The construction of the highway system erased neighborhoods from Atlanta’s history. Between Capitol Ave. (Now Hank Aaron Drive) to the west, Fraser St. to the east and Fair St. (Now Memorial Dr.) to the north, Rawson St. to the south, existed two blocks of neighborhoods. Primarily a residential area, these two blocks reflect the shift in the racial and business make-up of the entire city.
The split between these two blocks represented a common theme of Atlanta at the time. A separating of races. Capitol Ave to the east and Woodward Ave served as the unofficial color line that existed according to city directories in 1899. All the family dwellings along Capitol Ave. were made up of white residents, apart from one. Compared to Fraser St. all the residencies north of Woodward Ave. are white residents and to the south between Woodward and Rawson St. were black residents.
After the turn of the century the neighborhood began to change. What was primarily a residential area turned into a mix of commercial and residential. Along Capitol Ave numerous businesses began to replace resident homes. Single family dwellings were combined to create apartments and what wasn’t used for residencies was turned into stores such as Zimmerman Bros Grocery, Fox Ridge Dairy, and most famously the Jewish Educational Alliance.
Racial Make-up
Similarly, the racial make-up of the neighborhood began to change. The white residents on Fraser St. north of Woodward Ave. were replaced by black residents. However, this area did not receive as much commercial development compared to Capitol Ave. Few listings were black owned businesses such as a grocery store, clothing cleaners, a shoemaker, and a barber. Only one white owned business was located along Fraser.
The construction of the downtown connector led to the removal of the homes and displacement of residents along these two blocks. Capitol Ave became Hank Aaron Drive, and Fair St. is now Memorial Drive. North of Woodward Ave in between Hank Aaron and Fraser now sits the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals clerk south of Woodward. As for Fraser St. between Memorial and Woodward sits an empty lot, south of Woodward is an apartment complex.
Citations:
1899 Sanborn Map
1911 Sanborn Map
1899 Altanta City Directory-Capitol Ave
https://archive.org/details/atlantacitydirec1899vvbu/page/188/mode/2up
1922 Atlanta City Directory- Capitol Ave/Fraser St.
https://archive.org/details/atlantacitydirec1922atla/page/1300/mode/2up
