Archive Atlanta
by Victoria Lemos
Latest episode
Eldren Bailey (Interview w/ Cynthia Jennings)
Eldren Bailey (Interview w/ Cynthia Jennings)
About this podcast
A weekly history podcast about the people, places and events that shaped the city of Atlanta, GA.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 303 episodes
- Eldren Bailey (Interview w/ Cynthia Jennings) · 25 min · Episode 326What do homemade concrete sculptures, Black temporary headstones, and a tribute to Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run have in common? They’re all part of the story of Eldren…
- Indigent Burials · 43 min · Episode 325This week, the Halloween episode crew is back together, as Cynthia and Liz join me for a look at how Atlanta did and does handle indigent burials. I learned about the terms…
- Crematoria (Interview w/ Liz Clappin) - REPLAY · 31 min · Episode 324This week, I am re-releasing an episode from 2023 with Liz Clappin (Tomb With A View) where we talk about the history of cremation and why Atlanta did not get its first…
- Pizza · 9 min · Episode 323In this short episode, we're covering pizza: from an Italian immigrant food into an American obsession. Pizza first shows up in Atlanta in 1948 and by 1955, it's the latest food…
- Home Park + Atlantic Steel · 16 min · Episode 322This week, we’re heading to Home Park to trace the story of a neighborhood that grew alongside Atlantic Steel - from working-class homes and booming industry to student rentals…
- Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta · 13 min · Episode 321This week, we’re covering the story of the Sixth Federal Reserve District, or the Atlanta Federal Reserve, as it was often called. We’re covering why the Federal Reserve was…
- Murder of John Garris · 12 min · Episode 320In April 1949, Metropolitan Opera singer John Garris came to Atlanta to perform at the Fox Theatre—but by the next morning, he was dead in an alley off Marietta Street. His…
- Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) · 11 min · Episode 319Atlanta's Neighborhood Planning Units—or NPUs—have been shaping how residents engage with City Hall for nearly 50 years, but what exactly are they, and why do they exist? This…
- Manuel's Tavern (Interview w/ Megan Maloof) · 24 min · Episode 318This week, I got the chance to interview Megan Maloof, the general manager of Atlanta's iconic Manuel's Tavern. We talked about her grandfather founding the tavern, his hopes for…
- Ottley Kidnapping · 12 min · Episode 317This week, we're talking about the 1933 kidnapping of prominent Atlanta banker James King Ottley Sr. during the height of the Great Depression, when ransom kidnappings were…
- Agnes Scott College · 15 min · Episode 316This week’s episode explores the history of Agnes Scott College, from its origins as a small, church-founded seminary in 1889 to its rise as a nationally respected women’s…
- Chamblee · 15 min · Episode 315From railroad stop to global corridor, Chamblee has lived a lot of lives in just over a century. This week, we trace its evolution from land once inhabited by the Muscogee…
- Dick Lake Velodrome - REPLAY · 11 min · Episode 314Still recovering from my appendectomy last week and so I am re-releasing my episode about the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point. We're talking about what a velodrome is…
- Atlanta Women of the Green Book (Interview w/ Cynthia Jennings) · 36 min · Episode 313This week, we’re stepping into the pages of the Negro Motorist Green Book. I am sharing my conversation with my good friend, Cynthia Jennings, who has been uncovering the stories…
- Atlanta Botanical Garden · 14 min · Episode 312This week, we explore the long and winding history behind the creation of a Botanical Garden in Atlanta - a dream that took more than 50 years to become reality. The story begins…
- Tennis · 14 min · Episode 311This week, we trace tennis from its 12th-century French origins to its rise in Atlanta, where elite clubs, segregated courts, and growing public facilities shaped the sport’s…
- Atlanta Student Movement - REPLAY · 16 min · Episode 310When people think of sit-ins, they think Greensboro. But the movement didn’t start, or stop, there. This episode looks at how the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins inspired Atlanta’s Black…
- Time Zones · 9 min · Episode 309Atlanta gets nearly an extra hour of evening sunlight compared to cities east of us—and it turns out that’s no accident. In this episode, we unravel how railroads invented time…
- Oakland City + Bush Mountain · 17 min · Episode 308In this episode, we follow the land from rural farmland to an independent city with its own mayor, streetcars, schools, and sharp racial divides. You’ll hear how Bush Mountain…
- The First Hot Air Balloon Ride · 5 min · Episode 307Before airplanes and AI, Atlanta once stopped in its tracks to watch a hot air balloon rise into the sky. In this episode, I cover the story of the city’s first balloon flight in…
- USS Atlanta · 14 min · Episode 306From ancient superstitions to nuclear submarines, the name Atlanta carries a remarkable legacy across the seas. In this episode, we trace the centuries-old traditions of ship…
- Tami Roche · 53 min · Episode 305Tami Roche was named Miss Burlesque in 1966 and her career took off, performing across the country and on Broadway, before moving to Atlanta in 1969 to headline at the Body…
- Atlanta Freedom Bands + Voices of Note · 34 min · Episode 304A special bonus episode to share my interview with Cliff Norris and David Aurilio to learn about the histories of the Atlanta Freedom Bands, a nonprofit community music…
- Chosewood Park · 17 min · Episode 303Before Chosewood Park was a neighborhood with winding streets, skyline views, and a curious little road called Climax Street, it was Muscogee land—until Georgia land lotteries…
- Oral History (Matthew Norwood) · 23 min · Episode 302This week, I am sharing an oral history recording I did last year with Matthew Norwood, pastor of Bible Way Ministries. His father developed Norwood Manor, where he still lives…
- Fortune Telling · 46 min · Episode 301From crystal balls to courthouse battles, this episode with Liz Clappin and Cynthia Jennings, dives into the history of fortune telling — from the start of Spiritualism, to…
- Listener Q&A - Vol. 5 · 21 min · Episode 300Ever wonder what I’d do with $5 million if saving it was off the table? Or which unsung women of Atlanta’s past I’d invite to a dinner party? In Volume 5 of my Q&A series, I’m…
- Dancing in Darktown (Interview w/ Dr. Julie B. Johnson) · 43 min · Episode 299This week, I am so excited to share my interview with my friend Julie B. Johnson, where we talk about her latest project, Dancing in Darktown. I’m honored to collaborate with her…
- Black Press (Interview w/ Stan Washington) · 22 min · Episode 298This week, I am sharing an interview with Stan Washington, veteran journalist and editor-at-large of The Atlanta Voice. We discuss his career in PR, radio and how he arrived at…
- Minister's Manifesto · 15 min · Episode 297In 1950s Georgia, faced with school desegregation, the governor’s plan was simple: abolish public schools. This episode dives into Atlanta’s tense response to Brown v. Board, the…
- WRFG-FM · 10 min · Episode 296In the fall of 1971, a group of volunteers in Atlanta set out to build a radio station by the people, for the people. By 1973, WRFG was on the airwaves, amplifying voices that…
- Oakland Cemetery · 18 min · Episode 295Before it became Atlanta’s most iconic cemetery, Oakland Cemetery was just six acres of farmland owned by the Woodings. But as the city grew, so did its need to bury its dead…
- City Hall - REPLAY · 16 min · Episode 294This week, I am re-sharing an episode from 2021 where I cover the history of Atlanta’s City Hall...not just the Art Deco masterpiece you can see today, but also the places that…
- The Atlanta Expressway · 13 min · Episode 293Before Atlanta was crisscrossed with interstates and highways, there was a bold plan—born from the Great Depression, inspired by Germany’s Autobahn, and fueled by fears of…
- Atlanta Food Franchises · 15 min · Episode 292This week, we’re talking about Atlanta’s most famous food franchises. Atlanta has been the birthplace of almost a dozen food franchises, including Chick-fil-A, Huddle House…
- "Built for Legacy" Canopy Atlanta - Collier Heights · 12 minEven though this is a bye week for me, I wanted to share a bonus episode related to a special project that I got to do recently. I worked with Canopy fellow Damius Smith on his…
- "Lakewood Cutting" · 14 min · Episode 291This week, we’re talking about the Lakewood Cutting - the story of the murder of Fred Thompson. I’ve said a million times that I’m not a fan of true crime, but centuries-old…
- Bowers v. Hardwick (Interview w/ Martin Padgett) · 49 min · Episode 290This week, I am SO excited to share a conversation that I had with Marty Padgett about this new book, The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick: Sex and the Supreme Court in the Age…
- The Bagbys · 9 min · Episode 289This week, I am bringing you a short bonus story about the Bagby Family, mainly brothers William and Hubert, who were known throughout the Bolton area of Atlanta for living along…
- Roman Catholicism · 19 min · Episode 288This week, we’re talking about Roman Catholicism in Atlanta, mainly centered around the city’s historic Catholic churches from the 1850s through the 1950s. Want to support this…
- "Miss Sepia" · 9 min · Episode 287This week, I'm sharing the short history of "Miss Sepia Atlanta", Atlanta’s African American beauty pageant that ran from 1947 until 1963. Want to support this podcast? Visit…
- Strip Clubs · 18 min · Episode 286This week, we’re talking about one of Atlanta’s most well-known attractions - it’s strip clubs. But why and how and when did we get this claim to fame? Why is Atlanta one of the…
- Birds of Kirkwood (Interview w/ Mike Ayling) · 47 min · Episode 285This week, I am so excited to share an interview episode with Mike Ayling, who is the writer and researcher behind Birds of Kirkwood. We talked about the story of how he moved…
- Druid Hills · 19 min · Episode 284This week, we’re talking about Druid Hills - one of the most iconic Atlanta neighborhoods known for its housing stock and connection to the Olmsted landscape architecture firm…
- Women of Atlanta - Part IV · 12 min · Episode 283This week, we are celebrating Women’s History Month by learning the history of three more women from Atlanta’s past; Eva Lovett, Emily Norman and Alexa Stirling. One who founded…
- "We Charge Genocide" · 21 min · Episode 282This week, we’re talking about “We Charge Genocide”, a 1951 petition accusing the United States government of genocide based on the newly adopted UN Genocide Convention. A strong…
- W.E.B. DuBois in Atlanta · 16 min · Episode 281This week, we’re talking about WEB DuBois’ time in Atlanta, which spans two different periods and a total of 24 years. Arriving first in 1897, he lived here during the death of…
- Sevananda · 9 min · Episode 280With my new bi-weekly format, there are two ways you can do this; a rolling schedule or what I did, which is say that the podcast will be out every first and third Friday. That…
- Veterans Hospitals · 16 min · Episode 279This week, we’re talking about Atlanta’s Veterans Hospitals. When I first put this topic on my list, I thought I’d be covering the 1960s-era hospital that is still operating over…
