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An East Point institution, Atlanta Utility Works is a machine shop turned event space that has served the Tri-Cities area for over a century. To get you ready for Party with the Past, we uncovered the history of Atlanta Utility Works and its role in the community that surrounded it.

The Lost Friends Database compiles ads from the Southwestern Christian Advocate newspaper, where African Americans searched for family members separated by the domestic slave trade. Including ads referencing Atlanta, this database highlights the city’s role in this period. These ads provide a poignant glimpse into personal stories of separation and efforts to reconnect families.

As the days shorten and temperatures drop in autumn, plants begin a series of physiological processes to prepare for the cold. Plants are generally about the same temperature as the surrounding air, so to deal with cold they must employ alternative methods.

George “Ed” Merritt’s life encapsulates a journey from the racial violence of early 20th century Georgia to becoming a local civil rights champion in Buford. Born in 1913, after his family fled racial terror in Forsyth County, Merritt served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later became a community leader. His political career peaked when he was elected to the Buford School Board in 1973, reflecting the broader struggle for civil rights in Georgia. Merritt’s legacy, highlighted by his advocacy for voting and education, endures in Buford, where a street now bears his name.

On October 30, 2023, Olguita’s Garden will celebrate its 5th anniversary! This special garden was created in honor of Olga C. de Goizueta. Special thanks to The Goizueta Foundation for their generous support of Atlanta History Center through the years, and specifically for their continued commitment to Goizueta Gardens.

With improvised food, wine, and a makeshift Haggadah printed on Nazi flags, U.S. soldiers were able to celebrate Passover during WWII. The Seder was held in a former German school building with about 1,500 soldiers in attendance, including Jewish soldiers from other units. This celebration, held over a month before the end of the war, marked the liberation of Jews from Egypt and foreshadowed the liberation of the Jews from the concentration camp of Dachau a few weeks later.

Atlanta History Center is excited to partner with Black in the Garden for a special four-part podcast series exploring Gardens and Cultural Landscapes of Black America, the new digital collection from Cherokee Garden Library. Host Colah B Tawkin explains how this partnership came to be.

The 37th Annual Swan House Ball brings together some of Atlanta’s most outstanding business, social, and community leaders for a night of fun, fashion, fellowship, and philanthropy at Atlanta History Center. Over the years, the ball has included a revolutionary roster of women, both past and present. From philanthropists and CEOs to first ladies and founders, Atlanta’s history is incomplete without honoring some of the defining women who have elevated the city. 

The Economist reviews Atlanta History Center’s new documentary Monument: The Untold Story of Stone Mountain, calling the film “powerful.”

In September 1906, a white mob brutalized and terrorized Atlanta’s Black residents, resulting in the deaths of 25 Black Atlantans, the wounding of hundreds of Blacks, and the destruction of many Black businesses and homes. This period of racial violence has been passed down in history as a race “riot,” but “massacre” may be a more apt term.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal, founded in 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee, was the first Protestant African American denomination established in the South. With more than 330 CME churches in Georgia alone, it has become one of the premier Christian denominations for African American worship and religious life.   

“One Hundred Years of Georgia Women Legislators” is a Historical Series that will not only tell the story of Georgia’s first women state and federal legislative representatives and highlight other notable Georgia “firsts” that have held legislative positions over the course of the last century to now, but it also highlights the effect these women have had on Georgia, the South, and the United States of America.

Of the approximately 75,000 Afghans evacuated to the United States when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, more than 1,500 came here to Georgia, with the vast majority resettling in Metro Atlanta. The arrival of record numbers of new families in a short time has tested the resources of the area’s resettlement agencies. So, informal networks of people have stepped up to help the new arrivals, some of whom have first-hand experience with the challenges facing these Afghan families.

Muhammad Ali’s 1970 comeback fight in Atlanta against Jerry Quarry at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium on October 26, 1970, is often relegated to the footnotes of Ali’s legacy despite its crucial role in the growth of Atlanta and the rebirth of his boxing career.