Archival Collection

Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center provides a unique opportunity for researchers and enthusiasts to explore the life and times of Jimmy Carter through a significant collection of archives and books.

Atlanta Urban Design Commission Records are now available for public access. This collection provides valuable insights into Atlanta’s visual arts and urban development. It includes artwork, sketches, photographs, and other materials that document the city’s design and architectural evolution.

On October 23, 2024, the US Navy announced that after twenty-five years, a ship commissioned the USS Atlanta will once again sail the seas of the world. The last USS Atlanta, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, was retired in 1999, the fifth such ship to bear the name of the city.

Atlanta History Center is the repository of millions of pages of archival documents and photographs, and tens of thousands of books, maps, museum artifacts, oral history interviews, and much more, with the collection growing daily. For the first time in the institution’s nearly 100-year history, we are excited to announce that this process will now operate from a new search tool housed on our website.

Formed in June 1972, the Atlanta Lesbian/Feminist Alliance (ALFA) was established to increase lesbian visibility and solidarity, and to provide means for women to exist outside of society’s sexist institutions. The Kenan Research Center has recently processed several visual collections related LGBTQ+ history, which include photographs related to ALFA.

Board of Park Commission Minute Books hold significant information, reflecting the intersectionality of race, gender, and class in urban spaces during the early twentieth century.

Rountree Visual Vault showcases portions of museum collections and greets guests the moment they enter our museum.

An unidentified woman brings her horse to a halt at a WHOA sign.

The Mary Howard Gilbert Memorial Quarry Garden brims with Georgia’s native flora due to the careful consideration of Mr. Cline.

Atlanta’s history of influential and entrepreneurial women includes Adelle Bartlett Harper, the first woman to own and operate a florist shop in Atlanta in 1921.

A husband and wife team were instrumental at a critical time in the roots of Georgia’s environmental struggles and inspired many to continue to protect Georgia’s valuable wilderness.

Atlanta’s urban development, and political and social history are well documented through thousands of photographs from photojournalists and corporate photographers, primarily dated 1930-1990.