It was 2019, and the demolition permit had been issued. 220 Sunset Avenue — the apartment building developed by Rev. Maynard Jackson Sr. and where his family lived — appeared destined for the scrap heap. There was such history in the red brick building. The Jackson family lived on the top floor of the building, […]
Tag: Gaines Hall
Posted inLatest News
Preservationists express concern over latest fire at Gaines Hall
Once again, there’s been a fire at the historic Gaines Hall on Atlanta’s Diamond Hill.
Posted inColumns
CAU President French on Gaines Hall: ‘Demolition not an option’
Structural engineering report on Clark Atlanta University’s Gaines Hall states the building has enough structural integrity for reuse.
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Clark Atlanta’s George French seeks to revitalize its historic holdings
Clark Atlanta University President George French envisions an expansive renovation and restoration of CAU’s significant historic structures – buildings that played a pivotal role in Atlanta’s African American history.
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Invest Atlanta, Clark Atlanta end dispute; $4.14 million for damaged historic building
But it will cost much more than $4.14 million to fully restore Gaines Hall.
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Let’s save Morris Brown before gentrification does it in
by King Williams Despite the foul weather last Tuesday, I joined maybe three dozen others on the vacant campus of Morris Brown College. We were all there standing in front of the historic Fountain Hall on the campus waiting for the unveiling of a new piece of public art for the university. The piece would […]
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Invest Atlanta reaches legal settlement with CAU; fate of Gaines Hall still unclear
The city of Atlanta’s Invest Atlanta has settled a lawsuit with Clark Atlanta University over a property dispute involving land that used to belong to Morris Brown College – including the historic Gaines Hall.
Posted inColumns
Historic Gaines Hall crumbles while Invest Atlanta seeks to stabilize it
Exactly three years ago, a fire damaged the historic Gaines Hall on the golden hill on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Then Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed pledged to save Gaines Hall.
Now three years later, little has been done to stabilize, much less restore, Gaines Hall, built in 1869.
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Georgia Supreme Court rules in favor of Clark Atlanta and against Invest Atlanta in Morris Brown land sale
The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Clark Atlanta University over ownership of former Morris Brown College land – virtually exhausting Invest Atlanta’s legal options on the case.
The Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed last year’s ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which agreed that Clark Atlanta had legal right to the Morris Brown property.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta – save Gaines Hall – a building too important to die
It’s been more than two years since historic Gaines Hall caught on fire – and little has been done to save one of the oldest and most significant buildings in Atlanta.
Gaines Hall continues to deteriorate in front of our eyes – a victim of the natural elements as well as inadequate fire insurance coverage. The building also has been in the middle of a hotly contested legal battle between the City of Atlanta’s Invest Atlanta and Clark Atlanta University over who owns land that used to belong to Morris Brown College.
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Court of Appeals rules that Clark Atlanta owns 13 acres the City bought from Morris Brown
The City of Atlanta’s Invest Atlanta has lost another legal ruling over its ownership rights of about 13 acres it thought it had acquired from Morris Brown College in June 2014.
The problem, then as now, was that Clark Atlanta University argued that it actually held the reversionary rights to that property.
Posted inColumns
Forget the symbols of the Confederacy; instead let’s preserve our African-American heritage
It makes no sense.
As the nation and our region ponder whether to erase Confederate history by removing monuments and renaming streets, we are letting our precious landmarks of African-American history crumble to dust.
Where is the passion and dedication to save the pillars of U.S. black history? Let’s begin with Gaines Hall, built in 1869 and the second oldest building in the city of Atlanta, and the place where W.E.B. DuBois wrote the mind-changing book: “The Souls of Black Folks.”
Posted inColumns
A year after fire, questions plague future of Gaines Hall
Second column in a two part-series. Last week: Revival of Hancock County’s Courthouse in Sparta, Ga.
The story of two eerily similar buildings reveals a tale of two cities.
The Hancock County Courthouse in Sparta caught fire on Aug. 11, 2014. Atlanta’s Gaines Hall caught fire Aug. 20, 2015. Both designed by the same architect – William Parkins – before the turn of the 19th Century.
But the similarities end when we look at how both communities have responded since their respective fires.
Posted inWABE
Atlantans fight to restore Gaines Hall after fire
Gaines Hall, built in 1869 as a dorm for Atlanta University, caught fire on Aug. 20. The next day, the Atlanta Fire Department said the historic building should be torn down for safety reasons. But local preservationists immediately objected, saying Gaines Hall can and should be saved.
Atlanta has a pretty dismal record when it comes to preservation.
