Everything about Auburn Avenue screams historical significance, so much so that an argument can be made that it is the very preservation of said history that has caused the exponential declination of the street. Sweet Auburn, in no way, represent its former glory; rather, Auburn Avenue finds itself stuck in-between times.
A street with so much history embedded with feelings of hundreds of thousands, it comes to no surprise the extent to which Sweet Auburn goes through to further prolong its historical heritage. The old buildings that appear all along the street, those still in use, as well as those abandoned, all serve in creating the Avenue’s historic façade. The appearance of these buildings brings along a very out of time and out of place kind of feel. When you are walking along the street, especially so towards the undeveloped latter half, it seems as if you have taken a step back in time. Was this to be done in moderation, it would have added a special taste to the street, but so obsessed is the street in the preservation of its historical heritage, that it has, instead of a trampoline to further propel and set the street apart from others, created for itself an anchor in the sea of time. So heavy is that anchor, however, that the Avenue has begun to sink.
Officials, like Councilman Kwanza Hall, have just recently started looking towards revitalizing the street through a series of new renovation. As Councilman Hall stated in his interview with CNN, he knows that there is a “very rich treasure in terms of African-American history” (Sweet Auburn Avenue: Buildings Tell Their Story). He wishes to preserve some of the streets façades. Councilman Hall himself spoke of the implications of moving multiple boards onto the project of Sweet Auburn’s revitalization, as conflicts arise with differing goals. New renovations and buildings may be denied due to implicating some historic building or an area under review may have, attached to it, historical importance and therefore any and all ideas about that particular area are scrapped. Both residents and businesses alike, look towards the ever increasingly empty street and although they sympathize with historical preservation, they also believe that it should in no way impede on progress.
Auburn Avenue’s persistence on the preservation of its historical heritage further illustrates the importance of history on the fabric of Sweet Auburn’s life. With so much protection and the abundance of historical buildings, the built environment of Auburn Avenue reflects its history and looks the way it does today due to its decision concerning the preservation of historical buildings.
