Revitalization of Little Five Points

Little Five Points, a retail district around the intersection of Moreland Ave and Euclid Ave, in between the Atlanta neighborhoods of Inman Park and Candler Park, is a place where people come to shop for eccentric clothes and unique items, where people come to sell their art and play music, or just to be in an environment with a diverse range of individuals, whatever it is for, Little Five Points is a staple of Atlanta. But what lays below the surface? The history of Little Five Points is one of White flight and White return, of the fight between corporate and family owned, and of the progress that can be made through community-based action.

The origins of Little Five Points

Little Five Points started its history as a commercial shopping district for everyday goods. By examining Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, I determined that Little Five Points emerged as a prominent shopping center between 1911 and the early 1920s. As on the 1911 map I only counted two stores along the Moreland, Seminole and Euclid Ave intersection.¹ While on the 1932 map the intersection was full of shops and pharmacies.² A 1927 Atlanta Constitution article describes Little Five Points as a “Lively Business Center ”, describing the opening of a seed store, a dry cleaner, and an auto shop.³ In 1937 the Little Five Points Civic Association was organized by more than 75 civic and business leaders in L5P. The Civic Association was created with the purpose of commercial, industrial and civic improvement in the community.⁴ The creation of a civic association shows the success L5P was seeing, and that people believed in its continued growth. By 1950 an expansion of 745 feet of more business zoning to L5P was proposed, showing that growth had continued throughout the 40s.⁵ L5P reached its peak in the 50s, being home to three grocery stores, three barbershops, four pharmacies and three movie theaters.⁶ Following a decade of growth, L5P faced a multitude of issues in the 1960s that threatened its prosperity, namely White flight and the Stone Mountain Tollway.

White Flight & The Stone Mountain Tollway

Following desegregation in 1961 white residents fled Inman Park and Candler Park in masse, leaving L5P business owners without many of their patrons.⁷ By 1970, enrollment in Atlanta Public Schools among white people was half what it was in 1963, and more then 100,000 whites left the city throughout the 1970s, halving the white population in Atlanta.⁸ A direct consequence of white flight was the proposal of I-485 and the Stone Mountain Tollway. To accommodate the white residents who fled to the suburbs but still needed to commute to the city, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) proposed a north south expressway cutting through East Atlanta and a west east highway connecting the city to Stone Mountain. Starting in 1961 GDOT began purchasing land from homeowners to make way for the proposed expressways, adding even more to the reduction of people living near L5P.⁹ If these plans went into fruition the L5P area would look quite similar to places like Summerhill today where the downtown connector is. Neighborhoods destroyed, with what’s left being plagued with noisy cars, constant emissions, and low property value. In fact, at the time the Little Five Points Business Association was all for building the expressway, as they felt that L5P being right off of the highway would bring in new customers from all around the state.¹⁰ Given the rapid decline in customer base, it can be hard to blame them for this stance, but despite their wants there was a new group of people in town who wanted something very different.

Revitalization

John Sweet, an Inman Park resident and attorney, began recruiting “hippies” living in midtown to move to L5P, the idea being the only way to stop the expressway being built was by attracting people to come live here who would want to fight it.¹¹ With the help of new residents and a new organization called Bass Organization for Neighborhood Development (BOND), Jimmy Carter issued an indefinite postponement of the expressway in 1972. BOND was a community organization made up of residents from L5P and the surrounding areas for the goal of revitalizing the area with the building of social, economic, and political infrastructure.¹² Possibly the biggest achievement of BOND was the creation of the BOND Community Credit Union (CCU) in 1972. The L5P area was redlined by most banks in Atlanta making it almost impossible for people to get loans which were essential for the revitalization of homes and storefronts across L5P. By convincing residents to move their money from established banks into BOND CCU, the credit union was able to grow enough to give out loans to fund many homes and business remodeling. Starting with only 2,500 dollars in 1971, BOND CCU grew to over $100,000 in deposits just three years later and by 1985 their total assets were up to over 2 million, making them Georgia’s fastest growing CCU. ¹³ A figure who was central to the revitalization of L5P was Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, who made the revitalization of L5P a priority during his first term as mayor. L5P secured $250,000 in business assistance loans and $350,000 in site improvement activities in 1975 thanks to efforts from Maynard Jackson, as well as many small business loans that Jackson fought for L5P businesses to secure.¹⁴ With the help of community organizations like BOND, government assistance, and individuals brave enough to invest their money into establishing businesses in an area where few others would invest, L5P transformed from an area hit hard by white flight and redlining to a place of rising property value, flourishing independently owned stores and a vibrant art scene in a mere 20 years.

To paint a picture of the transformation L5P went through in the 70s and to show the ethos of L5P I will tell three separate stories that I find to be defining moments in L5P’s history.

Redwood Lounge to Little Five Points Pub

Redwood Lounge being turned into L5P Pub exemplifies perfectly how this change occurs. Redwood Lounge was known as one of the seediest bars in Atlanta, known for violence, prostitution, and a place full of criminal behavior. In 1977, 17 people got together for 30,000 dollars and bought out Redwood Lounge turning it into Little Five Points Community Pub. The idea was to make L5P pub a community center.¹⁵ The pub hosted art shows, concerts, poetry slams, and was home to meetings of community organizations. The transition from a seedy bar to a community center made all the difference in Little Five, ten new stores popped up in L5P in just a year following its opening, Little Five was really starting to become a true center of culture and commerce and the Little Five Points Pub was the centerpiece of all this.¹⁶ (Photo shows Little Five Points Pub in 1980)

Independence & Activism

One aspect of L5P that makes it so unique is that the majority of stores are independently owned. In a world of corporate chains dominating most markets, this is a rarity. Charis Books & More is a great example of L5P’s independent atmosphere. Created by Linda Byrant and and Barbara Borgman in 1975, Charis Books & More specializes in feminist literature. Charis Books played a large role in the revitalization of L5P. Carole Ashkinaze wrote in a 1977 Atlanta Constitution Article “-if anyone is to be remembered for having contributed to the revitalization of Little Five Points, it seems to be that it ought to be the plucky and spirited operators of Charis who got the ball rolling.”¹⁷ Charis Books is still around today, although facing issues with the opening of Barnes and Noble nearby in 2005, it has stayed strong, as it offers a lot of books that one wouldn’t be able to find in a chain book store.¹⁸ Charis Books was not first the arrival of the feminist movement in L5P though. The Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) was created in 1972 in Little Five Points by activists who realized the need for an organization that was both lesbian and feminist.¹⁹ Described by Rachel Gelfand in her article ““Come Out Slugging!”: The Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance, 1972-1975”, “From 1972 to 1975, alfa navigated coalitional engagement with feminists, gay organizations, and social justice work in Atlanta, while incorporating elements of cultural feminism.” Charis Books and More and ALFA are two examples of what Little Five Points was transforming into in the 1970s, a tolerant community for activists, artists, and all kinds of different people with a desire for independence and change.

The Fight to Keep Out Corporations

A perfect example of how L5P fought to remain a place of independent stores is when the corporate giant Revco tried to put a pharmacy next door to the independently owned Little Five Points Pharmacy in 1993. Following the news of Revco’s plans, hundreds of calls were sent to Revco’s HQ making it clear that they were not welcome in L5P. A protest was held that year in Little Five Points. People rallied around Little Five Points Pharmacy, voicing the benefits of having a more personal relationship with their pharmacy. Little Five Points Pharmacy wouldn’t be able to survive if it was competing with a huge corporation that can sell goods for much cheaper. Facing all the backlash, Revco realized it wouldn’t be worth the trouble to move into a place where they were not wanted.²⁰ This exemplifies how the community itself played a huge role in keeping L5P independent.

The history of Little Five Points is a fascinating one, from a commerce center for everyday goods into the 1950s, to being hit hard from white flight and redlining in the 60s to revitalization in the 70s to become what it is today, a community center full of independently owned stores with a unique environment.

1. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Atlanta, FultonCounty, Georgia. Sanborn Map Company, ; Vol. 2, Sheet 202, Sheet 204, 1911. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01378_007/. ↩︎
2. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Atlanta, FultonCounty, Georgia. Sanborn Map Company, ; Vol 2, Sheet 290, Sheet 291 1932. https://digitalsanbornmaps-proquest-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/browse_maps/11/1377/6155/6524/98029?accountid=11226 ↩︎
3. “Little Five Points Now Lively Business Center: OPENING OF “WHITE WAY” LATEST DEVELOPMENT COTTONGIM APPROVES OF NEW ‘WHITE WAY.’.” The Atlanta Constitution (1881-1945), May 29, 1927. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/little-five-points-now-lively-business-center/docview/500053933/se-2. ↩︎
4. “Little 5-Points Civic Association Organized to Upbuild Community: John Powell Elected President as More than 75 Business Civic Leaders Meet to Launch Organization; I. Glover Hailey First Charter Member.” The Atlanta Constitution (1881-1945), Nov 23, 1937. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/little-5-points-civic-association-organized/docview/502868107/se-2. ↩︎
5. Hancock, H. (1950, Oct 04). Expansion planned by little five points. The Atlanta Constitution (1946-1984) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/expansion-planned-little-five-points/docview/1533700133/se-2 ↩︎
6. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 27. ↩︎
7. Kayla Edgett, Katherine Hankins & Joseph Pierce (2023): Whitenesses in the
   city: A history of place-making in Little Five Points, Atlanta, USA, Journal of Race, Ethnicity and
   the City, DOI: 10.1080/26884674.2023.2209339 ↩︎
8. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 30. ↩︎
9. Kayla Edgett, Katherine Hankins & Joseph Pierce (2023): Whitenesses in the
   city: A history of place-making in Little Five Points, Atlanta, USA, Journal of Race, Ethnicity and
   the City, DOI: 10.1080/26884674.2023.2209339 ↩︎
10. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 34. ↩︎
11. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 32. ↩︎
12. Kayla Edgett, Katherine Hankins & Joseph Pierce (2023): Whitenesses in the
    city: A history of place-making in Little Five Points, Atlanta, USA, Journal of Race, Ethnicity and
    the City, DOI: 10.1080/26884674.2023.2209339 ↩︎
13. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 42. ↩︎
14. Kayla Edgett, Katherine Hankins & Joseph Pierce (2023): Whitenesses in the
    city: A history of place-making in Little Five Points, Atlanta, USA, Journal of Race, Ethnicity and
    the City, DOI: 10.1080/26884674.2023.2209339 ↩︎
15. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 44 ↩︎
16. Joseph Litsch Journal-Constitution, S. W. (1978, May 06). The pub is a community house. The Atlanta Constitution (1946-1984) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/pub-as-community-house/docview/1621470474/se-2 ↩︎
17. Ashkinaze, C. (1977, Aug 27). Charis was there first. The Atlanta Constitution (1946-1984) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/charis-was-there-first/docview/1619748299/se-2 ↩︎
18. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 74 ↩︎
19. Rachel, Gelfand, ““Come Out Slugging!”: The Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance, 1972-1975” Southern Cultures, Volume 26, Number 3, Fall 2020, pp. 86-103 (Article) The University of North Carolina Press ↩︎
20. Robert, Hartle Jr., The Highs & Lows Of Little Five. (History Press, 2010), pg 113. ↩︎