Tag Archives: Atlanta

-Georgia, Atlanta NPU, Houses

Walking Atlanta’s Neighborhoods-Lakewood

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Built in 1935

One of my goals this year is to walk more. I knew walking in my own neighborhood would feel boring, so I decided to make it more interesting by exploring different parts of Atlanta, not just the usual spots like Midtown or Grant Park. My plan was to randomly choose neighborhoods within the city’s Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs).

Built in 1949

In 1974, Mayor Maynard Jackson created NPUs to give Atlantans greater local control, especially those who lived in historically disenfranchised areas. Today, there are 25 NPUs, labeled A through Z (No U).

Built in 1945

For my first walk, the random selection landed on NPU Z, located in Southwest Atlanta. After checking Google Street View, I chose the Lakewood neighborhood, which is the largest in NPU Z.

Browns Mill Urban Food Forest

Lakewood sits south of Lakewood Heights, which is the neighborhood more people know. Some of its streets include McWilliams Rd., Burroughs Ave., Jernigan Dr., Thaxton Dr., and the southern stretch of Browns Mill Rd. The neighborhood was largely developed in the 1950s, though a few homes date back to the late 1800s. Browns Mill Park Baptist Church first appeared in local newspapers in the early 1950s.

Photo by Victoria Lemos – Home is believed to be antebellum with Victorian details added later
Originally known as Browns Mill Baptist Church
Built in 1950
-Georgia, Historic Photos, Uncategorized

History of the United Motor Services Building in Atlanta, Georgia

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Many Atlantans know this building as a former homeless shelter that provided housing for men experiencing homelessness. Located at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Pine, this building’s facade is one of my favorites in Atlanta. Providing over 700 beds, it was the largest shelter in the southeast until its closure in 2017.

The building began as the United Motor Services Building. Designed by noted Atlanta architect A. Ten Eyck Brown, The Atlanta Constitution (1920, August 9) states in an Atlanta feature about new buildings that “This is the building every one [sic] has been talking about.”

Emory University purchased the building in 2018. Their plan is to turn the building into housing for hospital staff.

Image is from The Atlanta Constitution.
-Georgia, Black History, Houses

Asian Influenced Mid-Century Home-Atlanta, Georgia

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A Japanese pagoda–style ranch built in 1962 by contractor Fred Lee Hylick is located in the historic Collier Heights, one of the first upscale communities in the nation built exclusively by Black planners, architects, and construction companies. Hylick advertised himself as “The House Surgeon for Home Modernization.”

Advertisement in the Atlanta Daily World

Thanks to Archive Atlanta for introducing me to this great house.

-Georgia, Cemeteries

Harmony Grove Cemetery-One of Buckhead’s Hidden Cemeteries

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Harmony Grove Cemetery is just located off W. Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta’s Buckhead. Dating back to 1870, the cemetery’s earliest burial was the infant son of James H. “Whispering” Smith, a prominent landowner whose estate was near today’s Governor’s Mansion. The last known burial was in 1982.

Buckhead Heritage’s rehabilitation of Harmony Grove Cemetery earned the 2009 Preservation Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

August Krause was a German immigrant known for his stone carving work. It is assumed he did the first two markers on this page for his wife and his son. His daughter Charlotte was the last known burial.

-Georgia, Signs

The Majestic Diner of Atlanta

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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.

-Georgia, Cemeteries, National Register of Historic Places, Symbolism

The Memorial to the Six Million in Atlanta’s Greenwood Cemetery

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Greenwood Cemetery is one of my favorite cemeteries in Atlanta. Its diversity in markers and burial sections illustrates the different people who call Atlanta home. Greenwood has an extensive Jewish section. There are many people buried here who escaped Nazi Germany. After World War II, many Jews immigrated to Atlanta.

In 1964, Jewish Holocaust survivors created the Eternal Life-Hemshech. Their focus was to create a memorial where people could mourn and recite Kaddish.

The organization turned to Benjamin Hirsch, a Holocaust survivor who lost family during the Holocaust and an alumnus of the Georgia Tech Architecture program. He chose locally quarried Stone Mountain granite to symbolize trauma and resilience. The memorial contains four entrances, representing the earth’s four corners, and all were welcome through the “doors.”

Six torches extend into the sky from the center of the memorial. Each torch represents one million people who lost their lives during the Holocaust. During the annual Yom HaShoah services, they are lit. At its center rise six towering torches, each representing one million Jewish lives extinguished by the Nazis. During the annual Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) services, these torches are lit. Under the torches in a vault, there are ashes interred of some of the people who lost their lives at Dachau.

The memorial opened on April 25, 1965. There are annual services held at the memorial.

In 2008, the memorial was recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2024, the memorial was restored.