equates to around $57 million […]

Stories of Atlanta

How to get the word out

by Lance Russell September 25, 2017 3:02 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

Consider the question of fire in the early days of Atlanta.

How would anybody who wasn’t immediately affected by the fire know that there actually was a fire? I’m not talking about the “big” fire that resulted from Sherman’s occupation but the everyday, commonplace fires that were all too frequent in a city built largely of wood, a city where cooking and heating were done with fire. A city where passing trains frequently generated sparks that often landed on the rooftops of buildings.

Stories of Atlanta

A familiar statue

by Lance Russell September 18, 2017 4:43 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:33 pm

Samuel Spencer was killed at the age of 59. The accident that took his life happened in the predawn hours of Thanksgiving Day in 1906. Spencer and some of his friends were in Spencer’s private rail car headed for a hunting trip in Virginia. While Spencer and his fellow passengers were asleep, his railcar became […]

Stories of Atlanta

They came from far and wide

by Lance Russell September 4, 2017 4:15 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

Last year (2016), the City of Atlanta booked somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 conventions, meetings and events, which drew around 52 million visitors to our city. Atlanta is most definitely a major player in the world of event planning and, if you think about it, it is a role that the City of Atlanta comes by quite naturally. Hospitality is deeply ingrained as a part of Atlanta’s culture.

Stories of Atlanta

Unknown stories of everyday people

by Lance Russell August 27, 2017 7:57 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

At the intersection of Memorial Drive and Boulevard sits Oakland Cemetery, the City of Atlanta’s first official burial grounds. Established in 1850 on an original six acres of land, Oakland now spans 88 acres and is home to thousands of residents. Among them are names familiar to most generations of Atlantans, a “who’s who” of […]

Stories of Atlanta

Thanks to him…we know

by Lance Russell August 20, 2017 11:27 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:33 pm

Much of our knowledge of Civil War Atlanta comes from the work of the official photographer of the Army of the Mississippi, George Barnard. Assigned to document military camps, fortifications and rail lines, Barnard followed General William Sherman and his troops on their infamous March to the Sea. In the process of completing his assigned […]

Stories of Atlanta

Defying convention

by Lance Russell August 14, 2017 12:11 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:33 pm

May Irwin was a 19th century actress who starred – with John Rice – in an 1896 short film titled The Kiss. Chances are you are not familiar with The Kiss – or Ms. Irwin or Mr. Rice – but the film’s title holds a special place in movie history as do its actors. Today, […]

Stories of Atlanta

The going up part…easy

by Lance Russell August 7, 2017 5:40 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

For a species born without wings, we sure have spent a great deal of time trying to learn to fly. The desire to fly is probably as much a part of being human as is the fear of falling. Go figure that one out. This week we examine an event that took place in Atlanta […]

Stories of Atlanta

From Prussia to Peachtree

by Lance Russell July 31, 2017 12:21 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

When the Civil War ended in 1865, life, as you can imagine, did not just magically return to normal. There was no “normal.” Chaos was the order of the day and the State of Georgia had been particularly hard hit. Its politics was scattered, the economy was in shambles and in June of 1865 the […]

Stories of Atlanta

We all knew it wasn’t right

by Lance Russell July 24, 2017 5:43 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

In his epic work “The Souls of Black Folk,” WEB DuBois seems to describe the City of Atlanta in terms that separate Atlanta from what is generally considered to be a traditional Southern city. “South of North, yet north of South lies the city of a hundred hills…” he writes. The image of Atlanta as […]

Stories of Atlanta

A name we should know

by Lance Russell July 17, 2017 11:36 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:33 pm

The name Martin Amorous is not one that most Atlantans associate with the development of the City of Atlanta but that doesn’t diminish his contribution to the well-being of our city, not in the least.

Martin Amorous was born in Savannah, in 1858. His father , Mathias Amorous, was a proud Spaniard from Barcelona who captained a merchantman sailing vessel and he made frequent trips to the Americas.

Stories of Atlanta

The woman who wasn’t there

by Lance Russell July 9, 2017 10:23 pmFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

It is safe to say that the era of the grand department store is a thing of the past. It was wonderful while it lasted but, as they say, nothing lasts forever. It was the department store that helped to lead the way into the salad days of the post WWII boom and then went on to anchor the explosion of shopping malls that populated just about every suburb in America.

Stories of Atlanta

It’s apparently a small world after all

by Lance Russell July 3, 2017 1:31 amFebruary 17, 2023 3:32 pm

Grady Hospital first opened its doors in 1892 with 14 rooms and the mission to offer the best hospital care possible regardless of a person’s social status. Since opening its doors, thousands of people from all walks of life have turned to Grady to receive care and comfort in their hour of need. Over the years, the hospital has gained an excellent international reputation as a public hospital and it has grown to become the largest hospital in the State of Georgia, public or private.