The occasion was somber. A group of friends had gathered in an Atlanta bar to toast the memory of one of their comrades who had tragically died earlier that same day. As the drinks flowed, a plan was hatched to memorialize their friend by having a street in Atlanta named after him. Despite the fact […]
Tag: Atlanta History Stories
Posted inStories of Atlanta
A Confusing Name
It is common knowledge that Atlanta got its start as a railroad town. So it shouldn’t be surprising that the influence of the railroads reached far and wide across our city. But you might not realize just how far and how wide that influence actually ran. Which is why we decided to tackle the question […]
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Good Idea for a Yankee
While the early history of Atlanta is defined by its colorful characters, its free and rowdy reputation, and its embrace of modern technology in the form of railroads, the larger story of Atlanta begins with its destruction. The rapidity with which Atlantans rebuilt their devastated city is so legendary that it is symbolized on the […]
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Atlanta’s Neighborhoods
This week on Stories of Atlanta, we look back at a part of Atlanta’s history to which most of us never give much thought. Though we may live in a City of Atlanta neighborhood, chances are pretty good that few of us have spent much time wondering about the origins of the name of our […]
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A Big City Problem
As they say, “there are two sides to every coin,” a fact of life that Atlantans in the late 1800s knew all too well. The City’s success as a railroad town brought wealth and distinction but that success also brought to town a life-threatening problem. Thankfully, Atlanta was filled with clever people who devised a […]
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How is it East?
With the unpleasantness of dealing with Atlanta’s rowdy element behind them, Atlanta’s city fathers turn their attention to what would become an old nemesis… fire. The city gets another railroad and, in the process, answers a valid question about a town’s name. Atlantans vote for a dead candidate and, after 66 years, Atlanta’s first mayor […]
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Not Good Enough
There are stories in Atlanta’s history that can only be described as cringeworthy. From our 21st century perspective, they make no sense. We want to look away but, as they say, no matter where you go, there you are. It’s the story of a highly accomplished man who, no matter what he did, was never […]
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Collective Regret
The stories of the history of Atlanta do not always have happy endings. Sometimes, try as one might, things just don’t work out. Such was the case in the early 1970s, when a lot of Atlantans got their hopes up, only to be disappointed. It’s a case of collective regret on this week’s Stories of […]
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158 Days Shy
This week’s Stories of Atlanta examines a part of Atlanta’s history that may not be common knowledge to most Atlantans. The subject of our story was an athlete who many would describe as the best who ever played the game, and though a household name back in his day, he is now a man who […]
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An Unsung Influencer
When one thinks of influential Atlantans who played a role in shaping our city, a lot of names come to mind. Frank Quarles, however, is probably not one of them, and that’s a shame. The Reverend Frank Quarles was a former slave who founded Atlanta’s Friendship Baptist Church and his role in shaping the future […]
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Perfect Hair
Where the history of Atlanta is concerned, one could be forgiven if the name Warren Zevon did not immediately come to mind. However, given that this is a Stories of Atlanta, connecting the dots in an unexpected manner should not come as a surprise. Neither should connecting downtown Atlanta with the name Lawrence Talbot, and […]
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Night of the Whitecaps
In the history of Atlanta, there have been some contentious political arguments, but never has there been a night like the one a few days after Jonathan Norcross was elected mayor. The trouble began when the losing political party refused to accept their loss, and it ended when the other party donned white hoods and […]
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Growing Pains
Watching the Stories of Atlanta, one might be tempted to think that Atlanta’s history unfolded in a smooth, orderly fashion…one event after another in a precise and predictable manner, much like the hands on a clock. One should resist that temptation. The history of Atlanta was marked by challenges, setbacks, unexpected results and, as with […]
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Three Amigos
We look at three friends, all of whom lived in Atlanta. Each of the men are charter members of the history of Atlanta pioneers club and each left the city better than they found it. It’s the story of three amigos on this week’s Stories of Atlanta.
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A Druid Hills Alum
He lit everyone’s candles for every bar mitzvah in New York City. At least, that’s what he said it felt like. He was named New York’s Most Popular Person…twice. They even named a sandwich after him at the Stage Deli. In high school he lettered in 4 different sports, received 125 basketball scholarship offers and […]
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The Trashcan Saga
Our story this week comes from Atlanta’s long-time Chief of Police Herbert Turner Jenkins. Chief Jenkins served on Atlanta’s police force from 1932 to 1972 and was named chief of Atlanta’s police force in 1947, a position he held for 25 years. In his book, Forty Years on the Force, Jenkins reminisced about his time […]
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There and back again
Ask anyone who doesn’t live in Atlanta what they know about Atlanta and chances are pretty good that they’ll say they know Atlanta has a really busy airport. They probably won’t put it quite that gently, but who are we to presume. According to Airline Weekly, Atlanta took the title of “World’s Busiest” from Chicago […]
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He scooped everyone
In the movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” the character Gust Avrakotos, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, tells the story of a village boy who is given a horse. Everyone in the village says, “How wonderful, the boy got a horse,” everyone except the Zen master who just says, “We’ll see.” Two years later, the boy falls […]
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Making Radio Better
There are two main lessons to be learned from the movie “A Christmas Story.” First and foremost, don’t shoot your eye out. Running a close second, play your cards right, and you just might win a major award. Where we may have some disagreement is on just exactly what constitutes “a major award?” Perhaps we […]
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Marketing in the 1800s
How many times every day do you have your picture taken? By some estimates, which include security cameras, it’s about 75 times. That’s a lot of pictures and it’s one of those 21st century statistics that wouldn’t even translate to Atlantans in the 1800s. Back in the day, having one’s image captured was a rare […]
