In 1816, local developer and industrialist John Armstrong constructed the homes known as Mechanic’s Row, which are now celebrated as some of Kentucky’s finest examples of New Orleans-inspired architecture. The name “Mechanic’s Row” reflects the trades of the early residents, skilled craftsmen and merchants, who once lived there.
In the hills near Joppa, Tennessee, a remarkable farmhouse stands. The Judge Charles K. Ellis Home began as a modest cabin in the 1840s. It became the home of Judge Charles and Bertha Ellis. Over the years, Ellis served as a judge in Grainger County, chaired the county school board, and held roles as a merchant, bank board member, and founder of one of the region’s earliest fire insurance companies. He was also a successful farmer. Charles and his wife Bertha remained in the home until 1970, when they relocated to a convalescent facility in Knoxville.
The Second Baptist Church began in 1855 with over 100 members. As one of two Black churches in Mayslick, it played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad. The current building was constructed in 1913 and remains in use today.
The Majestic Diner opened in 1929 on Ponce de Leon Avenue. It was once a 24-hour staple. In response to the pandemic, the diner had to shorten its hours and is now open daily for breakfast and lunch; however, it is still operating, thankfully.
The Blair Building is an Art Moderne office building located in Decatur, Georgia. Built in 1939 by the Farnell Blair Company, the company used the second floor for its offices.
In 1946, Guy Rutland Sr. purchased the building to use as the headquarters for his trucking company, real estate business, and farm operations. Rutland served in the state legislature from 1953 to 1964. The building stayed in the Rutland family until 1994.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings in 2002.
If you’ve driven Cobb Parkway through Marietta, Georgia, you’ve likely spotted it a 56-foot-tall steel rooster with rolling eyes and a moving beak, high atop a KFC. The much loved icon was built in 1963, originally part of a restaurant called Johnny Reb’s Chick, Chuck and Shake. Hubert Puckett, a 1957 graduate of the Georgia Tech School of Architecture, designed the chicken after a company salesman sold the idea of a giant chicken to owner S.R. “Tubby” Davis. Puckett was working for Dixie Steel, a subsidiary of Atlantic Steel, who then constructured the giant metal bird.
Turn left at the Big Chicken!
In 1966, Davis sold the restaurant to his brother, who later turned it into a KFC franchise. Despite initial resistance from Colonel Sanders himself, the Big Chicken stayed because it of its iconic status. It supposedly was also the busiest KFC in the world.
In 1993, a severe storm damaged the Big Chicken. KFC considered tearing it down, but public outcry led to its full restoration. Pilots voiced their support to save it because they used it as a navigational marker when flying into Atlanta. The rebuilt version kept the moving beak and eyes but eliminated the original’s intense vibrations, which shattered windows.
The structure was fully restored in 2017.
